Shadow Slave

The Outsiders and the Riverborn... the revelation of the difference between them was enough to boggle Sunny's mind. He had already been prepared to encounter all kinds of bizarre situations inside the Tomb of Ariel, but what Ananke told them sent him for a loop.

It was because Sunny had only considered the odd perils of the Great River in relation to himself, not in relation to a whole civilization. The way the River People lived was fundamentally different from anything he had ever known... because the most fundamental truth of the world - time - worked differently for them.

The first settlers of the Tomb of Ariel had all been Outsiders, so how great must their shock have been when their children were born so different from them? How much pain did that division bring, how much sorrow? How much effort did it take for them to create an entirely new kind of society?

With time, the number of Riverborn grew, while the number of Outsiders dwindled. However, the civilization that Ananke had described could not function without the Outsiders, who could travel the Great River and served as the connective tissue between various cities established on it.

What was it like for them, to see their children remain forever young? What was it like for the Riverborn, to watch their parents age when they never did? To see them leave when they couldn't?

...How did Riverborn children even become adults?

Suddenly, the story of the followers of Weaver being chased far upstream gained a much darker undertone.

Sunny shivered.

The civilization of the Great River turned out to be much stranger than he had thought. It was so strange, in fact, that he struggled to imagine it.

And that was not even mentioning the fact that Old Ananke had turned out to not be old at all... while also being ten times his age.

'Ah, I can't think anymore...'

It was too much to digest... especially this early in the morning.

Sunny summoned the Endless Spring and washed his face, then opened Ananke's wooden box. There was not much food left inside, which made him sigh.

Taking out a teapot and a plate brimming with juicy braised meat, rolled in seaweed leaves, he sat down and stared at the seven suns for a few moments.

'...Dusk of Fallen Grace is one of the original sybils. If Ananke, who was born long after they had entered the Tomb of Ariel, is two hundred years old, then what about Dusk?'

about the Defilement? For how many centuries had the sybils fought against

long had the enemy been growing stronger,

hand, he poured the tea into two cups and grabbed a

matter how long it has been, I need to

days passed. Nephis had spent them diligently learning how to control the ketch

allow himself to get distracted and either think about the Tomb of Ariel or study the Estuary Key. Almost all his

The

finally, in the

straightened and opened his eyes

'This is it...'

Shell, the strange state of dissolving into shadows only to manifest himself into a tangible form... the memories of the Red Colosseum, where he slowly learned to fight in the unfamiliar body of the shadowspawn... the harrowing

it came

them both in thought and action. Training his body to be supremely adaptable and flexible. Breaking the rigid constraints of his mind to make it formless and shapeless, akin to a shadow. Those were all necessary steps, without which this evolution would not have been

all for this

was all... to

'I see now.'

into the twilight, the encroaching darkness around

the same time, a familiar voice whispered

have received the

out a

long, he finally took

summoning the runes immediately, he closed his eyes and assessed the breakthrough he

Dance, indeed. It was not about understanding the enemy to absorb

becoming the enemy, both in thought and

had done with Daeron of the

Shadow Dance had all grown stronger. His ability to shadow his enemies had been elevated to a

the bodies of various creatures had been elevated tremendously. Up until now, Sunny had only ever achieved two forms except for his own - that of the shadowspawn, and that of the river serpent.

a month to learn a new form anymore. Of course, he wouldn't be able to do it instantaneously, either - but the amount of time was drastically reduced. Sunny felt that he would have