Shadow Slave

Returning to the Shipwreck Island felt strange. It was almost exactly the same, but also different.

They followed the remains of the ancient road and crested the hill to see the desolate valley below. The wreck of the once graceful ship was at its center, the dead tree wrapped around its mast. Thick vines were growing out of the breaches in its hull and spreading outward, some laying on the ground, some buried beneath it.

Here and there, piles of wooden debris could be seen — those were the Sailor Dolls, which had yet to assume their humanoid form after shapeshifting to withstand the Crushing.

What had changed, however, was that there was no chain on the other side of the valley anymore. The Twisted Rock had been destroyed and crumbled into the Sky Below, and now, the Shipwreck Island directly bordered the Tear.

Sunny felt as if the air itself was slightly different as the result.

He gestured at the wooden debris and said:

"Those are the Sailor Dolls. In a few minutes, they will assume their usual form, and after one notices us, the others will know of our presence, too. They'll swarm you pretty fast."

The Fire Keepers had already summoned their weapons and were prepared for a fight. The faces were calm, cold concentration burning in their eyes.

Cassie nodded.

"This is it, then. We will see you on the other side."

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the members of the cohort. Out of habit, he had wanted to tell her to be careful, but then remembered who she was, and who he was, what they had been through together, and how it all ended.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"...Give them hell."

Keepers smiled. One of

this place is already enough of a hell… you stay safe

embrace, Sunny observed as the Fire Keepers moved forward

assembling into tall, menacing wooden humanoids, their arms ending with jagged

first one to

flying. It hit the nearest abomination in the head and suddenly exploded into shards, creating a

it moved toward the humans, a thin crust of ice formed on its limbs, slowing the doll

Fire Keeper dashed forward and brought the blade of a heavy axe on its shoulder, severing one of the abomination's arms completely. Another appeared by his side, receiving a

hacked into pieces by the rest of the

'Not a bad start…'

that was just the

the eight humans were surrounded by a dozen more Fallen Beasts, all towering above them with menacing, bloodthirsty determination. Things were about to turn bad for the Fire Keepers, but at that moment, Kaor — the Artisan

for the members of the cohort to hold against the onslaught of the

not easy,

formation, but only just barely. The young men armed with the heavy axe was now using his Aspect Ability, which made the blade of his weapon shine with an angry red glow. It bit into the wooden flesh of the abomination he was fighting,

to keep the enemies from simply overwhelming him with their size and mass. This was the healer

a shield, a young woman with dirty blond hair and an Aspect that allowed her to exert vicious strength with each strike of her sword. She fought in tandem with a young man who

and her aim precise enough, to deal heavy damage to the advancing Sailor

gift his companions with an augmentation to stamina and endurance, as well as making one of them much more resilient. He wielded a curved sword and covering

had turned out to be perhaps the most

hand and a long dagger in the other, using it to deflect blows and launch an unexpected, quick attack from time to time. The delicate girl wasn't

able to not only flawlessly follow, but also control the flow of battle… it reminded him of how Nephis fought, of how deeply attuned she was to the underlying laws

was able to predict and manipulate the cadence of battle due to her knowledge, talent, and skill… Cassie could actually

made her a frightening

a towering Sailor Doll raised one of its blades and brought it down on the blind girl, aiming to cut her body in half. However, Cassie simply moved slightly to the side a split second before the blade would have sliced her apart, and lashed out with her dagger. At the same time, the Quiet Dancer suddenly flew out of her hand