Shadow Slave

'Hope… herself…'

Sunny stared at the seven chains, finding new meaning in their cruel visage and the misshapen, torn remnants of the seven rune-inscribed shackles.

So the Sun God's ire had not been quelled by just destroying her kingdom. He had gone a step further, binding the Demon of Hope at the heart of her decimated domain… for how long?

And how had she escaped, in the end?

He tilted his head.

"So the Demon of Hope was chained here?"

Mordret answered with a hint of surprise in his voice:

"...You know of the daemons?"

A crooked smile appeared on Sunny's face.

"I do... a bit. Why wouldn't I? Although truth be told, there's not a lot of information about them, even among the Dream Realm researchers. So… the ruler that you had told me about was one of the daemons? A lesser deity?"

Mordret kept silent for a bit, then said dejectedly:

"Yes. I am not sure that those two words really go together, though. I also don't know what Hope had done to earn the wrath of the Lord of Light. However, I do know that these seven chains are what holding is the Chained Isles from falling into the Sky Below."

Sunny raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

The lost prince sighed.

heavenly chains connecting all the island, but in fact, there are only seven, and you are looking at their roots... or rather, there were only seven. Each of them had to be broken for the Ivory Tower to

the way he used to think about the Chained Isles. The new information was interesting, but not

turned back to the Seed of

the category of that thing? I guess it contains

Mordret answered succinctly:

"Correct."

but am I suicidal enough to go into the Second Nightmare alone? Whole cohorts of experienced Awakened routinely perish in their attempts to become Masters. What would my chances of survival be with no one to

in the Dream Realm

He scowled.

Gate in

answered, his voice

few years, or a decade. It has not matured enough

Sunny hesitated.

it can be

not answer for a while,

found in time and a Gate opens, challengers can fight their way through and enter the Nightmare directly. The Gate also disrupts the anchors of those near it, so

He paused, then added:

most of the Seeds are not found in time, because the Dream Realm is vast and only partially explored. That's why the Nightmare Creatures are entering our world so often. Challenging a Seed before

the mass of shimmering darkness, then asked in

"Yeah? Why?"

let out a heavy

your life away. The chances of returning alive are very slim. That is why Awakened challenge them as members of cohesive, experienced cohorts. Even then, many don't survive… most, even. But this Nightmare is actually far worse. Entering it is

his ears open,

"Unless what?"

remained silent for a short

a black altar in the place you call Night Temple. On it lies an ivory knife. Only those who have shed blood on the altar and received the Memory of the knife have a chance to survive the trial that

a couple of