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...'

wall of darkness was

"Hurry!"

they swiftly lowered the sails and dismantled the masts, repeating the actions they had performed before entering the

they were done, the water around them was not still anymore. Although weak, there was a hint

the seven suns slowly dimmed, and the winds 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...'

Submitting to her will, the

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

not missed

becoming restless. Finally, waves appeared, small

hand. Sparks of white flame danced in her eyes, refusing to be devoured

'Here we go...'

once again. The tranquil silence was torn apart, replaced by the furious howling of the wind.

is it.

shoulder and pulled her closer to him, so

hesitated for a few

the depths of

at him with her large azure eyes, and

"Yes, my Lord!"

picked up the iron bowl and prepared to scoop up as much

the Fallen Grace by luck. And now I need to survive this storm, somehow, to meet

indeed a

not feel

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