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.

flowing through the darkness of the Sky Below as though on water. Its

in repairing the ancient

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

of a long and sharp bowsprit. Human figures could be seen

swiftly approaching ship, stunned by the sight of it. It was hard to believe that this had been the same abomination-invested

repaired, it looked almost the same as

down, and landed

swayed a little and looked at the Fire Keepers

sighed, and fell down, instantly

terrible month

***

was laying near the 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 had dealt him — the physical wounds

that while Sunny was out of it, the healer of the Fire

am actually alive.

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

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

noticing Cassie sleeping

seemed to be over. Of course, in the future, he was going to have to deal with its consequences… and even before that, the

least they were free of the damned Night

'What a fiasco…'

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

and his mouth

grinned and handed him

you go,

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

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

with his meal and pushed the

proposal of yours… I might have changed my

She scoffed.

"Pfft! You wish."

chuckled, then glanced into the darkness that