Shadow Slave

As the last spark of light disappeared, Nephis tilted her head to the side and remained silent for a few moments. Then, she lowered her gaze and said, addressing the First Lord:

"Thank you."

She hesitated, as though wishing to say more, but eventually just took a step back.

Kai, however, wasn't that reserved. Bowing deeply, he remained with his head down for a while, then straightened his back, looked at the skeleton, and voiced something that a few of them must have been thinking:

"Thank you. We will… we will finish what you started."

His words echoed above the cold water, eventually disappearing into the darkness. A heavy silence settled above the shore of the underground river.

A few seconds later, the charming archer turned to the rest of them and asked with uncertainty:

"I think… should we bury him?"

The members of the cohort looked at each other. Before anyone could voice their opinion, though, Sunny suddenly spoke:

"No. Just leave him as he is. He wanted to be closer to his friends when he died, so… just don't touch him."

With that, he turned his head and looked away.

Since the First Lord died outside of the terrible maze, his shadow was gone, too. Now it was just dumb and empty, like most shadows cast by inanimate objects. He had not shared in the harrowing fate of his companions, which meant that Sunny couldn't help him reunite with them… even slightly.

Neither could they bring the remains of the First Lord back outside, to bury him near the girl who had died in the quarry.

It was better to just leave him be.

'Forget about it. Think of something else.'

Sunny had other matters to consider, anyway.

That strange Memory that Nephis had absorbed… he had never even heard of a Memory that could exist outside of someone's soul. Had the First Lord somehow relinquished the ownership of it, or was this a quality that all Shard Memories possessed?

it was, without a doubt, another Shard Memory — just like Effie's spear and his own stalwart blade. That Memory was the reason why Changing Star had ventured on this expedition, to begin with. The thing that was supposed to somehow give her a chance

at

headband… what is it called? No, actually, let me guess. Dawn Shard? Dusk

answer. Her

Sunny grinned.

of secrets, are

of some deep, sharp emotion appeared in her cold grey

who made it clear that you don't want to be a true member of this cohort? You chose to be a hired blade

for a

you have no good reason to share anything

Suddenly, Nephis smiled.

know. If

stared at her for a while, then shook

though. How exactly is that

for a bit, then simply

"See for yourself."

the headband left behind by the First Lord weaved itself from sparks of light on

about the world around

'W—what…'

a couple of times, then slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the fabric

rather, on the spellweave beneath

he saw left

glowing embers that served as nexuses for the complicated pattern of ethereal strings permeating the Memory suddenly

Much, much brighter.

radiance was now almost as intense as of those inside the

An Ascended Memory.

'What the hell?'

under his armor and stared at it, perplexed. The two embers inside the intricate

peer

but also singularly powerful enchantment. It empowers all Memories around it. The area of effect of the

'...You don't say!'

his Memories, Sunny felt as though he was on the verge of being dumbstruck. Singular was the right word to describe the effect of the Dawn Shard. He had never heard of a Memory being capable of rising the power