Day awoke from his reverie a few hours later, just as promised, in a whirling stupor. He was unbelievably drowsy, to the point where Aya had to lift him up off of the bed, and even then he was still tumbling over. It took him a few moments to orient himself, and even when he did, he just stood there silently staring into space.
He felt absolutely amazing in comparison to before he was put to sleep.
He could tell immediately that his shattered arm had drastically healed, and it was now tied up against his body in a tight bandage.
And on top of that, there was no longer blood covering his body. He felt… clean. Day, of course, was not actually particularly clean, but apparently, in his slumber, Aya had cleaned the blood up, and that made him feel much better.
He would be embarrassed about the prospect of being cleaned up like he was a child, but Aya was very obviously much older than him, and for some reason, after those few moments before he fell asleep and the interaction subsequent to his arrival, he couldn't get the thought that she was just a nice doctor who liked music out of his mind.
"Well, Day… It took you a few minutes to get up, but you can still make it to the main keep before nightfall! Ah, jeez–- I'm so excited to go to sleep! I'm skipping dinner tonight!"
Aya's voice was cheerful, but in the second half of her sentence, her voice was almost booming with joy.
Day looked over at her languidly. He blinked, and his eyes closed one by one from left to right before then opening in the opposite direction.
"Huh?"
Aya frowned deeply. She looked at him for a few moments, as if contemplating what to say, and then she smiled… but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Get out… and go find your friend. Oh, and don't forget to come back tomorrow."
Her response was bitter, but Day didn't really mind it… or notice it.
He smiled at her happily and then nodded. At this point, he was really starting to shake off the sleep, and thus, he understood that it was time to depart.
That was the only thing he understood though.
"Thank you. I'll be back."
Aya waved him off dismissively with a, 'mhm.'
Day took a deep breath and then started towards the door. He didn't quite know how to describe how he was feeling. It, in a way, perpetually felt like those few moments after one wakes up where nothing anyone says registers in their mind entirely, but they can still automate their movements and get where they need to go.
He walked down the stairs of the Tower of Blades and held onto the rails lining the walls like an old man who required them to get down safely. Day began humming a sweet, soft tune.
"One, two, one two three four~"
Day, after a few flights of stairs, eventually reached the exit of the Tower. He stepped outside, and unlike before, it was much, much more desolate. There was barely a soul around, and the people who were around… Sort of reminded him of the ones that ignored him when he first began his journey to find the Tower of Blades.
Day stared at them for a few moments, and then slapped his cheek a few times and pinched his skin.
"I'm only just noticing," Day said to himself with a yawn, "I was really, really out of it… Does Aya's ability have a similar effect to an anesthetic or something…? I feel drugged up…"
Now that he was actually fully awake, he was able to take in the scene more deeply. It was still daytime, but judging by the lack of people, Day had a feeling it wouldn't be for long. It was still just as bright as it was hours before by way of the crimson spire, however, the vibe felt like that of a sunset, which was certainly fresh.
Day started walking slowly through twists and turns and up stairs until he reached the main keep. Just as he expected, there were quite a few people standing outside, however, it wasn't that many.
Day looked around. He very, very vaguely remembered Aya saying he would be able to reach here before nightfall. Day had the inclination to believe a Legacy like Caster, or at least anyone with decency, would arrive somewhat early so that it wasn't a problem finding the other party.
And Day was correct. He saw Caster standing among a few people chatting. He had a charming smile on his princely face, as per usual. However, it felt different in some way, since it wasn't aimed at Day mockingly.
Just as Day was about to start towards Caster… In a mere few seconds, the radiant shine basking the Dream Realm in its luminous glow suddenly faded away, leaving only tenebrous darkness after its departure.
Day turned back to gaze at the source of light– the spire, but then quickly turned away.
'Yeah, no, not looking at that.'
When there was nothing but darkness… Seeing something of such grand proportions being an absolute was quite eerie.
So much so that he felt like his sanity was trickling away.
Day, to get his mind off of the creeping feeling, started towards Caster and the group he was with. He quickly reached their location, and then sifted through. For a moment, Caster and Day locked eyes. Caster's eyes widened, and then he started walking forward. His steps parted the people near him, and he quickly reached Day to stand in front of him.
Day stared at him for a few moments, and then his stomach sunk to the floor. He began tapping his feet incessantly, and his eyes started to shoot around something was terribly wrong.
'Oh man, I shouldn't… I really shouldn't, but..!'
"You look like a goober." Day blurted out, and with that, he felt completely relieved of all of his stress.
Caster's face contorted, and the smile he held moments before changed into an gaping mouth that screamed pure confusion.
"Wh- What does that even mean?" Caster asked, his voice soft and contemplative.
He said in a tone that was partially questioning, but also confused, like he understood what Day was saying, but he just didn't want to believe it.
Day didn't really want to continue, but Caster asked, so…
"I'm saying you look… Uh, no offense, but I was saying you look like an idiot."
"You can't just…" Caster started quietly, "Say 'no offense,' and then…"
"I feel like I'm having a one sided conversation here," Day started cheekily, a grin creeping up onto his face, "is that just me?"
Caster groaned softly and then turned away.
"I'm starting to wonder if I chose the right companion."
Caster took a few steps forward, and then started mumbling just loud enough to where Day could hear it.
"I'm just going to… forget this happened. How about we get some dinner and then we can chat about our plans going forward? I think I have a good idea… I spent some time digging, and I have a fairly basic, but important idea of how things work around here."
The people Caster was previously talking to were long gone at this point, so their journey to the main keeps dining hall was smooth sailing. When they entered, it was… quite busy, but solemn and quiet. It felt like nobody really wanted to speak, but to Day, that was odd, because he felt like earlier in the day people were just fine talking.
