Shadow Slave

As Nephis steered the ketch toward the wall of darkness, Sunny had some time to prepare himself mentally for the arduous struggle that lay ahead of them. He also had time to observe Ananke closer.

What he saw... did not bode well.

Despite being an adult - and someone hundreds of years old, at that - the priestess had regained the body of a young child. Looking at her youthful appearance, it was hard to remember how ancient, decrepit, and frail she had been once, when they met her in the far future.

But the change was not exactly a benevolent one. Despite being full of vitality, Ananke had obviously grown much weaker. Her immature body was not as strong and physically capable as it had been before... but, worse than that, the differences went deeper than that.

As Sunny observed the child priestess, he slowly realized that her mind had been affected by her turning into a child, as well. It was as though her head could not contain the mature consciousness of an experienced adult anymore. Nor could her heart handle the powerful emotions of one with the same composure.

Ananke had not really turned dull or less intelligent, but... there was a certain infantile straightforwardness to how she spoke and behaved now. Her eyes, which had always been wise, seemed slightly naive, as well.

Her mind slowly regressing.

Sunny felt cold claws grip his heart.

'Curse it...'

He gritted his teeth and looked down, but then forced himself to straighten.

'Fine. It's fine. She has taken care of us enough... we'll take care of her, now.'

Of course, they still needed the child priestess to protect the ketch from the ravages of broken time. Sunny hoped that she would be able to maintain the bubble of stability around the ketch - both for their sake, and her own.

Once they were out of the storm, they would find a way to help her return to Weave, even if it meant turning around and sailing back upstream.

His heavy thoughts were interrupted by a sudden breeze that threw tiny droplets of water into his face. Sunny looked up, sensing the shadows around them shift.

'We're here...'

darkness was

"Hurry!"

ketch. Together, they swiftly lowered the sails

weak, there was

grew more violent. Sunny grimaced, sensing the bizarre transition from the absence of time to the unnerving mess of it being broken

'Come on, Ananke...'

task just as flawlessly as she had before. Submitting to her

in the world was still there, but bearable. Sunny quietly

not missed

still surface of the water becoming restless. Finally, waves appeared, small and weak at

stern of the ketch, Nephis steered it with an iron hand. Sparks of white flame danced in her eyes, refusing to be

'Here we go...'

swallowed the world once again. The tranquil silence was torn apart, replaced by the furious howling of the wind. The deck of the ketch jerked, mounting a tall wave. A thunderous thunderclap

is it.

the storm, Sunny found Ananke's shoulder and pulled her closer to him, so that she wouldn't be thrown overboard by

down, he hesitated for a few moments, and

the depths of

with her large azure

"Yes, my Lord!"

up the iron bowl and prepared to

Grace by luck. And now I need to survive this storm, somehow, to meet her again. What a

indeed

did not feel

giant beast. The ketch flew on the raging current, dwarfed by towering waves. The swirling mist enveloped the world, making it seem as though nothing except for