All of the members of the cohort were riding on Echoes as it was faster. Nephis, despite being a monster in disguise, was uncomfortable sitting next to either Asher or Sunny due to what they saw a few hours prior and decided to sit next to Cassie on Asher's Echo, while Sunny and Asher cramped up on the other. Asher noted that their pace was probably much faster compared to the novel but was also sure that it simply cancelled out the delay of the fight below the statue.
Asher sighed as he thought, 'If I push my crab, we might be able to make it before the storm hits, but that means we can't ambush the monster crab. So I shall let this go on the same.'
Suddenly, Asher felt a chill and looked around to see Sunny staring at him. "Sorry, I am not interested in men," Asher said with a deadpan face.
Sunny grimaced, his face contorting in disgust. "I-I am not into men either!"
Sunny wanted to insult him, but every possible insult about his face would be a lie!
"Then why the hell are you staring at me?" Asher snorted.
Sunny, caught off guard, fumbled for a response. "I was just thinking... how someone can be so... so..."
"So?" Asher raised an eyebrow, grinning. "So devilishly handsome? I know, it's a curse."
Sunny rolled his eyes. "No, I was thinking how someone can be so annoyingly full of themselves."
Asher chuckled. "Ah, Sunny, you're just jealous because even the monsters find me irresistible."
"More like they want to kill you first," Sunny muttered under his breath.
Asher leaned back with a satisfied smirk. "Well, as long as they're not into me, that's all that matters."
Sunny sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How do you even function with that ego?"
Asher shrugged. "Practice, my friend. Lots and lots of practice."
Sunny finally snapped as a vein popped into his temple. "Why don't you just shut up for once? You Bastard!"
Asher looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, Sunny, I've considered it. But then I remember how boring life would be without my charming commentary."
Sunny groaned. "I liked it better when we were fighting crabs."
Asher winked. "Admit it, Sunny. You'd miss me if I wasn't here."
Sunny grumbled, "Miss you? I'd consider throwing a party."
Asher grinned. "A party in my honour? How thoughtful of you."
Sunny threw his hands up in defeat. "I give up. Nephis, can you trade places with me?"
Nephis looked at him with a deadpan expression. "I'd rather fight ten more scavengers." Asher felt as if numerous boulders had fallen on his head due to Nephis' comment but before he could respond
"Stop." Cassie said.
Both the Echos stopped as the gang looked at Cassie with frowns.
"What is it?"
The blind girl let go of the reins.
"Do you hear anything?"
Nephis and Sunny shook their heads.
"I heard it," Asher said with a dark face.
"What do you hear?" Sunny asked as he looked at Asher.
"It's murmuring," Cassie responded.
Cassie suddenly scowled.
"Help me get off this thing."
"Don't," Asher interrupted as he saw Nephis leaning down to help Cassie. Nephis threw him a puzzled expression. Asher smiled as he said nonchalantly, "We should probably sprint; a storm is coming this way."
Everyone's eyes widened as both the Echos began to sprint. Asher and Sunny did not have a golden rope like Nephis and Cassie, and Asher was simply adjusting their centre of gravity, trying to balance Sunny's Echo. But at this speed, Sunny and Asher were hugging each other while Asher increased his weight while holding Sunny, who augmented himself with his shadow so as not to feel the weight of Asher. Due to the increase in weight, Sunny's Echo was 20% slower than Asher's Echo.
That's when dark stormy clouds were gathering with unnatural speed. Sunny looked like a ghost as he gripped Asher tighter. "Don't hold me that hard, you gay bitch!" Asher yelled with a grimace. "Now is not the time for your dumbass jokes!" Sunny shouted as the distance between Mr. Krab and Sunny's Echo grew further.
Nephis gritted her teeth as she saw them falling behind. 'We are going at 30-35 kilometres per hour, and it will take us at least 6 minutes to reach the nearest cliff. Looking at the clouds, it might take less than 3 minutes for the downpour to fully begin. Me and Cassie may reach the cliff in time, but Asher and Sunny...'
"Scavengers ahead!" Asher shouted as Nephis focused forward, ready to fight. Fortunately, the scavengers were also scrambling for their lives as well, not paying attention to the sleepers passing through.
The rain quickly turned into a pelting downpour, each drop becoming a torrent. The winds grew in strength, striking against their bodies with enough force to make them stumble. The light dimmed even further, reducing visibility to almost zero.
Sunny gritted his teeth as he looked at Asher and shouted, "@^%&#(@(&*^@#!"
A blinding bolt of lightning split the darkness, followed almost immediately by a deafening thunderclap. Asher couldn't hear Sunny over the cacophony, making Sunny's face turn even paler.
Suddenly, Sunny's Echo grabbed both Asher and Sunny with its pincers and sprinted. The sensation was worse than anything they had experienced; water droplets hit them like arrows, and the winds tossed them around like ragdolls.
Asher and Sunny winced in pain as the Echo sped up. Asher reduced his weight while Sunny augmented his Echo with his shadow, allowing it to close some of the distance to Mr. Krab.
But they were still far behind. Asher couldn't augment his Echo due to the distance.
A blinding light from another lightning strike revealed the imposing cliff looming ahead. For a brief moment, Asher was struck by the scene's stark beauty, like something out of Uncharted 4, despite the dire situation.
