Shadow Slave

Sunny found himself unable to move for a few moments. Encountering the ketch just when they desperately needed shelter was already shocking enough. Finding a corpse that looked eerily similar to the nameless prisoner of the hidden dungeon beneath the ruined cathedral inside the ketch… it sent him into a fugue state.

All kinds of wild thoughts rushed through his mind.

For a split second, Sunny even imagined that it was his own corpse, brought here from the future by some strange anomaly of the mystical river. But, no… the proportions were all wrong. He was not a tall man, but the mysterious person was even smaller. They were practically tiny.

In fact, now that Sunny had taken a good look at the corpse, he realized that it was different from the prisoner of the ruined cathedral, as well. The dark mantle and the mask were the same, but the body hidden beneath them was not. Even with its features obfuscated, he could tell the difference.

Still… what was the meaning of this? How could there be another Weaver's Mask? Who were these two people, and how could they be so similar despite the great divide between the Dark City and the Tomb of Ariel?

Nephis seemed startled, as well, albeit for a different reason than Sunny. She did notice his strong reaction, though.

"Sunny? What is it?"

She must have noticed that the mask the corpse was wearing was the same mask Mongrel wore. She also knew that it was a Divine Memory of the Seventh Tier, even if Sunny had never told her where Weaver's Mask came from.

He took a deep breath.

"That corpse… it's just like the one I found in the Dark City, beneath the cathedral. That was where I got the mask."

Sunny had found the Spawn of the Vile Thieving Bird by pure coincidence — even if that coincidence might not have happened without the influence of [Fated]. Everything that followed after absorbing the drop of ichor that contained Blood Weave, however, was the result of logic and reason. It was the consequence of that first chance encounter.

Guided by the ability to see the radiance of divinity, which Blood Weave granted him, he explored the cathedral of the Dark City and received Weaver's Mask. Guided by Weaver's Mask, he dove into the Sky Below, reached the Ebony Tower, and discovered Weaver's severed arm, thus acquiring Bone Weave.

What was the cause of this situation, then? Was it a coincidence or the result of his choices?

As Sunny was spacing out, consumed by these thoughts, Nephis looked at him with a frown.

What do you

He shivered.

she not see the hunched

a step forward and

you see that

wary and

just that… why do you keep

Sunny eyes widened.

the next

chasms carved into the fearsome mask stared at Sunny

slowly, arduously stood

not the corpse… the person. The wearer

to move. Only his hand stretched out a

their feet, he realized that they were indeed very small. The figure shrouded by the dark mantle was extremely thin, seeming weak and frail. The person's back was hunched, and

no surprise that Sunny had mistaken the wearer of the mask for a corpse. With the person remaining utterly motionless and his perception painted by the encounter in the dungeon of the ruined cathedral, it would have

hunched stranger froze, looking at them through the lightless pits of the black lacquered mask's eyes. Sunny

so, what was there to do? Ask

the mask was a human or a Nightmare Creature. However, just like with the corpse beneath the cathedral, the dark mantle and the mask were impenetrable. Beyond them

icy chill crept up

which were wrapped in black gloves. The thin fingers touched the edges

extremely old woman. Sunny had never seen anyone who looked

long hair was entirely white and thin, revealing glimpses of the brown parchment of her scalp. Her eyes, which had been piercing once, were now dull and obscured

ready to collapse from the smallest gale. The dark mantle hung listlessly from it,

a feeling of unimpeachable dignity, willpower, and… sanctity,

deck of the ketch with a