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.

Keepers had succeeded in repairing 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 previously almost

the ship, an especially bright one burning at the tip of a long and sharp bowsprit. Human figures could be

It was hard to believe that this

the ancient vessel was repaired, it looked almost the same as on the golden coins he had sacrificed

down,

solid surface under his feet, Sunny swayed a little and

he sighed, and fell down, instantly losing

terrible month he had, some rest was long

***

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 had dealt him — the physical wounds

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

am actually alive. What a

ancient vessel was swiftly flying through the abyss, descending into its depths. Due to that, his body felt nice

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

state, Sunny looked around, noticing Cassie sleeping nearby.

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

they were free of the damned Night

'What a fiasco…'

nostrils, and a few moments later, Effie appeared nearby, carrying two

glistened, and his

grinned and handed

go,

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

sound of energetic chewing. At some point, Kai landed nearby and joined

was done with his meal and pushed the plate

proposal of yours… I might

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

chuckled, then glanced into the darkness that surrounded them