Nico could feel his toes. They were cold and wet. His eyelids were sealed shut, refusing to open. This was the second time he’d woken up after losing consciousness. He decided to look at his runes as he waited. It was tranquil. A thin layer of water over a void. Ripples permeated through the water, and Nico saw his core. It glowed dimly, surrounded by smaller dots, like stars in the sky.

His core was shrouded in a cloud of some sort, and when nico touched it, it parted. Interesting. It felt familiar to him. It was foreign, but welcomed in his soul sea.

‘I wonder what it is.’ Nico moved on, summoning the balls of echoes. Ape was the most damaged of the two, still recovering from the battle. Nico pressed a hand on the warm surface, standing there not knowing what to do.

Suddenly he was dragged out and he opened his eyes.

“Welcome back to the living.” Vivian stood above him, her face shaded by her hair. His body hurt, so it was back to normal. He sat up slowly and noticed Lucy pull back. She gave a dim smile before getting up.

“She healed you.” Vivian said, answering the unasked question. ‘So that's why they brought her.’ Nico had respect for the sleeper.

“Thank you.” He said. She turned around and gave a weary smile.

The sun was out, a very rare moment. Vivian brought him some water and Nico was able to stand after a few minutes.

“The other guys went ahead to scout the road.”

“So what happened?”

“After you turned yourself to barbecue?” He nodded.

“The Wraiths were fried alone with you, and those that weren’t hit fled. Justin and I finished off the goats and we dragged your body up the mountain for weeks” Vivian looked out to the valley below.

“Weeks!?” Vivian nodded.

“You were half dead most of the time. If it wasn’t for Lucy’s care, you would have died day one after being struck by lightning.

“The swarm of bugs is still there, so we are going to need to chart a path around them.”

“Is that safe?”

“No, but it’s the only option.” Vivian picked up a charred pole, and it took Nico a moment to recognize it. It was [Backstabber]. The memory had survived. Nico summoned it back to his soul sea, feeling it return gave him some comfort. They mingled around for a bit, trying to cook. Nico wasn’t half bad, but was nothing compared to Lucy. The sleeper had fallen asleep shortly after Nico woke up, looking absolutely exhausted and ten years older.

Nuco summoned the mirror. His longer hair proved he'd been out for a while. He pulled a few strands out and braced them like his mom used to do. Then he tied his hair back in a stubby white ponytail.

“The bugs are staying in the valley, so it will be easy to climb around them.” Justin hadreturned, informing them of what they saw. According to him, the bugs migrated along a water path and they should be able to avoid them. The only problem is that the mountain path brings them awfully close to the swarm. Nico had already dealt with the locusts; he was just about done with bugs.

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“I received word that the locusts have disappeared from the jungle entirely.” This news hit big. Vivia’s eyes widened and stared. “I know it sounded outrageous at first, but Cobra Lily confirmed it, they vanished. We won’t have to worry about them, so we can focus on our mission here.”

“That means there's a possibility that we can escape soon.” Vivian didn’t sound too optimistic, but she was starting to look it.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have to get past the bugs first.” They both nodded and Justin checked on Lucy. Byron remained watchful, facing the valley of bugs. From the high vantage point, the bugs looked like fat cows, but Nico knew that that was just wistful thinking.

“What do you plan to do after you get out of the dream realm?” Nico looked at Byron. The dark orange haired man didn’t look at Nico and opened his mouth.

“Home.” He smiled a little and put his fingers to his lips, miming zipping them.

“Your flaw?” The man nodded. Nico couldn’t imagine how hard it was to communicate without a voice. He looked at himself. He couldn’t imagine how he’d gotten here himself.

Byon raised his hand and pointed down the slope. The herd of bugs was moving. Nico paled, they were getting closer to them. Byron turned and waved at Marcus and Justin. Soon everyone, except Lucy was on the edge, and on edge.

“We need to move.” Justin was serious but composed. Byron picked up Lucy and Vivian helped Nico walk steadily. Without ape, it was going to be harder for him to move with the group. They rushed down the mountain path, trying to get out of the way of the moving swarm. The bugs would move out of their way, leaving them free to climb the otherside, but first their paths would cross here.

Nico felt his heart pound in his neck each step he took. Vivian cast worried glances every so often at the monster horde. Another step closer.

“Cover.” Justin whispered. The swarm was on top of them. Marcus and Byron huddled behind a rock, holding Lucy between them. Justin pulled his blades out, ready for combat, and put his back behind a tall rock pillar.

Nico scrambled with Vivian to get behind another rock, and he tripped.

‘Damnit.’ Nico cursed in his head and got behind the rock with Vivian. They were close now. He could hear her breath, and smell her damp hair. It smelled like wet grass.

Then Nico heard the steps of multiple pairs of legs. Nico covered his mouth, and held his breath. The nose of a giant beetle poked around where he tripped. They waited silently as the bug inspected the area. It shifted and saw them.

Nico moved first. He summoned Backstabber and Locust. But they would take precious seconds to manifest. The bug, however, could kill them straight away. Vivian pulled him out of the way of the bug, who rammed into the rocks. Locust appeared overhead and Nico ordered it to make noise away from them. It screeched loudly, and the scuttling of hundreds of bugs turned into a stampede.

[Backstabber] was in Nico’s hands, but the bug was already moving again. Marcus rushed forward and swung his axes onto the bug's armor. Sparks went flying, and it snapped at the man. That’s when something disgusting happened.

Marcus’s midriff extended back, avoiding the bug like it had a mind of its own. Nico held in the urge to vomit and got up. Byron punched the bug, staggering it, and Nico swung his scythe. The blade slid against the monster's armor, leaving a deep cut, but nothing more. Marcus was back to normal and swung his ax up into the bug’s chin. The bug reared, sending droplets of blood everywhere.

Byron grabbed one of its legs and ripped it off, and Justin joined the fight, attacking its exposed underbelly.

Vivian shot the eyes, and Nico swung again, digging the scythe into the monster's stomach. Nico felt the scythe vibrate as the bug hissed and it was wretched out of his hands. The bug was running.

Vivian whistled and everyone turned towards her. Byron stood in front with his hands extended, like he was giving someone a hug. Then the bug blocked my view. It rammed into Byron, but the man held, and the bug stopped dead in its tracks.

They all attacked. Justin cut, Nico swung, and Marcus hacked. The bug dropped down and Marcus let out a small celebration.

“This thing is an awakened Beast.” He said. ‘So he dealt the final blow.' Nico mentally grumbles. The corpse vanished, replaced with Vivian. Nico recalled Locust and they walked away from that almost disaster.