Shadow Slave

After resting for a while, Sunny and Nephis separated. She went off to study the Memories Sir Gilead had transferred to her - there had not been a lot of time to get a proper feel for them in the Nightmare Desert. Sunny, meanwhile, remained sitting on the soft moss with a contemplative expression.

'What to do...'

First, he closed his eyes and sent the five shadows to investigate the dark island. It was somewhere between one and two kilometers across, so there was not a lot of ground to cover. However, the terrain of the giant shell of black rock was weathered and uneven. There were plenty of cracks and fissures, some of them large and easy to notice, others hidden from view. Some were entirely filled with water.

The exploration did not take too long. His shadows did not find anything really interesting, either - there was the weathered rock, the vibrant patches of green moss, and the remains of the creature's battle armor, its silver now tarnished and bleak. Other than that, the dark island was desolate and barren.

What made a deep impression on Sunny, though, were the fissures themselves. At first, he had assumed that they were just natural features of the Great Monster's stone shell... but after some time, with a shiver, he realized that they were not.

Instead, each of the deep grooves was a scar left on the titanic shell of the ancient creature by unknown enemies. None managed to penetrate it, and some were rather shallow - however, some were dark and frighteningly deep.

Considering that even the azure serpent was not able to crack the Black Turtle's carapace, Sunny dreaded to imagine what kind of creatures had left those claw marks on its back.

He looked at the gleaming expanse of the Great River with gloom. Suddenly, the enchanting beauty of this dreamlike world seemed like a facade that hid unspeakable horrors behind its alluring veil.

Of course, Sunny had known that already. But in that moment, he felt it stronger than ever before.

'Beautiful things are the most dangerous.'

Glancing in the direction where Nephis had left, he sighed and stretched his legs.

and then, three figures

Nightmare, and

in front of him was a beautiful statue. Nightmare was staring at the azure serpent, which was circling the island, with dark and malevolent fury burning in his crimson eyes. Imp seemed a little uncomfortable under Sunny's gaze, shifting from foot to

to Sunny. He didn't necessarily need to use the tenebrous stallion as a battle companion... that said, his steed was very close to unlocking the Terror Ability and finally realizing its full potential. The next Rank was also not far

a Terror

process at the moment, though. It was going

pushing her to greater power anymore. To make the graceful stone knight achieve the Supreme Rank, he

numbers were unattainable at the

want to count the potential number of Dormant Memories she would need to rank up. Reaching a higher Class, meanwhile, required luck and stumbling on a uniquely suitable enemy - it was outside his control. Saint had already classed up twice, but the rest of his Shadows, excluding the aberrant Soul Serpent, had yet to do it even once. That went to show

one thing Sunny could do right now,

he sent Morgan's Warbow and

make Saint the sentry for as long as they remained on the dark island. The Stifled Scream, however, was

had an enchantment called [Echoing Silence]. Its description read: "When wearing this charm, the physical power of its master is augmented... but only as

was a powerful enchantment indeed, and one perfectly suited for the taciturn Shadow. However, he had never managed to get a lot out of it, because there had never been an opportunity to keep Saint summoned for

now, however... there was an

the Stifled Scream grows stronger the longer one stays silent. So, it functions in relation

not know how exactly the distance traveled on the Great River corresponded to time, but he assumed that it was not a small amount. Were they moving one day into the

One year?

in no time. That was an outlandish theory, but it was worth checking out, at

Sunny turned to