Under the expanse of the starless midnight sky, both Ira and Astheneia sat near a fire—crackling and burning everything around it.
The silence was peaceful, neither awkward nor insanity inducing.
Taking the opportunity to rest, Ira began creating more mist. By this point, the amount she had from the previous night had doubled. The augmentation it gave had become far more profound; Ira felt as if she could topple mountains with a single swing of her hand—naturally her immature mind could not fully scope the amount of raw power needed to achieve such a feat—something like that was far out of reach as of that moment.
The crackling of the fire soon began to consume Ira's mind—as if infecting her very being. As her eyes began to dry out from the heat, Ira could not help but wonder if her augmentation granted resistance to the elements—fire, for example.
Reaching out towards the flame, her hand touched the first ember, a shock of pain hit her—instantly causing her to wince in pain, instantly sh yanked her hand away from the fire.
"What are you doing, dummy? Not even Awakened are fully immune to the elements—and you're only a Dormant! Silly girl." Astheneia chuckled lightly—her face slightly paler than usual.
'Is she like this with everyone? I don't think so, she's so.. professional with everyone else. Maybe because she has to be a good role model or leader?'
So many questions, none of which were important in the grand scheme of things; yet Ira felt drawn to their answers. The silver-haired girl's curiosity was abnormal for those her age, and those who attempted to thwart her desires would be put into her "kill on sight book"!
Suddenly, Astheneia asked a question of her own—only this time it was backed up with sound.
"Do you know why I asked if you had met an Oracle before?"
Surprised by the question, Ira had no answer besides shaking her head no.
"It is because I, too, had met one in the past. I do not know if the one I met is the same as yours—but one thing I do know for sure is that the one I had met was twisted and vile. Actually, she had placed a curse on me—although it did only blossom after I became an Awakened. My next question is, Ira. Do you know what my curse is?"
With another shake of Ira's head, Astheneia continued.
"It's simple, Ira. I require blood every few days. Similar to that of Striges—only I do not turn into a bird, nor am I a witch. This curse of mine, my second Curse Of Profanity, is a lot. It has its benefits, such as the increased regenerative speed I possess, along with being nearly completely unkillable unless my soul or head is destroyed."
The atmosphere grew uncomfortable, Ira did not know what Astheneia wanted by telling her this—maybe it was her blood, or possibly even her flesh.
Noticing Ira's uncomfortable appearance, Astheneia frantically began to try and clear up any misunderstandings.
"W-wait! I am not going to eat you.. maybe a nibble at most!.. I am joking of course..."
Astheneia in an attempt to change the subject, asks Ira another question.
"Do you know what my name means? Well, it means many things, the most prominent one being 'disease'. But it also means 'weakness', or 'lack of strength'. My Echo ability allows me to gain information on a target by just a mere glance, with the most notable advantage of my ability being that I can also see others' weaknesses. I do not believe in coincidences, everything must have a reason, every cause has an effect—that is what I believe in. What does your name mean, Ira? Perhaps it is similar to Achlys."
Scrambling to find an answer, Ira began to stutter horrendously, internally raging at herself; before finally finding the courage to speak in between pauses. "I.. do not know.. I do not even know what 'Achlys' means..."
Astheneia smiled warmly as she usually did. "Well, Achlys was a goddess. Her mission in life was to bring 'Death-Fog' to those on the brink of death—which would obscure their vision in their last moments. Maybe it was not as similar as I thought to you now that I have said it out loud.. Sorry, Ira."
Finally, Astheneia got to the point of her original statement.
"With that said, would you be willing to give me your blood, Ira? You do not have to, but I would much appreciate it."
The question was slightly disturbing, but if it would prevent Astheneia from devouring her Dormant flesh, it was most definitely worth it.
"How..? Like, bite my neck..?"
Taken aback by Ira's absurd statement, Astheneia's mouth was left agape. "What?! No! All you have to do is cut your palm open slightly. Do not do it too deep as I do not need a lot."
With a mix of reluctance and a face that screamed of being disturbed, Ira gave her blood to the giant brunette.
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"Ahh~. Thanks, Ira!"
Ira nodded gently, a little drained from the loss of blood and the creation of mist.
"You should get some rest, Ira. Tomorrow our journey will continue."
With another gentle nod, Ira rolled over, her mind wandering onto many thoughts.
'What will I look like in six years—if I survive the next six years, that is. Maybe I will look like a battle veteran.. That would be fun. Maybe I'll be a personal weight trainer.. No, that would be too boring, plus I am not good with people."
So many possibilities, but none felt like they would realistically happen. Then again, the realistic scenario of what would happen in the next six years would be that she would die, murdered by the elements or a random Purge Beast—possibly even a fellow human.
The world had gone to hell after all. Outside the eight major settlements established, there were also plenty of smaller ones—some even being established by a random group of people, others being created by Raiders.
Raiders, as their name implied, would raid nearby settlements for resources, often leaving behind a massacre and an empty city.
'Damn Raiders.. All they do is destroy and take. I'll make sure to bring an end to them in the future..'
With a sudden shout, one of the soldiers yelled out to Astheneia, he said: "Astheneia..! Come quick, something happened to Ansil!"
Ansil was the name of the man who had received a broken arm in their earlier battle, along with a chunk of his flesh being ripped off by the abomination's sandpaper-like skin.
Astheneia quickly lunged forward, her body moving swiftly with urgency. Ira scrambled to stand up, quickly following suit.