Shadow Slave

Back then, it took him a couple of seconds to realize what she was talking about.

"The spire from your vision? The one with seven seals?"

Cassie nodded.

"Yes. In my dream, it seemed to be as tall as a mountain. I could even see it from the walls of the human castle, looming in the distance like a crimson spear piercing the skies. When the sun sets, the Spire's vast shadow falls over the castle and stretches east, as far as you can see."

She was silent for a moment, then added:

"The feeling I got when looking at the Crimson Spire was very similar to what you had described, only much more intense."

Sunny frowned, trying to remember the exact words Cassie had used to describe her vision. Seven severed heads guarding seven seals… a dying angel being devoured by hungry shadows… feeling of extreme terror and loss…

What was the deal with that Spire, exactly?

"Is it crimson because it's made out of the same stuff as the labyrinth?"

The crimson "coral" surrounding them was not, in fact, coral. It's just what they called it based on some resemblance, for the sake of simplicity. The actual nature of the strange material remained a mystery.

Cassie hesitated.

"Maybe it's the other way around. Maybe the labyrinth is made from the same stuff as the Spire."

In other words, the Crimson Spire might have been the source of all this madness. Still, it was just a theory — there was too little information to confirm it.

However, Sunny did feel that the Spire was, in one way or another, at the center of all things that they had encountered. He just hoped that it wouldn't be their final destination.

Knowing the reason behind his restlessness, Sunny was able to endure it much better. He even found a hidden benefit to this situation — as long as he sensed the shadow of the Crimson Spire, he could pinpoint the direction to the human castle, since it was situated somewhere between their location and the source of the shadow.

In a sense, the Crimson Spire had become his inner compass.

"Get ready."

off the distracting thoughts, he focused on the task at

getting close to

they had first laid their eyes on this towering landmark. It was visible from quite

protruding especially high above the ground. It was impossible to say what

dead leviathans, their massive bones forming natural arches and palaces throughout it. They were easy to spot because the coral formations were especially tall and dense in their vicinity, as though

the old bones and spreading in every direction, slowly consuming the world. When he looked at the crimson mounds surrounding the colossal remains,

were to dig deep enough into the black mud to find the roots of the crimson forest, they would find nothing but endless layers

What a scary image.

the beast whose remains formed the Bone Ridge was especially large. Thanks to that, a portion of its long spine was tall enough to remain above the water during the night. That's why they had chosen it

approaching, the next task was crucial. They had to scale the dead leviathan and make sure that no other creature had decided to take shelter in its

had no choice but to try and kill it, since there was

last step was often

path up. Eventually, they arrived in front of

the terrifying palisade of teeth and entered the cave. With his shadow leading the way, they made way to the back of the creature's

a long tunnel, with stark beams of light falling

entered the spine, its chitin legs

Nephis grimaced.

"Any movement?"

checked with the shadow

forward and slightly lowered her

"Let's proceed."

swords before

hiding inside the gargantuan remains, so they were able to reach the highest

sun was already setting. The dark sea was returning, filling the inside of the sea monster's spine with the echoing sound of rushing water. Sunny took the saddlebags off the Echo and dismissed it, making their

alone to give them an opportunity to wash themselves, Sunny walked some distance away and

the spine, watching the black, dim water slowly rise and devour the ivory whiteness. He had to

half of his mind preoccupied with observing the rising tide, the other half was free to wander. Sunny summoned the runes and checked

Shadow Fragments: [96/1000].