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.

became visible, flowing through the darkness of the Sky Below as though on water. Its sails were pristine white, and around the main

repairing the

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

tip of a long and sharp bowsprit.

it. It

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

and fell

terrible month he had, some rest was

***

main mast of the ship, 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

while Sunny was out of it, the healer of the

actually alive.

swiftly flying through the abyss, descending into its depths. Due to that, his

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

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

in the future, he was going to have to

free of the damned

'What a fiasco…'

reached his nostrils, and a few moments later, Effie

glistened, and his mouth

huntress grinned and

go, doofus. Welcome

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

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

with his meal and pushed

Effie. About that marriage proposal of

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

into the darkness that