Shadow Slave

"Hold on for a bit more!"

The archer strained a little, bearing their weight as he darted through the abyss, his flight swift and effortless. Illuminated by the paper lantern, the three of them traveled through the darkness like a small comet, moving faster and faster.

The wind whistled in Sunny's ears.

He remained silent for a bit, dumbfounded, then asked:

"Wait… was it you who brought Saint Tyris here?"

Kai smiled, looking somewhere far away.

"Of course! When you and Cassie didn't return to the real world, we knew that the negotiation with the representatives of clan Valor must have failed. But when you didn't arrive at Shipwreck Island by November, as the plan had been, it was clear that something went wrong. So, Effie and I waited for a bit, then went to the White Feather clan for help."

He paused for a moment, and then added:

"Eventually, we decided to come to the Night Temple ourselves. That was a week ago. We have just arrived yesterday."

'But the Citadel was sealed…'

Sunny frowned, suddenly catching an inconsistency in Kai's words.

"Wait… a week ago? How did you cross the Chained Isles so fast?"

The archer smiled brightly.

"...Look ahead!"

'What does he…'

Sunny glanced forward, and froze.

They were swiftly approaching another source of light, this one much, much larger. Or rather, it was moving in their direction, even faster than Kai was flying.

though on water. Its sails were pristine white, and around the main mast, a young tree was growing, its branches brimming with

Keepers had succeeded in repairing the ancient vessel

and here and there, the

Memories illuminating the ship, an especially bright one burning at the tip of a

It was hard to believe that this had

looked almost the same as on the golden coins he had

even more, then slowed down, and landed

swayed a little and looked at the

he sighed, and fell down,

no, a terrible month

***

under his head and a warm blanket covering his body. He still felt terrible, but mostly due to the soul damage

that while Sunny was out of it, the healer of the Fire

actually alive. What a

vessel was swiftly

he would be able to stitch it up, or at least cover the gash with a bandage… as well as properly take

looked around, noticing Cassie sleeping nearby. Her

the fact that their harrowing adventure seemed to be over. Of course, in the future, he was going to have to deal with its consequences… and even before that, the

at least they were free of

'What a fiasco…'

because a delicious smell suddenly reached his nostrils, and a few moments later, Effie appeared nearby, carrying two plates of somewhat that seemed

eyes glistened, and his mouth

and

go,

attacked the food like a ravenous beast. Effie sat down on the deck and placed the second plate

minutes were spent in silence, disturbed only by the sound of energetic chewing. At some point, Kai landed

Sunny was done with his meal and pushed

of

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

chuckled, then glanced into the darkness that surrounded