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.

graceful shape of a resplendent wooden ship became visible, flowing through the darkness of the Sky Below as though on water. Its

in repairing the ancient vessel after all,

its hull devoid of the cracks and breaches that had marred its surface before. A patchwork of replacement boards still stood out on the polished wood, and here and there, the structure of the ship seemed rickety and slapdash — especially near the bow, which had been

at the tip of a long and sharp bowsprit. Human figures could be seen on

of it. It was hard to believe that this had been the

was repaired, it looked almost the same as on the golden coins he

slowed down, and landed on

a solid surface under his feet, Sunny swayed a little and looked at the

sighed, and fell down, instantly losing

a terrible month he had,

***

the branches of the young tree, a soft pillow under his head and a warm blanket covering his body. He still

it, the

am actually alive. What a

sat up, then stared into the darkness for a bit. The ancient vessel was swiftly flying through the abyss, descending

just barely. Now that he was conscious, he would be able to stitch it up, or at least cover the gash with

state, Sunny looked around, noticing Cassie sleeping nearby. Her face was

to terms 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

they were free

'What a fiasco…'

dwell on his frustration for long, however, because a delicious smell suddenly reached his nostrils, and a few

glistened, and

huntress grinned and handed him a

you go,

flashed her a smile, and then attacked the food like a ravenous beast. Effie sat down on the

energetic chewing. At some point, Kai landed nearby

his

of

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

into the darkness that