Shadow Slave

The woman standing in front of Sunny was tall and slender, with long hair that fell down in a gentle cascade of pale gold. Her posture was perfectly straight, and her cold face was dazzlingly beautiful.

Sky Tide was wearing a suit of light steel armor, with pauldrons and greaves decorated with stylized feathers. The gaze of her stern amber eyes was piercing and heavy, while her strange vertical pupils resembled that of a bird of prey.

Snowflakes swirled and danced in the air, as if trying to get closer to her.

Sunny was rather startled to see the familiar Transcendent.

"Saint Tyris? What... what are you doing here?"

Sky Tide glanced at him

"Master Sunless... it is good to see you again. I am glad to find you in good health. As for why I am here, isn't it obvious? I have come to hunt the beast."

He shifted awkwardly.

"No... uh... I meant why are you here, in Antarctica?"

She stared at him expressionlessly

"White Feather clan has been tasked with supporting the evacuation effort in the Southern Quadrant."

Oh...

Suddenly, a few things clicked into place. Back when Sky Tide had killed Saint Cormac to protect Sunny and Cassie, she told them that she would be punished by the great clan Valor. She had also told them that they would not dare to penalize her too severely.

It seemed that having the Chained Isles taken away was not enough of a punishment for the willful Saint. Valor had to make a gesture by sending a token force to Antarctica, and so, the White Feather clan had drawn the short straw. It seemed that they had lost their idyllic demesne and were banished to the cold reaches of the war-torn continent, at least for the time being.

Looking around, Sunny suppressed a sad sigh. The dark and inhospitable land surrounding them was a far cry from the empyrean beauty of the Sanctuary of Noctis. He felt a bit guilty about the whole thing.

Tided did not seem to mind, though... or at least hid her displeasure

meanwhile, looked at them

forgotten that the two of you know each other. In any case, we

amber eyes drifted to the

know

shook her head

"Not much..."

looked at the

Sunny, do

***

your thing... do your thing?

scaled the slopes of the mountain. By now, the range of Shadow Control had exceeded a dozen kilometers, so it

suited to spy on the

of the Nightmare assaulted his mind. Now that he was observing a

almost split the peak of the

rift of the Gate pulsed inside the cavernous schism, and there was stone debris littering the immediate area around it. Many shards had rolled down the steep slopes, while a few giant boulders had even reached all the way down, smashing large parts of the outpost

he did not notice the Nightmare Creatures

the creepy shadow, true to its name, crept closer that a sudden shiver ran through his body. Sunny noticed hundreds of shapes

as white as the snow covering the top of the mountain, and had a texture that resembled rock. They looked like giant insects that were as large as adult humans. Some

jade creature resembled an oversized, appalling, monstrous beetle. It was easily three times the size

abomination. Sunny suddenly felt an eerie

at Saint Tyris, Master Jet,

drones under

lingered for a moment, and

"Kimmy!"

him to see the

their tough carapaces, Sunny slowly listed a few vulnerable points.