Shadow Slave: Not a very laid back life.

[A/N: I SWEAR, I AM NOT KIDDING! I slept for like 14 hours continuously! Is there something wrong with me???]

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Asher took a step back, "Respectfully, please don't."

Nephis fell into thought, "Can I... choke you then?"

"No"

"Stab you."

"No."

"Bite you?"

"Maybe..."

"..."

"NO NO!"

Nephis' expression finally cracked somewhat; Her face only describable as ambivalent.

"Then..."

She looked at him in the eyes.

"Then why... didn't you ever come and meet us?"

"N-" Asher froze mid sentence, looking at her.

"Uh.."

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2 AND A HALF MONTHS AGO

Asher finally caught sight of the bright castle.

His hand began to shake while his eyes became a bit blurry, burgeoning with tears.

One and a half month of simply fighting nightmare creatures without any human contact...

"I thought I was going to lose my mind…" he whispered, hastily wiping his face. He wasn't a pathfinder, but he was someone akin to a monkey, easily jumping roof to roof while reducing his weight just enough to avoid collapsing the brittle tiles beneath him in the Dark City.

Tap.

He stopped on a particular roof, looking in front of him.

A cathedral loomed ahead.

Even from here, he could feel the weight of the presence inside. He swallowed hard.

"Should I visit him?"

He quickly shook his head.

No way.

Sunny would instantly suspect something if Asher showed up, especially since there was no reason he should know Sunny was there. He sighed and kept moving.

Before long, the scenery changed. The outer settlement came into view.

Soot and dust coated his face. His hair was wild and matted, and his armor was ripped in several places, exposing the pale jade skin beneath. People gave him strange looks as he passed. Asher lowered his head, bangs falling over his sapphire eyes to avoid their gaze.

Eventually, he reached a lodge.

He stood still, a hundred thoughts racing through his head.

That's the one… right?

Fifty meters away. Curtain entrance fluttering in the breeze.

He stared at it.

Because of his ragged appearance—and the fact that most of his features were obscured by his hair—he was drawing attention. A lot of it. But that was the idea.

He couldn't just walk up and say, "Yeah! I'm alive!"

That would be WAYY too awkward.

Maybe… maybe Nephis would come out. Maybe she'd recognize him.

Or maybe—

"Hey, sir… Can we ask what you're doing here?"

Asher turned slightly.

Two outer hunters stood nearby, watching him with guarded expressions.

Asher looked at them through his bangs as his lips parted.

"I-I.." His lips closed as he gulped.

Seemed like the time he spent yelling at nightmare creatures to die in the crimson lybirath really did a number on his communication skill.

'Darn.'

 He took a deep breath and spoke, "I-I am looking for Nephis! C-Could you call her?" The two hunters looked at him with narrowed eyes, scanning him from head to toe. 

One of them sighed leaving as the other asked with a irritated expression. "Who are you?"

Asher's eye twitched as he sucked in another breath. 

"A frwend of Neph."

He winced at his mispronunciation.

The hunter clicked his tongue, muttering something under his breath—"Ridiculous."—before turning to leave.

"Lady Changing Star went on an expedition to the Crimson Labyrinth. She's not here."

Asher stood there in silence, watching the hunter walk away.

Asher reached a grim realization. He wasn't part of Neph's cohort anymore. 

He 'died'.

There were a series of other things he thought of in his mind.

Would the crowd accept him?

Would he be likable?

What would his role in the cohort even be?

But all of it dwarfed compared to what one cycling thought.

"It's going to be awkward to meet her." 

It reminded him of that strange discomfort you feel returning to school after being out sick for a month. That weird tension in your chest. You miss your friends—sure—but a quiet, anxious part of you doesn't want to face them again. It's worse if you're an introvert.

Except for Asher, it was far beyond that.

His friends didn't think he was sick—they thought he was dead.

Not to mention his flaw...

He let out a dry laugh, the sound barely a whisper.

"I'll meet them one day anyway," he muttered to himself.

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Nephis looked at Asher with wide eyes, something neither Asher nor Sunny were used too. Though Sunny also looked at Asher with wide eyes. 

All three of them were introverts in their own regard albeit, different types but this!?

"This might be the dumbest reason I've ever heard," Sunny said flatly, stepping back like he needed physical space to process it. His eyes were still locked on Asher, utterly stupefied.

Nephis opened her mouth to speak… then closed it.Then opened it again.Nothing came out.

She glanced at Asher—who, to make matters worse, wore the most sheepish, idiotic expression imaginable.

Nephis wasn't someone who got angry easily. But now?

Her body felt so hot she suspected her lineage attribute might evolve.

She exhaled sharply, brushing her hair behind her ear as she noticed a few onlookers staring. Without another word, she turned.

"Let's talk inside the lodge," she said coolly, walking off.

Sunny groaned and followed.

Nephis had come to understand something about Asher.

Asher could change—grow stronger, fight monsters, survive impossible odds, maybe even become a bit mature…

But deep down, he'd always be the same idiot they knew.

Asher watched them walk away, panic rising in his chest. He rushed forward, waving his hands a bit.

"Guys! Come on! I knew we'd meet eventually, okay? It's not like I was planning to hide forever!"

"…"

"…"

Both Nephis and Sunny shot him synchronized glares that made him instantly regret speaking.

He shivered.

'At least my fans would understand… right?' he thought to himself.

…Right?

Somehow, he doubted it.

Nephis pulled the lodge curtain aside.

Asher stepped in—and froze.

Familiar faces.

His expression turned strange as all eyes fell on him.

'Gulp.'