Shadow Slave

"Dusk... Sybil of the Fallen Grace."

Sunny shivered.

Of course, he remembered who Dusk was. He was wearing a tunic called Shroud of Graceless Dusk, after all - the Transcendent Memory of the Sixth Tier he had received for slaying the Terror of LO49.

...That damned horror.

If he were to try and assign numbers to the enemies he had faced in Antarctica based on how many mental scars they left him with, the beautiful flower of floating white silk would be squarely placed second, right behind the Winter Beast. Even Goliath, who had literally killed him, did not leave as harrowing of an impression.

Of course, Dusk was most likely neither dead nor corrupted yet in the Nightmare. She was still a human, and seemed to be ruling a place called Fallen Grace. Since Sunny and Nephis wanted to reach the civilization of the Great River and find the sybils, this destination was perfect.

...It was a little bit too perfect, even.

Ananke had answered one of the most important questions they had. The improbable coincidence of them finding her ketch just when they needed it was no coincidence at all. She had come knowingly, expecting to find them.

But who was it that had instructed her where to find them? In her dreams, no less?

Who was pulling the strings of this Nightmare behind the scenes?

'Is it, perhaps, the last sybil herself?'

Sunny frowned, knowing that he would not find the answer any time soon. The earliest opportunity was probably going to be when he came face-to-face with the Sybil of the Fallen Grace... again.

He sighed.

"...Fallen Grace? How far is that?"

Old Ananke hesitated for a few moments.

is far. Very, very far. So far that I won't be

It almost seemed as though

old woman shook slightly, and

my Lord and Lady. Ah... you see, we daemon followers weren't welcome here, in Ariel's Tomb, either. They chased us away, and we traveled upstream for a long time before settling down and building Weave. Weave... it's one of the human cities on the Great River, like Fallen Grace.

looked at

was it that Ananke was unable to return downstream? Was there some kind of internal strife between the locals of the Great River? Would it be dangerous for her to enter the

Weave only used to

Nephis spoke cautiously:

to put

The old woman smiled.

Lady. Do not worry

was slowing down, and her words became slurred. It was obvious that the old woman

have

soft sigh, Ananke raised her hands.

bewilderment as a whirlwind of white sparks appeared in

is... she is summoning a

them, looked infinitely strange and out of place when performed by one of the ancient humans. It was the ability of those infected by the Spell, after all, and no

in front of them. Ananke

from its spout, two

fruits were succulent, and the pies looked freshly cooked. The items were simple and modest, even worn

delicious smell spread through

everything on the tablecloth and offered the food to

of the future. Please, eat and rest. I... I will

a deep breath, then slowly rose to her feet and walked back to the helmsman's bench with effort. Sitting down on it, the old woman

moment, the

themselves and billowed in the wind, while the steering oar swayed, turning the bow of the boat downstream. Soon, they were sailing across the

and Nephis hesitated for a bit. Both of them were completely exhausted and incredibly hungry, but... they still did not trust