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.

do

He shivered.

she not see the hunched figure sitting

forward and pointed

don't you

wary

I see that person. It's just that… why do

Sunny eyes widened.

in the next moment, the

head rose, and two dark chasms carved into the

slowly, arduously stood

person. The

Only his hand stretched out a little,

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,

Sunny had mistaken the wearer of the mask for a corpse. With the person remaining utterly motionless and his perception painted by the

black lacquered mask's eyes.

into this person's boat… so, what was there to do? Ask politely to be

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

chill crept up

wrapped in black gloves. The thin fingers

that was revealed belonged to a human. She was an old, extremely old woman. Sunny had never seen anyone who looked so ancient. He couldn't quite believe that someone that aged

was entirely white and thin, revealing

hunched body was frail and thin, as if ready to collapse from the smallest gale. The dark mantle hung listlessly from it, a

of unimpeachable dignity, willpower, and… sanctity,

deck of