Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

As they climbed higher, the dark sewers receded into the distance; the world was still in twilight, the orange sunset casting long shadows of them on the ladders, their shadows falling on the town below. The town, which should have been elegant and beautiful under the sunset, hid unknown darkness in its corners, blending with the shadows they cast; the sunlight could not bring them any warmth, madness and bloodshed still surrounded them at all times.

After climbing the long ladder, the town streets came into view. Xiaoyan dealt with a burly man carrying a statue who charged at them without saying a word, then climbed another short ladder and finally arrived at the town gate.

As soon as they landed on the platform in front of the town gate, they heard a pleasant music box melody. They saw a house next to the gate with dim light shining through the windows and a chandelier hanging beside them, suggesting that someone lived inside.

Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment, but decided to test the local residents' attitude. She stepped forward and knocked hard on the window frame that was nailed tightly with chains and steel bars.

Is anyone inside?

The music box suddenly stopped playing, and only the clanging sound echoed in the deserted street corner.

"Who...who are you? I don't recognize your voice..."

Just as the knocking was about to stop, a little girl's clear voice drifted through the window and reached their ears. Xiaoyan was pondering how to introduce herself. These locals probably didn't know what ash was. Perhaps she could introduce herself as a warrior?

"Hmm...but I recognize your scent...are you a hunter?"

Fortunately, the little girl herself saved herself the trouble, and she didn't mind playing this role, which seemed to be a very recognizable profession among the local residents.

"That's right, we are hunters."

"You?...Are there two hunters outside my house?"

“That’s right, I have a companion…”

"Y-you...hello! We are indeed two hunters..."

It seems that Asahina's shyness is an incurable habit; she even stumbles and bumps into a little girl when greeting her.

"In that case, could you two sisters help me find my mother? My father went hunting and never came back. My mother went to look for him, but now she's gone too... I'm so lonely... and so scared..."

Xiaoyan frowned. She had originally wanted to gather intelligence, but instead of getting any useful information, she was asked to make a request.

"How about...we...no, Akemi-san should be in a hurry to go back and reunite with her companions...so we should...no...no..."

She did have considerations about refusing, and Asahina clearly guessed her inclination by observing her expression, but when she tried to say the words of refusal along with Homura, she just couldn't finish the word.

The petite girl's state was somewhat eerie. Her pupils were wide open, as if she were staring at some distant scene, a scene that must have made her very uncomfortable. She hugged her chest with both hands, trembling with fear. Darkness flowed beneath her feet, as if it would swallow her whole if she uttered that word.

"I'm sorry! I really made a request that put my sisters in a difficult position... It's the night of the hunt, and even as hunters, you yourselves are barely able to protect yourselves. My request was indeed too much... If you sisters are unwilling, then..."

"No, we will help you find your mother."

A cool voice interrupted the flustered little girl and pulled Asahina back from the brink of complete succumb. She turned her head in surprise and saw a delicate yet strong hand covering her chestnut hair.

She was gently patted on the head.

"R-Really?" ×2

"Of course, Ash never goes back on his word."

The flowing darkness vanished, and it lay dormant again, waiting for its master to reveal a weakness so it could devour her completely.

"Oh! Thank you! My mom is wearing a ruby ​​brooch, it's so big and beautiful, you'll definitely see it! Oh, and I mustn't forget, if you see my mom, please give her this music box... play one of Dad's favorite songs. If Dad forgets about us, we'll play the song for him and he'll remember. Mom's so silly, she forgot to bring this music box when she went out!"

The window was opened a crack, a red ribbon flashed by, and then an exquisite music box was placed on the windowsill.

The window was pulled up again.

Homura picked up the music box, thought for a moment, but didn't open it directly. Instead, she handed it to Asahina, indicating that she should keep it safe.

Asahina paused for a moment, seemingly not understanding why Homura wanted to give her the box, but when she met those firm black eyes, she timidly looked away and obediently put the music box away.

"We have received the items. Please wait patiently for our message."

"Yes! I will pray for my two older sisters' safety when I pray for my parents!"

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Chapter Eight Dragonfly

A sharp glint of light flashed suddenly.

The sword, piercing diagonally in front of the white-haired youth, with a smirk, delivered a simple, unadorned slash that cleaved the grinning ash soldier in two, along with his helmet, armor, flesh, and bones.

Blood rained down, and the red aura emanating from the body of the Dark Spirit made the splattered blood appear even more crimson.

Blood ripples through the air as he raises his sword in a stance known as the "Eight Phases of the Dragonfly," set against a crimson backdrop. His lips, like blades slicing through the air, unleash a torrent of murderous intent across the entire battlefield.

