Epsilon was laying back down on his bed in the inn. There really wasn't much to do as all the plans they made would take place tomorrow.
In the meantime, he tried to get to know his environment a little better. For starters, the inside of the inn had 3 floors, the basement, the ground floor, and the second floor. The ground floor consisted of a lobby, a lunch hall, and kitchen with lots of expired supplies. The basement was where the group cooked thanks to its isolation from the outside, and the third floor consisted of just a bunch of bedrooms.
He did try to go out and explore the area on his own for a bit, but he was quite surprised at what he saw.
'What the Spell!? She said there were Nightmare creatures outside, but not this many!??'
Standing on the cobbled streets, standing behind every stall, hiding in every alleyway, were hundreds of thousands of strange humanoid but elongated Nightmare creatures.
Their skin was onyx black, their face but a blank slate with no significant features, not even a nose or a pair of eyes to see. If they did have a defining trait apart from their strange form though, it was their long black fingernails that were more like claws.
Every single one of them was immobile, not even reacting to Epsilon's presence. Out of curiosity, he tapped one on the shoulder, but it didn't even flinch.
'What rank and class are they?'
It was too hard to tell. Although their size would indicate that they were beasts, determining their rank was another issue entirely.
But that wasn't even the biggest shock.
"You didn't tell me that there was a castle here either??"
"There was?"
Ki Song and the rest just shrugged it off as if it was nothing, so Epsilon didn't dig too deep into it either. It was a mighty strong hold, sure , but it would've been even harder to maintain.
'Still thought, she isn't the type to forget about those types of details...'
Ki Song herself was currently resting in her own room along with Smile Of Heaven who, didn't really need to rest due to her strange state, but did so to keep an eye on her. It was recommended that the group split in two, just in case something intelligent and dangerous attacked them while they were alone.
While Epsilon did ask why they all couldn't just stay in one room together, he got quite an earful.
"Are you kidding?? Do you not know what common courtesy is??"
So right now, Cassius was awkwardly resting on a bed at the other side of the room. A strange silence clung to the atmosphere, as neither two had any idea what to talk about with the other.
'Do I even know that much about him? Other then him being a loner.. I've never even seen him around at school?'
All he knew was that his rank at school was the lowest, which meant that his Aspect must've been considerably weak as well. But even then, if it was that bad, was that a reason for him not to tell them?
Epsilon himself didn't have a rank at all, not because he was weak, but because he missed his interview entirely.
'Did he even tell the school his Aspect? Or, is it that he couldn't?'
His eyes widened as he realized the truth.
"Hey Cassius?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
He had a confused look on his face, one which Epsilon couldn't see though.
"Oh.. thanks. Can I ask what for?"
"I was too harsh on you earlier. You're reluctant about showing your aspect, not because it's trash, but because of your flaw, right?"
Cassius remained quiet.
"If you're not saying anything, them I'm going to assume I'm right. I won't pry on it any further if that helps."
He silently nodded. Cassius wasn't weak by any means. However, he couldn't use his aspect in front of others because of his flaw, but he wasn't strong enough to survive with the others around him without it. Stuck in this dilemma, he had no choice but to be left behind.
'Truthfully, I could fight with them too. But the price I would have to pay would be too much.'
He was not willing to give in.
Biting his own lip, he silently muttered,
"I'm scum."
Rolling over in his bed, Epsilon closed his eyes trying to get some sleep. But right before he did, he thought he caught a glance of something. Quickly getting back up, he stared into space.
Cassius gave him a curious glance,
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I thought I just saw something. I must've been mistaken."
Laying back down, Epsilon slowly closed his eyes again, and for a brief second, he saw it. He couldn't tell what it was this time, but he was 100% certain now that there was something there, floating in the middle of the room.
He got back up to stare at it, but once more it had disappeared. Or rather, it was just invisible.
Cassius caught him staring blankly in space again,
"No, really, are you okay? I think I should get Ki Song."
And then suddenly, Epsilon jumped out of his bed with his hands stretched out. He flew across the room, before collapsing to ground with his fingers wrapped tightly around something.
"I GOT IT!"
"Erm.. there's nothing there Epsilon?"
Although to Cassius, there was nothing in Epsilons hands, to him whatever was invisible began to grow more defined. He could see a ghostly black form take shape, small enough to fit in his hands, and despite its gaseous form, it felt oddly tangible.
He could feel it moving and squirming, struggling to break free from his grip, but Epsilon refused to release it.
"Hey Cassius, can you really not see this thing?"
Epsilon stood back up while carefully holding onto the strange being, showing it to him. And yet, Cassius shook his head.
'Huh... So only I can see it then?'
And then, an eerie voice but one resembling an adult male, screamed,
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!? GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"
Instantly, Epsilon threw the strange creature at the ground, watching as it bounced off the wooden floor board like a water balloon, before crushing it under his foot with a heavy stomp.
He didn't stop there, as he repeatedly raised his foot while smashing it back down on the ghost countless times, hearing it scream and cuss every with every hit.
Cassius paled, all he could see was Epsilon stomping on air. But shaking his head, he went off to go get Ki Song and Smile Of Heaven.
The moment Cassius left the room though, the ghost shouted,
"OOKAY! STOP! I YIELD, I YIELD! YOU WIN, I'M SORRY! PLEASE STOP!"
Epsilons foot froze over the ghost just before he could smash it again. This time he crouched, taking a closer look at the thing.
It seemed to be squirming on the floor, as it was reeling over in pain. But once it noticed that Epsilon actually stopped, it opened its singular huge eye that resembled a humans, with a white sclera and a black pupil.
Epsilon asked,
"What are you?"