'Hmm…'
Day scanned the large room, and then he noticed the fact that there were guards lining the walls.
'Maybe that's it? I guess I'd be pretty intimidated as well… or would I? I don't feel very intimidated. Maybe I'll start feeling more intimidated later. Gosh, I keep saying the word intimidated, it's starting to feel like it isn't real…'
"..."
Day and Caster spent the next twenty minutes standing in the line for dinner quietly. When they received their rations and made their way to the nearest seat that they could sit across from each other from, by Caster's request, the mood became quite serious.
Day had a vague understanding that this was probably the time to be serious, so he decided not to break the ice. Instead, he simply stared at Caster silently while eating small bites of his food happily. Caster had said he found out some good information, so he was going to let him speak first.
Day wasn't sure what information it was, but if Caster, the Legacy, didn't care about sharing it in public, it had to be basic, just as he said.
Caster opened his mouth, and then began speaking.
"Castle guard, Hunters, and Pathfinders, are what people call The Host around here," Caster said matter of factly, "I'm just getting straight into it, since there's no use wasting time. The Castle Guard are just there to enforce laws, however… The Hunters and Pathfinders are where things get interesting, but I'll get back to that in a bit. However, I do want to ask… did you understand what Remi meant when she said she was a pathfinder?"
Day nodded. It was quite obvious when they began journeying to the Castle what exactly she meant. Day was quite interested in this new development. He could understand the Castle Guard and the Hunters, but why were Pathfinders a part of this supposed Host?
'Maybe there's no rhyme or reason to it, maybe they just have a different title in comparison to the Hunters because of their importance? Hmm… What even are the Hunters exactly? I have a basic idea, but…'
Before Day could continue his thought process, Caster continued speaking. Day decided to listen closely instead of spacing out. He was hopeful that Caster would answer his questions.
"There are also the Handmaidens and the Artisans. I don't quite understand the role of the Handmaidens, even though it… Doesn't seem particularly pleasant. However, the Artisans' role is more obvious, they just make living here much less miserable. Ah, also, in case you didn't know, this place is called the Forgotten Shore."
Day nodded again in confirmation, but he didn't explicitly state the fact that he knew the name. He was just giving him an overall confirmation to continue.
'Aya probably hired an artisan to make her piano… but she said it took six months to find. Do they charge a lot? Or is there something else amiss?"
"I was quite curious about the Hunters in particular," Caster said, "So I did a bit more digging into them, and I found out that there are about fifty of them divided into seven groups if you include the pathfinders. They are the ones that put food on peoples plates, and the first people we met were actually members of one of the more seasoned hunting groups. I mentioned Melri's name, and the person I was talking to seemed a little bit startled that I was acquainted with her well enough to casually utter her first name… which I found quite weird."
"They really made a name for themselves. Honestly, it didn't seem like they were that well put together when we first met them, but when you are fighting Awakened Nightmare Creatures as Sleepers, it's really not fair to judge based on one bad performance…"
Caster chuckled.
"Agreed."
Day put his hand on his chin and laid his elbow on the wooden table. He had obtained a substantial amount of terrific information. There wasn't really much to ask about the information itself, since what Caster was able to obtain seemed rather ironclad. Therefore, Day felt inclined to give small, passing thoughts to hopefully segway the conversation into their plans moving forward.
"Their healer has quite the powerful Aspect Ability. That could be a big part of why they are so prominent. Also, I had a chat with Aya, and apparently, Aya has been here for at least eight years."
Caster's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly collected himself.
"Interesting… They did all look around the same age. Maybe they've been together for a long time?"
Day snickered.
"Yeah, probably."
Day went silent for a few moments, and then spoke once more before Caster could get a word in.
" So, I'll be blunt about it since you've obviously been busy, but I'm curious– what do you think we should do going forward? I'd like to think I'm not cocky… but I'd say we could probably get into work rather easily. I'm down for whatever, I feel like I've come to terms… sort of, with the fact that danger will be inevitable if we want to stay afloat. "
Caster looked around, and then stared at Day intently. The hall was clamorous, but Caster still spoke in a hushed tone and leaned forward slightly before speaking.
"I actually have… other ideas. I still feel rather skeptical about this place, so I was thinking we could, just for the time being, stay independent. We can still probably find enough work to pay our fees, and if all goes wrong… I can likely sell a few memories somewhere to keep us here."
Day's eyes widened, and then he smiled joyfully.
"You're really thinking about 'us,' a lot, huh? I'm flattered."
Caster clicked his tongue, and then reeled back and furrowed his brows.
"I owe you quite a lot. I think it's only fair that I look out for both of us, but don't get cocky about it. "
Day laughed.
"Can do."
At this point, the two boys were starting to wrap up their meal. The hall was emptying out rather quickly.
"For the next few days, I have to meet Aya so she can fix up my arm entirely… However–"
Day yawned, and then ran his hand through his hair.
"We can meet here each day and talk about… anything, really. I'm completely down to go along with your plan, so I'd say we should take it slow for the next few days. We still have six more nights until we need to make another payment, so let's use it wisely and take some down time, we went through quite a lot to get here."
Caster nodded in agreement.
"Alright then… I'll be heading back to my quarters. See you tomorrow, Day."
Caster rose from his seat, and then, without another word, he departed from the scene and disappeared into the crowd of people leaving the dining hall.
Day, sighed deeply, and then stood up with a stretch.
"Well, I guess I'll head back… Maybe I should practice using my Aspect Ability a little before bed."
Day wasn't sure why… but he had a feeling that the next few weeks would be anything but a problem.