The white-haired boy pressed his right hand, which was holding a knife, tightly. The blood in his left eye was almost overflowing from its socket. The immense force made the knuckles of his right hand crack and pop. However, the girl he couldn't help but raise her knife to strike was the one who had saved him and was now emitting a murderous aura that made his heart tremble.

As if sensing something, Zhi turned her head to the side. Her bright golden-white pupils stared at him for only a moment before pulling him out of some terrifying memory.

He covered his left eye with his left hand, panting heavily, while Ash, transformed from a murderer, charged alone into the wolf pack.

Undeterred, the swords slashed and cleaved, then slashed and cleaved again.

Regardless of whether the wolf pack, transformed into demonic wolves, is pouncing, harassing, surrounding, or flanking, Zhi simply swings her raised katana at any target that enters her attack range.

The "Dragonfly Eight Forms" stance lives up to its name; each step is like the flapping of a dragonfly's wings, seemingly hovering in the air, yet capable of launching a deadly dive at any moment. The swordswoman's body remains at the upper level, only plunging forward with a sudden, sharp drop when unleashing the Great Kessabi Slash, carrying the gleam of the blade and an unwavering resolve to plunge the blade into the enemy's body with all her might.

Therefore, none of her men could withstand her attacks. If a soldier blocked, she would cut him down along with his weapon; if a soldier raised his shield, she would cleave it in two; if a soldier launched a strong attack, she would reap his life with her blade before his spear or blade could reach him.

Her golden-white eyes flickered, and anything she could make out was no different from paper. With each swing of her sword, she took away an intruder. Step by step, her momentum had reached its peak. Even the demonized wolf pack was now intimidated by the golden flames of the ashes and stopped in their tracks.

The previously tense situation was thus abruptly cut short by the woven blade. After paying the price of four or five lives, the wolf pack regrouped and once again formed a disciplined formation.

In an instant, the wolf pack turned into a hedgehog. The Ash Soldiers' shields were linked together, and their spears were linked together, with spear tips protruding from the gaps in the shields, turning the entire force into an infantry square.

The surging momentum of Zhi was instantly dumbfounded, simply because the strength of Shigenryu lies in the fact that every enemy facing her is killed by her in the first instant, so the next time she faces an enemy will still be the same. As long as she keeps killing, she can turn a battle of one against many into a one-on-one duel by adjusting the rhythm of her attacks.

However, the samurai of the Far Eastern island nation had never faced a Western infantry spear formation before. No katana master knew where to strike this hedgehog of countless people. Looking left and right, Zhi realized that if she approached the spear formation, she would likely face more than three spears at once—a disaster for someone dressed as a kimono expert.

She had heard of a secret sword technique that could unleash three strikes in an instant, and she desperately hoped that her swordsmanship teacher had taught her this technique so that she could still forcefully cut into the hedgehog formation. However, her teacher was neither a Heroic Spirit nor possessed a powerful swordsmanship technique that could be classified as a Noble Phantasm based solely on skill.

So Zhi's momentum faltered, and she jumped back a few steps, landing back into the small group of three Fran guards.

"Hey teammates, you showed off your skills first, then I showed off mine, and now it's your turn. Go for it! Show us your best tricks and take down that giant hedgehog over there!"

A cheerful smile returned to Zhi's lips. She carried her katana and patted the black-haired boy's shoulder in a carefree manner. The boy, who had just been frightened by Zhi's unstoppable swordplay, was now speechless after her true colors were revealed. He was also hit hard on the shoulder and couldn't answer for a moment.

"His coolness only lasts three seconds," Misaka commented sharply.

However, it doesn't matter if the captain isn't up to par, because the team has someone with a sharp tongue. The tea-haired girl's witty remarks are just as she said, like sharp arrows that pierce right into Zhi's heart.

"Well, there's absolutely no way to refute that."

"Ahem, I do have a suggestion."

The young captain barely recovered. He readjusted his stance while keeping a watchful eye on the slowly advancing infantry formation.

"Please speak freely, Captain!"

"Our original intention was to escort you to the Farron Fortress, Miss. There was absolutely no need to fight them to the death here, so..."

"So now is the time to implement the 'last of the Thirty-Six Stratagems'. Hmm, Captain, you truly are a leader, your wisdom is extraordinary."

"Haha, anyone could have guessed that."

"Damn it, Misaka doesn't want to deal with these guys anymore."

While the two ahead were still boasting, the brown-haired girl and the white-haired boy had already taken off running towards the entrance of the Fran Fortress. Zhi slapped the black-haired boy's shoulder hard again and immediately caught up with the two ahead, not forgetting to make a sarcastic remark before leaving.

