Shadow Slave

At that point, Sunny and Cassie weren't too far away from the gate chamber, where they had made a morbid discovery soon after escaping from the cage. Back then, the heavy gates had been closed and sealed… now, however, it seemed that they were finally opened.

Saint Cormac had returned from his expedition to the Hollow Mountains a few days sooner than expected.

For a moment, Sunny was overcome by fierce joy…

Then, however, the cold and rational part of his mind took over.

Yes, the arrival of the Saint created a path of escape, and was bound to solve their Mordret problem… most likely.

But who was to say that the Transcendent warrior would not turn out to be an even deadlier threat?

The first thing Saint Cormac was going to see after entering the Citadel was a pile of mutilated corpses. After that, he would most likely kill anyone who appears in his way. After all, any survivor would either be a potential vessel of the banished prince… or a witness.

Sunny gritted his teeth, then rose to his feet and pulled Cassie into a side corridor. There, they hid in the shadows, wrapped her cloak around themselves, and waited. He didn't dare to extend his shadow sense toward the gates or send his shadows forward to scout, fearful to draw the Saint's attention, so neither of them knew what was going on.

A few seconds passed in terrifying silence, and then, Sunny heard something rustle through the corridor they had just left. A gust of wind blew past them, as if left behind by something moving at incredible speed.

A moment later, they heard a distant impact, and the Night Temple trembled once again.

It seemed that Saint Cormac had already found Mordret.

Sunny pushed Cassie to her feet and hissed:

"Hurry! To the gate!"

came into view, fresh air mixing with the terrible smell of the rotting corpses. The gates of the Night Temple stood wide open, the impenetrable darkness of the

like a

cursed cathedral. After a month of

they left, the Night Temple shuddered once again, dust falling from its ancient walls. Far below, the bells rang somberly, their usually melodious song sounding strangely

Nothing, the whole

not

that swayed above the chasm of the Sky Below on rusty chains, and soon reached the treacherous stairs that skirted the slope

wrong step can potentially cost them their lives. But Sunny was unwilling to slow down. They had to reach the surface, cross the island, traverse the heavenly chain…

this is

hesitated for a moment, then summoned the

"Climb onto my back!"

between the plates of the Undying Chain, cursed, and then threw his hand forward, the triangular blade of the Prowling Thorn shooting into the overhanging stone

girl's weight added to his own, the speed of their ascent wasn't too fast. However, with the help of the kunai and its invisible string, Sunny was able to increase it somewhat. It was an arduous and nerve-wracking journey — the two of them were like a spider scaling a mountain with the help of a single

vertical, and there were furious winds threatening to either crush them against the

a dozen torturous minutes — or maybe an eternity — they still managed to reach the

onto the soft ground, gripping his chest. There were disturbing, wheezing sounds coming out of his lungs with

I know. We need to move. It's not time

of flowers, the Hollow Mountains towering behind them. White mist was flowing down

a pleasant cold

His heart contracted painfully.

'Snow… it's snowing…'

December already? Or did the first snowfall arrive