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

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

back and disappeared into the shadows. Safely hidden in their dark embrace, Sunny observed as the Fire Keepers moved forward in a flexible battle formation. A few seconds

of debris shuddered and started assembling into tall, menacing wooden humanoids,

Fire Keepers did not wait for the first one to lunge at them, and

flying. It hit the nearest abomination in the head and suddenly exploded into

body in shambled. As it moved toward the humans, a

with its blades, another 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

later, the Sailor Doll was dead, hacked into pieces by

'Not a bad start…'

that was

turn bad for the Fire Keepers, but at that moment, Kaor — the Artisan specializing in carpentry — froze for a moment and

bit sluggish and slow. That made it possible for the

was not

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

refusing to take even a step back. He blocked strike after strike with his heavy shield, lashing out from behind it with a short spear from time to time to keep the enemies from simply overwhelming him with their size and mass. This was the healer of

of her sword. She fought in tandem with a young man who wielded two great swords… in his four hands. The second pair appeared when he activated his own Aspect

mundane ones, which were crafted by Kaor. Her bow was powerful enough, and her aim precise enough, to deal heavy damage to the advancing Sailor Dolls. The carpenter himself was sustaining the strange hex he put on the abominations and covering her with a wooden staff in his hands, his face grim and

possessed an Aspect that allowed him to gift his companions with an augmentation to stamina and endurance, as well as making

turned out to be perhaps the most deadly of

Quiet Dancer in one 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 the strongest, nor was she the fastest of the

skill and were now 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

predict and manipulate the cadence of battle due to her knowledge, talent, and skill… Cassie could actually perceive a few moments into the

frightening presence on

moved slightly to the side a split second before the blade would have sliced her apart, and lashed out with her dagger. At