"So the task of covering the rear is entrusted to the captain~"

The black-haired boy had a look of utter frustration on his face. After realizing that the Ash Soldiers were about to abandon their formation and come after them, he had no choice but to swallow his anger. He sheathed his two swords, put his hands into his bag, held four throwing knives between each of his ten fingers, and flicked his wrists to scatter them in a fan shape at the pursuers.

Without even looking at his own results, he turned around and ran towards his unreliable teammates.

Several lightning spears grazed past him, but the real ranged attacks provided him with cover fire. The Ash Soldiers were a step too slow; after taking the lightning spears, they roared and chased after him.

"Hi~ beautiful lady, can you explain to me what's going on with those soldiers?"

The calm water was shattered as the rushing figures frightened away the innocent little crabs, who frantically dodged the running crowd, leaving more transparent streaks in the mirror-like surface. Zhi caught up with the brown-haired girl, and, as if they were old friends, ran alongside her, asking the question that had lingered in the girl's mind ever since the invasion.

"They're just a bunch of ashes who like to play mass invasion," Do Misaka said, not wanting to talk to this guy any longer, so she gave him a few perfunctory replies.

"Hey, you've already said you were just being perfunctory, so can you give me an explanation that you weren't being perfunctory?"

"They are nothing but ashes," Misaka replied succinctly.

"Isn't that a bit too simplistic? I want to know more than just who they are; I also want to know where they came from and where they're going!"

"Sorry, the correct answers to the three philosophical questions could not be found in Misaka's knowledge records. Misaka cleverly avoided the question again."

"Ahhh! I'm not kidding you, please don't make random comments!"

"I didn't complain, I just made a couple of sarcastic remarks out of habit," explained Do Misaka.

Zhi discovered for the first time that being expressionless could actually enhance one's sharp tongue. This emotionless girl was now driving her almost crazy with her inorganic voice. She was so glad that Xiao Yan hadn't mastered the skill of being sharp-tongued yet. It seemed she should stop trying to act silly in front of her. It wouldn't be good if Xiao Yan gained too much experience in making sarcastic remarks and evolved into someone with a sharp tongue.

"Ahaha, please don't mind her, Miss. That's just how Misaka is. You'll get used to it."

"Then the commentary is up to you, good-natured captain. Do Misaka can find a reason to get away from this noisy guy."

The black-haired boy with a friendly smile caught up, and the brown-haired girl took the opportunity to get away from Zhi. However, judging from the occasional lightning spear she hurled behind her, this girl was a bit sharp-tongued, but surprisingly, she was a dutiful warrior.

"So, Captain, could you answer my question from earlier?"

"Well, Misaka has been right all along. They are indeed Ashes, but from the moment they entered the World of the Flame, they were taken in by a certain organization. They and their organization stand against us—whether we are local or otherworldly Ashes—and are plotting actions that could plunge this world into chaos. Their invasion of the Forest of Crucifixion to prevent the new Ashes from approaching Farron Fortress is just one of their series of actions."

"Oh, so they're the culprits behind the changes in the World of Fire?"

"That's one way to understand it."

"Ha, what's the point of doing this? As long as we don't use the embers, they won't be able to invade us, will they?"

"But their actions have seriously affected the progress of other Ashbringers! Can you imagine how it feels to go through countless deaths to become familiar with all the strategies on a map, and just when you're ready to go in comfortably to get revenge after memorizing the map, you find that the strategies have changed and you get ambushed and killed again?"

Seemingly stirred by some unbearable past events, this usually gentle, kind-hearted black-haired boy couldn't help but reveal an expression of utter grief and indignation.

"How can a game be made like this! I can tolerate the clichés everywhere, but the clichés keep changing. Isn't this just designed to rip off players? Where I'm from, who would play this kind of crappy game unless it's mandatory to stay online?"

It seems the black-haired boy harbors a deep resentment about his completely ruined memorization. However, he uses games as a metaphor for everything, which makes it seem like he doesn't know much about the truth of this world. Is it that he knows but is unwilling to admit it, or is he genuinely unaware? This directly reflects the attitude of the veteran Ash. Zhi had already noticed that none of the three had awakened, so she was very curious about their level of understanding of this world.

"Captain, I have to interrupt your conversation because we're in trouble," Do Misaka reminded her teammates, who showed no signs of tension.

The lords of this land were enraged by the invasion of their territory. Two enormous crabs brazenly crossed the pool, blocking the Ashes' only route to Farron Keep.

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Chapter Nine: Exploration

After saying goodbye to the little girl, the two Ashes had an additional task while searching for information about this world. It seemed that the two tasks did not conflict. They did not know where the little girl's mother was, nor did they know how to return to the World of Fire.