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 main mast, a young tree was growing, its branches brimming with vibrant

succeeded in repairing the ancient

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 previously almost destroyed. However, overall, the vessel

bright one burning at the tip of a long and sharp

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

it looked almost the same as on the golden coins he had sacrificed to the

more, then slowed down,

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

and fell down,

terrible day… no, a terrible month he had, some rest

***

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

was out of it, the healer of the

actually alive.

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

the terrible wound had already closed, be it just barely. Now that he was conscious, he would be able to stitch it up, or at least cover the gash with a bandage… as

noticing Cassie sleeping nearby. Her

the fact that their harrowing adventure seemed to be over. Of course, in the future, he was going

were free of the

'What a fiasco…'

and a few moments later, Effie appeared

eyes glistened, and his

huntress grinned and handed

go,

Effie sat down on the deck and placed

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

his meal and

proposal of yours… I

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

chuckled, then glanced into the darkness that