Turning back, Sunny and Asher saw a colossal, crushing torrent of black water rushing through the crimson forest. The sight was utterly terrifying, a wall of death bearing down on them.
'Shit... we're slower than they were in the novel!' Asher's mind screamed in panic. The cliff seemed impossibly far, and the approaching torrent promised only doom. Each second felt like an eternity, the hopelessness of their situation tightening around them like a vice. The storm was a monstrous, living thing, and it was coming for them, relentless and unforgiving.
As they pushed forward, the wind howled with a ferocity that made every step a battle. The rain was a curtain of liquid steel, obscuring their vision and battering their bodies. The roar of the approaching water grew louder, a deafening crescendo that drowned out even their thoughts.
Every muscle burned, every breath was a struggle, but they had no choice but to push on. The cliff was their only hope, a slim chance of survival in an otherwise hopeless situation. With each agonizing step, the reality of their dire predicament sank in deeper. They were racing against nature itself, and nature was winning...
'Well, technically, it's a great titan..' Asher corrected himself.
"You both should start climbing!" Asher shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice barely piercing through the roaring storm. Nephis heard the shout, despite the torrents, and she frowned. She began to climb along with Cassie, praying they could survive this ordeal.
Sunny and Asher finally reached the cliff, dismissing their Echos and scrambling up the rocky face like desperate ants. Sunny wrapped his shadow around him for protection, while Asher could only grit his teeth, feeling his skin tear against the jagged rocks. The icy water lapped at his feet, sending shivers up his spine.
He watched Sunny struggle alongside him, both knowing they were racing against time. If they hadn't wasted those precious moments near the statue that morning, they might have made it. Desperation clawed at Asher as he shouted Sunny's name.
"Sunny! We're not going to make it in time!" Asher's voice was raw with fear and exhaustion. "I know! But I need to try until the end!" Sunny's response was equally strained as the rising water began to submerge Asher's torso. Asher took a deep breath and a leap of faith. "Sunny, do you trust me?" he asked, his voice steady despite the chaos around them.
"Of course not, you stupid bastard!" Sunny retorted instantly.
Asher shed a tear, pretending not to hear. "Sunny, you need to trust me this time."
Sunny gulped down his fear and nodded reluctantly. Suddenly, a tentacle lashed out, wrapping around Sunny and yanking him off the rock. He lost his grip, flailing helplessly as the rain slowed in his perception. 'Is this how I die?' he thought, a cold resignation settling in. 'So much for trusting someone.' But then, a blur of movement caught his eye. Asher... was he FLYING?
"EHH!" Sunny loudly shrieked as Asher's armor pulled Sunny alongside him. Asher's muscles screamed in protest, tearing under the strain of flying. Sunny's body slammed against protruding rocks, the pain sharp and relentless as Sunny simply clenched his jaw in pain. Asher bit his lip, blood mixing with the rain, as he pushed himself beyond his limits.
Asher's lungs burned each breath a struggle as they neared the top. His vision blurred, consciousness flickering like a dying flame. 'Just a bit more', he urged himself. 'Ahh... Shit... worst-case scenario,' he thought as he finally crashed onto the top of the cliff.
The world faded to black as Asher lost consciousness, his last thoughts a chaotic mix of pain and relief.
_______________________________________________________________________
Asher opened his eyes and blinked to clear the haziness when a sudden migraine attacked him. He didn't have the energy to grip his head as he simply worked his jaw.
It was still raining.
Asher felt countless stings of droplets of rain hit his body. His breathing was hoarse as he tried not to pop his lungs. In the torrents and lightning, Asher heard voices, "Are you crazy, Neph?! We need all the help we can get!" It was Sunny's voice.
"Asher simply cannot fight. Whatever he did to allow his body to fly clearly put immense pressure on his body. He has hundreds of muscle tears everywhere and is in no position to fight." Nephis answered with her arms crossed.
"I am simply asking you to wake him up so that he can summon his Echo!" Sunny asked with a pale expression.
"No. As I have said, Asher's entire body was under immense pressure. If we wake him up by force, there might be a chance for him to get a horrible concussion."
Asher exhaled as he summoned his Echo from a whirlwind of sparks. Sunny and Nephis suddenly took a step back, startled by the sudden summon. "Before you say anything, yes, I am aware of the monster on this island as I have already sensed it. Take Krab with you and please don't die," Asher said while panting.
Sunny sighed as he normalized his breathing. They had already discussed a plan while Asher was unconscious.
Cassie tried to put on a brave face. She turned to Nephis and forced a smile:
"Go and kill that thing. Maybe you'll finally get something decent to wear and stop making me feel so guilty."
A corner of Changing Star's lip curled up.
"Okay."
Asher winced in pain as he sat up straight, "Cassie just jinxed it, didn't she?!" Sunny laughed, seeing the absurdity of how they were joking in a situation like this.
Asher too was scared. For one, Sunny was way more injured than he was in the novel as his body collided with many rocks. Secondly, Nephis was also a bit hurt since the morning fight with the scavengers. She was mentally worse than in the novel as she healed Asher in the morning. On top of all of that, she insisted that Asher consume one of the eight soul shards from the dead scavengers around them to heal some of his minor muscle tears when Asher denied Nephis from healing him.
Though Asher was sending his Echo to fight with them, he still couldn't help but feel dread and nervousness for what was to come.