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.

the Sky Below as though on water. Its sails were pristine white, and around the

in repairing the ancient vessel after

out on the polished wood, and here and there, the structure of the ship seemed rickety and slapdash

battery of light Memories illuminating the ship, an especially bright one burning at the tip of a long and sharp bowsprit. Human figures could be seen on

It was hard to believe that

that the ancient vessel was repaired, it looked almost the same as

then slowed down, and landed on the wooden

feet, Sunny swayed a little and

sighed, and fell down, instantly losing

month he had, some rest was long

***

under the branches of the young tree, a soft pillow under his head and a warm blanket covering his body. He still felt terrible, but mostly due to the soul damage Mordret

out of it, the healer of the Fire Keepers, Shim, had treated

alive. What

darkness for a bit. The ancient vessel was swiftly flying through the abyss, descending into its

his chest, where the terrible wound had already closed, be it just barely. Now that he was conscious, he would be

Cassie sleeping nearby. Her face was

with 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 Second Nightmare awaited, perhaps much

free

'What a fiasco…'

and a few moments later, Effie appeared nearby, carrying two plates of somewhat that seemed like real,

and

huntress grinned and handed

you go, doofus.

smile, and then attacked the food like a ravenous beast. Effie sat down on the deck and placed the second plate near Cassie,

minutes were spent in silence, disturbed only by the sound of energetic chewing. At some point, Kai landed nearby and joined them, an easygoing smile on

Sunny was done with his meal and pushed

Effie. About that marriage proposal of yours…

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

the darkness that surrounded