Shadow Slave

Beyond the western edge of the Ashen Barrow, the landscape of the Forgotten Shore was not at all like what Sunny had expected — and hoped — to see.

On this side of the island, the slope was much steeper. At the spot where it was supposed to end, the familiar sight of the flat wasteland was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the ground continued to slope downward at a less drastic, but still considerably sharp angle.

It continued far into the distance. In fact, the whole island appeared to be standing on the edge of a colossal depression in the earth, one that stretched as far as the eye could see. With its edges slightly curved, it resembled a giant crater left behind by an unimaginable impact.

From what Sunny was able to observe, the crater's diameter could only be calculated in hundreds of kilometers. The roots of the giant tree, which could be seen protruding from the soil far below, seemed like tiny blades of grass in comparison to the sheer size of the abyssal chasm's wall.

It was like the whole world was tilted on its side, making Sunny's head spin.

In short, there were no more high natural features to the west of them. The only way forward was to go down, with no hope of finding shelter from the crushing torrents of the dark sea.

Which meant that there was no way forward at all. Their journey to the west had come to an end.

And with it, all hope of finding a gateway to the real world was lost.

Sunny stared at the desolate landscape, feeling rage and disbelief clawing at his heart. He just couldn't believe that all their struggles were for nothing. But the proof was right in front of him, real and undeniable.

'Damn it! Damn it all!'

He tried to think of some cunning way to solve the situation, but there was nothing his imagination could come up with. The dark sea with all its horrors drowned the world every night, and the only way to escape it was to climb high enough before the sunset. With no heights anywhere in sight, what could he do?

Sunny glanced at Nephis, who seemed to be even more crestfallen than him. Her face had turned into an icy mask, a dark look full of bitterness and resentment in her eyes. He opened his mouth, trying to come up with something to say, but no words came to his mind.

In the end, they both remained silent until the distant rumble announced the return of the dark see.

Deep in the colossal crater, dark torrents appeared from beyond the horizon, rushing to fill it to the brim. A little bit stunned, Sunny watched as the water level rapidly rose, finally turning the endless chasm into a vast sea of black. Then, it began to overflow, sending an unstoppable flood of water into the wasteland. Flowing past the Ashen Barrow, it rushed inland, crushing against the coral of the crimson labyrinth.

Soon, the whole world was covered in seething black water.

Sunny licked his dry lips and turned to Nephis. After a short pause, he said in a raspy voice:

"I think we found the source of the dark sea."

She lingered, watching the last rays of sunshine slowly disappear from the sky, then turned to him with a grim expression on her face.

"...Let's head back."

***

them felt lost and heartbroken because of the terrible discovery. Cassie in particular seemed to

sense, it just doesn't," she mumbled on their way

she quickened her step and

that there's nothing higher than the sea level out there? Are

feeling his mood

goes down, down, and down. It stretches to the horizon, as far as

girl shook her

how could it be? I've seen that we had reached the castle! There must

If there really

a few seconds, Nephis

Worst… worst-case scenario, we'll have to go around the

like that would take months. To circle around the colossal crater, they would have to cover many times more distance than they had in the prior weeks, each day bringing the risk of stumbling

the risk of something stumbling onto

in this hellish place

'Ha, ha. Abyssal...'

tried to not think of the worst-case scenario. The darkness of the

rest, recharge, and think of something tomorrow. It is just like Cassie said… since she saw us entering

their temporary camp just before the sun had completely disappeared. Lying on the makeshift bed

won't see any

Then, he slightly frowned.

that one dream… or was it a memory?

thought disappearing from his mind, he

***

morning, the mood between the three of them was pretty somber. No one seemed to want to talk or do anything, aimlessly staring at the ground or

The corpse of the Carapace Demon was starting to look more and more appealing, at least

Nephis broke the silence. Standing up, she looked up with grim resolution

to the top of the tree and take a look around. Maybe I'll notice something that we missed from

truly enormous. The Ashen Barrow itself was already much taller than the giant knight's statue and every other shelter they had seen, and the tree almost dwarfed it in size. Climbing all the way up would

maybe she would really be able to

the back of his head and

But be careful. Keep an eye on the sky. If

Star gave him a nod and headed for the tree. Without turning her head, she calmly said

gone. It shouldn't