The walk to join up with the others was drenched with silence with neither brother sure of what to say to the other.
Douglas had his mind set on Emily’s safety while Alex pondered the implications of Ashtyx’s words.
The Absolute One was aware of him... or rather, the residual Will of the Absolute One was aware of him.
He’d thought he had done a pretty good job of hiding but that was just hubris talking.
Regardless, it ant he’d have to be more careful as with the residual Will acting as it was, it ant, he could only expect more troubling tis ahead.
Clicking his tongue, he soon arrived at an empty hall with Douglas.
Emptied of anything of note, it was a walled space with enough room capable of fitting a hundred people.
Currently inside were Nadia and Arwen who were drawing an arcane pattern on the ground while Elena and Victoria watched at the side with Victoria holding Emily in a princess carry.
Arthur was nowhere to be seen but Alex could still detect his presence within the castle walls.
Unwilling to disrupt the process, Alex watched the duo with interest, his mind calling back to the last ti he’d seen the two ladies walk together like this.
How ti flies.
A subtle hint of a smile ford at the corners of his lips only to notice sothing off from Arwen’s posture.
She seed... tired?
"Is it just or does Arwen look like soone who’s sleep-deprived?" Alex inquired.
Jolted from his thoughts, Douglas glanced at Arwen for a mont before replying. "Perhaps it’s because she hasn’t slept since the 1st Night."
"Why?"
"She doesn’t wish to dream."
Alex was just about to question further when he realized what Douglas was referring to.
Arwen, now stripped of her humanity, was even closer to her Banshee lineage which ant the dreams she was referring to were the death premonitions.
Considering the Month of Astra was a month filled with death and suffering, it must be a pain to sleep and wake up every morning with a new list of people destined for death.
In such a scenario, one could either avoid sleeping or retreat to sowhere remote lest their mind be pushed to the brink.
"Arwen." He called out gently.
Arwen looked over, her expression slightly haggard, a stark contrast to her appearance in the living room.
It would seem the arcane pattern needed much more than just chalk and artistic genius to be created.
"Co here."
"But..."
"I said co here." Alex intoned, leaving no room for argunt.
Letting out a sigh, she got to her feet and stepped out of the magic circle before making her way to stand before Alex.
"How do you feel?"
"Great."
"Don’t lie. You’ve not slept since the First Night and considering everything you’ve done so far, do you think it’s right to keep on pushing yourself?"
Arwen pursed her lips, unsure of how to respond.
"Get so rest. Even as a Cryptid, you do not have endless strength. So take the ti to rest. You are in a safe space."
"But I’m useful here."
"You’d be more useful rested. Now go to your room."
"..." Arwen still seed pretty reluctant, even glancing back, hopeful that Nadia would seek her aid.
Aware of her intentions, Alex took her hand and left the hall with her.
***
Arwen hardly struggled as despite her desire not to sleep, she couldn’t possibly defy Alex’s orders.
Soon enough, they reached her bedroom and Alex opened the door. "Inside."
"What if I have nightmares?" Arwen inquired, putting out the very reason she wished to avoid sleeping.
Alex reached out and patted her head. "Are you saying that we aren’t safe here?"
"What are the odds that we are?"
"Unpredictable. But in your current condition, you would end up collapsing due to exhaustion. I don’t want that. So get so rest."
Arwen hesitated but ultimately nodded in agreent as she stepped into the room and closed the door.
Letting out a sigh, Alex turned and left, hopeful that she would take his advice and rest.
***
Back at the hall, though the work slowed, Nadia managed to keep going without much problem.
Soon, the pattern was completed and on it, a horned goat skull in an inverted triangle was depicted.
Nadia slowly stepped out of the circle, gripping her grimoire in one hand while her other hand held the chalk she used for the inscription.
Alex entered at that mont and on seeing the depiction, took a mont to detect the faint traces of aether swirling about it.
It seed incomplete, however.
"We need precious items. Ordinary candles or scents won’t suffice. Only the most expensive." Nadia intoned.
Victoria nodded. "I’ll see what I have in the vaults."
Then, she made to leave, handing Emily over to Douglas before exiting.
In the anwhile, Alex ca to stand beside Nadia as he inquired. "Before we go further, I need to know, what are the risks entailed?"
Nadia took a mont to gather her thoughts before pulling open her grimoire for a quick scan. "According to the Codex Gigas, though all Devils are inclined to feed on n and adore won, the tendencies exist on a spectrum. Lady Xistora, the Devil of Sloth, ranks the lowest in terms of most likely to kill a man while Arris, the Devil of Wrath, is ranked the highest."
"And Amase?"
" She is ranked as neutral."
"So we don’t have to worry too much about her attacking myself and Douglas once she arrives."
"What we may have to worry about if she answers our call is if sothing happens to catch her interest and more tis than not, whatever catches the interest of Amase is sothing that humans cannot bear to part with."
"And if we don’t give it to her?" Alex inquired though he already had an inkling of what the answer would be.
Taking a deep breath, Nadia replied. "She’d steal our souls for her collection."
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