Shadow Slave

Sunny was instantly wide awake. Sitting up, he hurriedly rubbed his eyes and then glanced at the blind girl, ready to listen.

Nephis approached them and sat down, her face barely visible in the dim light of the early dawn.

"Past or future?"

Sunny blinked.

'Right. I should have asked myself.'

Cassie thought for a bit and then hesitantly answered:

"Past… I think."

After a short pause, her expression changed to that of certainty.

"No, I'm sure of it."

Changing Star slightly tilted her head.

"That's good. So… what did you see?"

Cassie deeply inhaled and fell silent for several seconds, remembering. Her face paled a little, but this time, she was ready to face her fear.

"I saw the Ashen Barrow deep at night, enveloped in a raging storm. The winds were bending the branches of the great tree, as if desperate to break them. The island was illuminated by the constant barrage of thundering lightning bolts, with rain falling from the skies like a flood."

She paused, catching her breath, and continued:

"The Carapace Demon was there, standing in the middle of the storm like an unshakable fortress made of polished steel. Arcs of electricity were dancing between the spikes on his armor, but the demon did not pay it any attention. He was just as Sunny described… prideful, sinister and terrifying."

Cassie closed her eyes.

"When I looked into his eyes, I felt… a sense of emptiness and corruption. He observed the storm until it began to dissipate. The winds weakened, the rain stopped. The great tree stood unbroken, just as magnificent as it was before. But then, the last bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the ground beside it."

Sunny was listening to her tale with great attention, hopeful to hear a piece of useful information.

'So, that monstrosity is not afraid of lightning. Shame. With its metal carapace, I was almost tempted to try and lure it from under the tree during a storm.'

Apparently, that wouldn't work.

Cassie was ready to

miraculous tree. However, when it hit the ground, it ignited the fallen leaves that cover the Ashen Barrow's surface. Soon, a

beginning of their deadly adventure through the Dream Realm, the girls mentioned that the light

the monsters of the Forgotten Shore… including the terrifying creatures that lurked

next in Cassie's vision, he waited for the blind girl to continue.

it, covering almost the entire slope of the Ashen Barrow with its body. It looked like a… like a mass

made Cassie feel nauseated,

black water, was weakening it. The Carapace Demon did not hesitate to lunge at the creature, completely ignoring the fact that it was at least ten times his size. It

Nephis suddenly spoke:

the demon

The blind girl hesitated.

the shade of the great tee. He was severely wounded, with several of his legs missing and his scythes covered by a spiderweb

a moment and then said in a

most terrible wound was on his chest. The steel armor of the demon was fractured and split apart, revealing the beating heart inside. Rivers of azure blood were flowing from the wound, mixing with the

Cassie sighed.

Demon was able to recover from his wounds. His scythes restored themselves, his legs grew back. The fracture on

were silent

was the first

it's not

looked at Sunny

your plan coming

himself from the swarm of

already had an inkling of how we should proceed, but Cassie's vision gave me additional

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?"

gave her a

maybe. In any case, it's

at him expectantly. The blind girl

plan? How are we

Sunny crossed his arms.

got the idea from that

and then said

"... a trojan ass."

had expected. Both girls blinked, then stared at him with complicated expressions. Well, Cassie did