The Attribute had no description, nor was its acquisition announced by the Spell.
"Any idea what it means?"
Nephis remained silent for a while, then turned her head to look at Effie.
"This entire tower is a massive soul machine. It was created to collect soul essence and funnel it into the artificial sun. However... it cannot function without one small yet crucial component—a human to serve as the fulcrum of all that power, the conduit for all those souls."
And then, in a much quieter voice, she added:
"...The vessel."
They all shuddered and turned to stare at the corpse of the repulsive creature—the previous vessel of the artificial sun.
They had killed it, destroying a critical part of the Spire's mechanism... and so, the Spire found a replacement.
The five of them.
The only five humans left on the Forgotten Shore, conveniently hiding from the obliterating sun inside the ancient tower.
"What does this mean for us, exactly? Are we going to turn into... that thing?"
Nephis slowly shook her head.
"...Not yet. Not for a long time. The Terror absorbed most of the souls it had reaped after the battle, and there's no one left to make sacrifices to the sun now. The Labyrinth, too, is dead."
As if echoing her words, the Spire trembled again, and somewhere below, the deafening sound of crushing stone reverberated.
Sunny tilted his head.
"So what's the problem? Can't we just... get the hell out of here and never come back?"
Changing Star looked at him, her eyes filled with cold, bitter emotion.
"You don't get it, do you?"
She gritted her teeth and said:
"The Crimson Spire is a machine, and the Gateway is a part of that machine. The Spire cannot function without a human serving as the Soul Conduit… and neither can the Gateway. There must be a Vessel inside the tower for the Gateway to work."
She slowly rose to her feet, swayed slightly, and then pierced him with a dark gaze.
"Which means that one of us has to stay."
Sunny stared at her for a few seconds, then looked at the others.
Morpheus observed the tense expressions of those around him. No one wanted to stay, but no one wanted to fight over it either. For the one left behind, there was no escape.
He removed his armor, revealing the blood-soaked body underneath. His control over his own blood was unstable. The very healing power that had kept him alive had also weakened him. Leaning against the wall, he sat down. Everyone was watching him. Among them, he was the most capable… and the one who had suffered the most.
"Morpheus, you should go. From the very beginning, you've always helped us. You're the reason we made it this far. You shouldn't be the one to stay," Sunny said.
Everyone agreed.
Morpheus stared at them for a long time.
"Is there anyone among you who is sure they can survive here?" he asked.
No one answered.
"Or anyone who wants to stay?"
Again, silence.
"If you stay, you will be alone. Don't underestimate that. I don't want any of you to go through it," Morpheus said.
Summoning [Will's Wine Chalice], he drank his own blood from it. As he drank, his wounds began to heal. Slowly but surely, he was recovering.
"If anyone can survive here, it's me. I can move quickly. So go," he said.
Gunlaug and Effie had been in the Dream Realm for a long time. They would do anything to return home. So, they simply thanked him and left.
Nephis hesitated. Before her stood the son of her enemy—the prince of the Valor clan. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to hate him. She wanted to leave, but her conscience wouldn't let her.
"Go, Nephis. There's no need to hesitate. I understand that the Valor clan is your enemy. And I am a Valor, even if I've been cast out. So don't hesitate. But... you can't harm my sister. That's my only condition," Morpheus said with a smile.
"You need to work on your smile," Sunny thought to himself.
Nephis stepped through the portal.
Sunny remained standing before Morpheus. After Nephis left, he stared at the portal for a long time, but it seemed like he had made up his mind to stay.
"Don't be stupid. There's no reason for you to stay. Go and finally ask Nephis out already," Morpheus said, his grin still in place.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Sunny stammered, embarrassed.
"I do have a reason to stay. We're friends. This way, you won't be alone," he added.
Morpheus was touched by his words but didn't want his friend to stay behind.
"Out there, Nephis is waiting for you. With the fame you'll gain, you can live in luxury. Buy a house, open a shop, do whatever you want. You can live your dream," he said calmly.
"But for me, there's nothing out there. I need to grow stronger to reach my goal. And here… I can grow faster," he added.
That was a lie. There was nothing left for him here.
"How do you expect to grow stronger? There's nothing left. The Spire has been cleared of all creatures. Stop lying and let's find a way out of here together," Sunny snapped.
As they argued, the surroundings began to collapse. Stones crumbled, the structure trembled.
"I could throw you through the portal with my blood control, but I'm trying to reason with you instead. So listen to me and leave," Morpheus said, slightly irritated.
Sunny smirked.
"If you could do that, you would have already. You're losing control, aren't you?"
He was right. Morpheus couldn't manipulate his blood as precisely as he wanted. If he tried to throw Sunny through the portal, he would rip him apart instead.
"Sunny, you have to go. The Gateway is about to collapse. Hurry up and leave!" Morpheus shouted.
Sunny hesitated for a moment but still refused to leave.
"We can both get out of here. Why are you insisting on this?" he asked.
Morpheus looked around. There was no more time. The structure was crumbling, and Sunny needed to leave now.
He hesitated briefly, then locked eyes with Sunny and said,
"Cassie told me."
"Told you what?" Sunny asked.
"Your True Name."
Sunny froze. Instinctively, he call his sword and pointed it at Morpheus.
Morpheus continued, "She said that if I used it, I could stop you… and save Nephis. But I never needed to. That idiot already told Nephis your True Name, and she knows exactly what it would do to you."
Sunny struggled to keep himself from stabbing Morpheus.
"Cassie! I'm going to kill her when I get out of here!" he growled.
Morpheus sighed.
"You remember the future she saw, don't you? The one where you kill Nephis? She chose her. So you can be angry at her… but please, don't kill her."
"Oh, so you're already giving me orders before enslaving me?! You're going to make me a slave, and you expect me to be okay with it?!" Sunny shouted and plunged his sword into Morpheus' heart.
Morpheus didn't flinch. As long as his brain wasn't harmed, any wound on his body was nothing more than an inconvenience.
"Sunny, even if you leave here normally, they can still enslave you. I don't want you to live with that fear. I swear to you—I will never give you a single command. I swear on my life. If you want, we never have to see each other again after this. But if you leave now, even if you're not enslaved, your fears will drive you mad," Morpheus said, blood trickling from his lips.
Sunny hesitated after hearing his words. He pulled his sword from Morpheus' heart and continued to stare at him. What he said was true, but that didn't make Sunny any less angry.
"When I leave here, I will look for a deal that you're willing to stake your life on. Until then, we won't see each other," he said.
Morpheus' eyes welled up when he realized Sunny hadn't ended their friendship.
"Thank you. You're my first friend. I never want to lose you," Morpheus said, his voice filled with gratitude.
Hearing that, Sunny felt a pang of guilt for what he had done. He had stabbed his friend through the heart, and yet Morpheus was thanking him.
"Say it. Once you do, I'll leave," Sunny said.
"Lost from Light," Morpheus muttered with a sigh, sounding almost annoyed. He didn't want to do this either, but for his friend's sake, he was willing to risk their friendship.
Deep within Sunny's soul, something moved and rose from slumber—triumphant. Unbreakable, eternal, irresistible. Complete, perfect, and sweet.
Sunny turned toward the portal. Just before stepping through, he glanced back and said,
"When you find a real deal, come and find me, my friend."
Then, he was gone.
Morpheus stared at the portal for a moment longer, then shifted his gaze to his own body.
With a mere thought, he crushed the creature a few steps away, compressing it with his blood control until nothing remained but blood. Then, he absorbed the blood into himself, using it to mend his wounds.
"Now… how am I supposed to get out of here?"