Shadow Slave

Eventually, they ran out of food. Ananke's wooden box was now completely empty - except for the plates and cups that Sunny had washed and carefully placed back. There was not even wine left, despite the fact that neither he nor Nephis were fond of alcohol, diluted or not.

The old woman seemed stricken by guilt at the lack of things to feed them... Although she was not that old anymore.

Ananke looked to be in her sixties now. Her figure remained small and gaunt, but her back was as straight as an arrow. The cataracts disappeared from her eyes, revealing their original piercing blue color. The thin white hair of the elderly priestess turned grey and full, and although her tan skin was still mapped with wrinkles, it was not brittle and transparent anymore.

Her frailness and fragility were gone, replaced by wiry tenacity. Overall, she resembled quite a healthy old woman now.

...That old woman was currently pacing the wooden deck, crushed.

"Oh, no. Oh, what a blunder. I should have prepared more..."

Sunny and Nephis looked at each other in confusion. After a few moments of silence, Neph cleared her throat and said:

"Grandm... Ananke. You don't have to worry about us. Sunny and I... we are both used to hunger and hardship. This is nothing."

The old priestess looked at them silently.

"But you are Children of Weaver. How can I..."

Nephis shook her head.

"How do you think Children of Weaver live?"

Ananke fell silent, then said hesitantly:

"I don't know."

Sunny sighed and leaned on the side of the ketch with a smile.

numerous refugees across three thousand kilometers of abomination-infested mountains in bitter winter. We are used to storming the strongholds of dreadful horrors, clashing with titans, and surviving all kinds

woman stared at them silently for a while, her eyes

the Serpent King, my Lord and Lady... no wonder,

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"Serpent King?"

a distracted expression

We never met him or his people, but rumors

the back of his

I met

The old woman froze.

you met the

He nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah..."

Sunny looked away and

"...I killed him."

eyes widened, prompting him

It's not like I just

old woman remained silent for a while,

fish. We will be arriving at Weave soon, but still. My Lord and Lady shouldn't suffer hunger while in

with a determined expression... which

and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the seven suns on his face. After a few moments, though,

still wasn't sure how exactly one went about catching fish in

Ananke had a very strange idea of what

several items from beneath the storage space beneath the deck - a large ceramic bottle, a bundled rope with a jagged hook attached to it, a set of heavy stone weights, and a scattering of softly shining soul shards, which were all stored in a transparent waterskin that seemed to be made

grabbed the bottle and climbed onto the helmsman bench, looking at the water from above. When Ananke opened the ceramic vessel, the

indeed,

really make out despite hearing them clearly. At the same time, the ketch suddenly started to slow down, and a subtle, imperceptible

'Our concealment is broken.'