Eva's time at the Soul Devouring Tree had been cut short. Upon Sunny getting Blood Weave, they immediately planned building a boat and leaving.
Eva could have taken Blood Weave, sure, however there was a huge problem. She couldn't kill the bird itself. It would just drain her soul essence and instantly kill her. Not only that, it would be incredibly painful, and she didn't feel like learning weaving nor searching for the remaining four pieces of Weaver's lineage.
So instead, she would go after something much more coveted and mysterious, Shadow God's blood. She was already planning to become Sunny's best friend, in fact she needed to in order to survive. He would also be a huge boom in helping with her goal.
There was also the matter of Eva's and Carmen's group project, Milo. As much as Eva hated to admit… he had become a number one threat. No matter how much she knew about who he was supposed to become and parts of his Aspect and the future, he was an anomaly.
He wasn't supposed to exist, not even as a background character. He had died when a Nightmare Creature had slipped past the defense line of a Nightmare Gate. He was supposed to die, yet he was chosen, and so he did not.
Which made Eva all the more spiteful, what right did that fool have to get mad at her? His Aspect was mediocre at best before hand. She had given him a Divine Aspect, and a unique one at that, yet now he had it out for her because of some stupid purpose? What a joke.
Regardless of his regrettable choices, he was an enemy. With Eva becoming the closest to Sunny, those two would likely be pitted up against each other soon enough. There was never a dull moment for Eva after all.
Eva watched the boat come together, that thing did not look comfortable to sit in, but she had to make due with all of it. Every last bit of advantage had to be hers… no matter the cost. These people were fake after all, regardless of how real they felt.
***
Milo's attempts to replicate the Metal Shell had been alright. It was strange, weaving itself. He thought the Spell was just making a clever name for the attribute and whatever sounded cool. He was so wrong
His weaving came in the form of digital blue strings of essence. Milo focused mainly on changing enchantments. He could see the ground work enchantments of what made a Memory a Memory. The enchantments of turning essence into solid matter, of self repairing, let alone storing a physical object in the soul. All of it was here, and it was intricate, so very intricate. If Milo hadn't been able to split his consciousness, he would've struggled a lot longer with this.
Fortunately, he could! So he was able to study each string of enchantments as intrinsically as needed all at once.
Safe to say, however, his brain felt entirely fried. Taking in all this new information while also working on orders from the Bright Lord wasn't easy.
He also felt anxious, Eva would be arriving anytime soon, and as soon as she did, he would be forced to act. She knew the future, and so foiling her plans before she could use that advantage would be paramount.
Even better, she couldn't predict his future through normal means of whatever future sight she had. Milo had the [Corrupted Data] attribute after all. However, Milo suspected she had still found a way to track him.
The Proof of Cooperation Lite. While it seemed useful, and it certainly was, he hadn't forgotten the enchantment description that mentioned you can see peoples locations.
Eva was likely using this to her advantage. Luckily, Milo had downloaded all the contents, and since the contents didn't include the enchantments, he could destroy it… right?
Unfortunately, no. The [Golden] enchantment, it seemed too useful to simply discard, so he had to bear this burden as much as anyone else.
A shame, but he could make it work. At least thats what Milo thought… not even four days into his arrival, they had appeared.
It was at this point that Milo and a few of his Artisan buddies had completed a set of warm lights to soften the atmosphere in breakfast.
Those buddies were Merlin, Olivia, and Vixon. Merlin and Vixon were inseparable partners. Olivia seemed to be a bit of a recluse but she was cool.
Milo kept one hand on the wires that powered the lights. What was the power source? Him of course.
The breakfast was a mix of monster meat stew and a drink that could almost replicate tea. Milo gladly enjoyed it.
"So, Milo, whats your next project going to be?" Merlin asked. Olivia also seemed curious.
Milo shrugged "I'll try and make some Memories. With any luck, I should be able to create myself some good ones. I could make more, but the hardest part is I can't be everywhere at once you know? One way or another, I have to figure out how to power these things and make them work outside of my presence."
That was the biggest issue. Milo simply couldn't create all this quality of life equipment that required his presence, which made him a very coveted person.
He had been offered to play music at a gambling den run by a petite woman named Aiko. He had occasionally played music in special occasions in the morning. Nothing more then some soft two century old jazz to lighten the mood.
He had gotten some free nights here at the castle as a result of his services. Today was one particularly day covered on his stay at the Bright Castle.
He considered staying, he had a comfy position as an Artisan. He got along well with the manager Kido. All in all there was no reason for him to leave to the outskirts below.
If Eva stayed here however, for even a second, he would be ready to leave as soon as finished making his gear.
"Maybe you just have to expand on what counts as you."
Milo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Merlin shrugged. "I mean you might just have to think about what counts as your presence after all. What if a keepsake of your own can count as you? For such a utility based Aspect, I doubt it would only be able to be wielded by you."
Milo nodded… "You're right. I'll test it-"
Then Milo heard a commotion. He looked up and saw…
He quickly turned away. He looked at his friends and gave a friendly smile. "I'll start working on your idea, thanks Merlin."
Merlin gave Milo a soft smile. "Just let me knw if you need help. I'll update you on whatever the hell is happening over there." Merlin turned to the commotion being caused by a beautiful girl with blonde hair, a pale skinned boy who had said some threats, and a tall girl with crimson eyes.
***
Milo quietly cursed to himself as he walked through the halls and corridors of the Bright Castle.
"I need to get out of here as soon as possible…"
Milo then bumped into someone. He quickly apologized, then he realized who he bumped into. Milo immediately swallowed down a gulp and kneeled in front of the imposing figure with bright golden armor that reflected Milo. The sight alone intimidated Milo.
"I'm sorry, Lord Gunlaug. I'm so sorry."
"It is alright, you may stand." Milo lowered his head as he passed, then he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Milo, whats this I hear about you wanting to leave? You are an… important person to the Bright Castle, why leave so soon."
Milo felt the grip on his shoulder tighten dangerously as if to say "Lets not do anything crazy now." Milo endured the pain and spoke.
Some newcomers… they're dangerous Lord Gunlaug. I don't mean to insult your abilities, but if you leave them alone… I'm certain one of them will cause you trouble. Her name is Eva.
Gunlaug listened intently, then he nodded. "I will keep that in mind Milo, you were headed ti the forge right? Please reconsider your decision of leaving."
Milo nodded. "I will, Lord Gunlaug." Milo hurried his steps to the forge. He had to prevent himself from crying right then and there. He grasped at where his chest had been pierced through, at where he had been violated. Where he had been forced down and made to change in a way he didn't want.
It made him sick, Milo felt like throwing up. He thought when he saw Eva, he would feel anger, he would feel seething rage. Why was he so scared? Why was he barely even able to move?
Milo quickly reached the forge. He had forgetten this feeling of powerlessness. He felt his mind flashing back to when he had been maimed and gutted in the schoom. How he could do nothing but sut there and accept his fate until he was saved.
Milo got to work, he split his consciousness into multiple streams.
'Never again, I refuse to feel that pathetic ever again!'