Shadow Slave

Sunny traveled northwest, trying to cover as much distance during the night as he could. He rushed across gargantuan chains as a swift shadow, soared up onto the island, traversed them on foot, and dove into the darkness once he reached the other side.

He was moving across the Chained Isles with enviable speed… but still not as fast as someone capable of flight would. Using Shadow Step expended up a lot of shadow essence, so he had to replenish it often to continue riding the heavenly chains.

That, however, put him in a lot of danger. The islands were teeming with Nightmare Creatures of all kinds, as well as deadly natural… well, unnatural, really… threats. Sunny had to remain cautious at all times, keeping one shadow wrapped around his body while the other scouted ahead.

He hid in the shadows to avoid fighting with wandering abominations or, if there was no other choice, teleported away. These jumps, however, only served to devour more of his essence, forcing him to rest and circulate it through the coils of the Soul Serpent as he waited for his cores to fill up.

Most of the time, he didn't feel like there was a real threat to his life. Sunny's combination of Attributes and Abilities made him a very hard prey to hunt. No matter what kind of a horror tried, he always managed to slip away — for now, at least.

As long as he did not venture into the territory of the really terrifying Nightmare Creatures, like those Corrupted fiends that claimed some of the islands or the beings that dwelled on the dark side of them, he was going to be alright for as long as he managed his essence carefully. Against those powerful abominations, though, even being a shadow was not a guarantee of safety.

He still remembered the two ghostly torches in the dungeon beneath the ruined cathedral in the Dark City...

On his way, Sunny visited many islands that he had already explored before, and some that he never had a reason to visit. Each was lethal in its own way, and hid alluring mysteries… most of which were bound to turn out to be nothing but inescapable traps, of course. He suppressed his curiosity and moved past.

With two skies full of bright stars, the Chained Isles were stunning at night. Even while rushing forward and hiding from the abominations populating this breathtaking and terrible land, Sunny couldn't help but marvel at its dark beauty.

But beautiful things… beautiful things were the most dangerous. By now, he had learned that lesson all too well.

At dawn, Sunny finally reached the island that was supposed to be the first stop on his journey. It was a desolate place where nothing lived, with rocky ground and plenty of small impact craters that had been left behind by the debris on the neighboring island.

The chains holding that island in place had broken once, a long time ago. As the result, not restrained by anything, it soared high into the sky and eventually fell apart, ripped to pieces by the Crushing.

Its remaining neighbor was not of any particular to Sunny, but it was a good place to rest and catch his breath.

Hiding in one of the craters, Sunny ate a miserly breakfast and drank from the Endless Spring. Then, he looked at the rising sun, studied his map for a few minutes, and summoned Saint.

a distance to not subject him to the soul-eroding effect of the

to sleep. You stand

at him indifferently for a second, then nocked an arrow on the string of her

Sunny sighed.

for a couple more days, but it was wise to keep himself in the best possible shape. One never knew

a pillow, Sunny lay

'Just a few hours…'

***

day later, he reached the

dozen kilometers across. What's worse, it was supported by only two chains, which were situated almost exactly opposite of each other. Two get to the next one, Sunny had no choice but to travel the

with a waterfall rushing from a weathered cliff. Just like everywhere on the Chained Isles, it was

seemed like a beautiful

the shadow, Sunny couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease. Something… something was very wrong

on the island. There was no sound other than the rustle of the wind, no movement other than the slow swaying of the trees. There were no beasts, no insects,

could be seen wandering

place? Or had they been slaughtered

'...I don't like this.'

mind. It was better to waste an additional amount of shadow essence than to risk meeting the ruler of this

it had a

and appear on the surface of the island, near the shadow he had sent to take a look at it. Sunny did not assume physical form, preferring to

able to reach the other side of the Reckoning

is that terrible

any hint

grim apprehension, he slowly moved through the deep shadows that were cast by the tall trees

looked, he didn't

gave the island its name,

it can't be