"One of those scavengers. The one I fought was on the verge of evolving into a monster." Asher muttered, wincing as he sat up. "So don't you dare laugh."
Sunny pressed a hand over his mouth, visibly struggling to hold back a grin. He looked seconds away from bursting when Nephis arrived.
"Asher," she said calmly, kneeling beside him, "can you walk?"
Asher turned toward her, his echo mirroring the movement. "Yeah… just need a minute. I'm drained. Also—help my echo collect the soul shards, would you?"
Nephis sighed softly and knelt beside him, placing a hand gently on his chest.
"Don't try to act tough around me, Asher. I know your pain tolerance. I was there during your training. Now stay still."
"Wait—what are you—?"
Before he could finish, warmth spread through his body as a soft white flame ignited under her palm. His wounds began to mend. It wasn't a full burst of healing—she was holding back to conserve her strength—but even still, her lips trembled as she bit down on them, a thin trickle of blood escaping the corner of her mouth.
"I-I told you I could heal," she whispered between shaky breaths, trying to mask her own strain.
Sunny watched quietly, his curiosity piqued. Asher groaned, a pang of guilt tightening in his chest.
'I feel bad for her…'
"Uh… Neph," he said, as the sharp pain in his ribs faded to a dull ache. "I'm good now. You can stop."
Nephis didn't argue. She simply nodded, pulled her hand back, and sat down beside him, her shoulders rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. Her hands were trembling slightly.
"Um… Neph, here," Cassie said softly, appearing beside them and holding out the Endless Spring.
Nephis accepted it with a grateful nod and drank deeply. Asher let out a long breath as the tension drained from his body.
Asher, feeling the tension ease from his body, looked around at his companions. Despite the pain and exhaustion, he felt a swell of gratitude.
'We all are like a family..'
Asher looked at the sky as he murmured under his breath with a smile, "Family."
Cassie looked in Asher's general direction with a sad face.
Asher's eyes scanned her, and realization hit—she was drenched in crab blood. Right. He'd shoved her straight into a pool of it when he tackled her to safety.
He scratched the back of his head, letting out a sheepish chuckle. "Hey, Cassie… I, uh… sorry about that—"
Before he could finish, Cassie suddenly threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso and sobbing into his chest.
"Asher! I'm sorry! You got hurt because of me! I'm a burden—I shouldn't be here!"
Asher blinked, caught completely off guard. His body stiffened. A blank expression slid over his face.
Then came the panic.
Little Asher is stirring. Oh no. No no no.
He cast a pleading look at Sunny.
Sunny met his gaze.
Then promptly turned his head and began to whistle innocently.
'Traitor.'
He shifted his eyes to Nephis, silently mouthing Help me. Nephis, eyes averted and a faint blush on her cheeks, was suddenly very interested in the ground.
EHHHH?! Asher screamed internally.
His lust was growing... 'Damned flaw! I just called her family! Yes, Yes! She is family!' He didn't know what to do. The body he currently had, was suffering from the grace of all kinds of hormones.
'It's going to be dangerous at this rate...'
"Hey Cassie, what do you mean you were a burden? You distracted the scavenger by crying, which gave me a chance to catch my breath!" He said, trying to be as cheerful as possible.
Sunny and Nephis shot him disapproving looks while Cassie, once again, was on the verge of tears. Asher's face turned pale as he realized what he just said.
He could think straight due to panic. His damned flaw was only making things worse.
He looked at Cassie, whose tears were flowing freely again. 'What the hell do you want me to say?!' he thought, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. He grimaced as he could feel the wetness building up.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
'If I did my math right, she should get off me when I say this.'
He winced dramatically and groaned. "Ugh… Cassie, my body's still hurting…"
Cassie immediately pulled back like she'd touched a hot stove, gasping, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make it worse!"
Asher exhaled a long, blessed breath of relief. Crisis averted.
He turned and shot a scathing glare at Sunny and Nephis, who had resumed their impeccable whistling routine. Nephis even had the gall to squint at him, like he was the problem.
Unbelievable.
Clearing his throat, Asher stood up a little straighter and tried to sound professional. "Ahem. Anyway. We should move. My little scuffle probably made a lot of noise. Wouldn't be surprised if something nasty's heading our way."
Nephis had a thoughtful look on her face and nodded in agreement.
Asher grinned as he sensed his Echo nearby. He turned around to see it holding over a dozen soul shards. Asher's eyes lit up, practically drooling as he reached for them. Suddenly, a pale hand stopped him. Asher narrowed his eyes at Sunny. "Hey, flower-boy. What are you doing?" he said in a deep voice.
"Stopping you from touching these..." Sunny replied in an equally deep voice, his face darkening.
Asher looked at Sunny with a deadpan expression. "Sunny... you're going to give them to Neph anyway... Why the HELL are you stopping me?"
Sunny returned the expression. "Because it would be better for the group to strengthen Nephis instead of wasting these soul shards on a pussy like you."
Asher's face twisted into a grimace, a vein popping on his temple. He increased the weight of his arm, causing Sunny to flinch. Asher was extremely mad because, frustratingly, Sunny's words rang true. Sunny physically couldn't lie.
"YOU BASTARD LIAR, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT NEPHIS' STRENGTH! YOU'RE SIMPLY SADISTIC!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LIAR! I AM THE MOST HONEST MAN IN THE WORLD! TWO WORLDS EVEN!"
Asher smirked, adjusting his imaginary glasses. "Sunny, you didn't deny the second part of my sentence..."
Sunny flinched as his flaw forced him to speak. "Ermmmm... Y-Yeah, I am sadistic in circumstances..."
'Time to have some fun...'
"So, Sunny, you admit you get happy from seeing me suffer?"
Sunny shrugged, a grin spreading across his face. "Well, yeah. It's entertaining."
Asher's grin widened. "In that case, how about we test your honesty a bit more? How many times have you secretly wished I'd trip over my own feet during my spar with Nephis yesterday?"
Sunny gritted his teeth, his flaw compelling him to respond. "Fifteen times... and once I actually put a rock in your path to make it happen."
Asher's eyes widened. "You little—"
Nephis, unable to hold back anymore, interrupted. "Guys, enough. We have bigger things to worry about than your petty squabbles." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she saw Asher and Sunny give each other death stares.
Then Asher turned to Nephis, his eyes widened, "Petty? PETTY? WHY IS EVERYONE CALLING ME PETTY?!"
Nephis shook her head, exasperated. 'Why am I stuck with these idiots?' she thought. But a small smile tugged at her lips.