Shadow Slave

A moment later, Cassie and Nephis landed behind him. The water splashed quietly as it licked the shore of the drowned island, the black vines glistening with crimson luster in the blaze of dusk. Apart from that gentle sound and the whispers of the wind, the dark garden was silent.

Sunny lingered for a few moments, extending his shadow sense outward. Eventually, he shook his head and said warily:

"There's movement."

Which meant that there was none.

The dark vines also did not seem to exude poisonous mist, and neither were their black flowers full of parasitic pollen. As far as Sunny could tell, the garden of thorns was entirely safe.

They were not taking any chances, though.

Taking a step forward, Nephis silently raised a hand. Wisps of white flame rose from her skin, and then suddenly shot forward in a rain of incandescent drops. As her eyes shone with incinerating radiance, the white drops fell on the vines and suddenly exploded into a roaring blaze.

Nephis stared at the dark garden with grim determination, and following her will, the flames spread with astonishing speed. Soon, the entire place was engulfed in fire. It crawled up the walls of the crooked temple, turning the magnificent edifice into a towering pyre... soon, the three of them found themselves standing in front of a sea of flames.

The black flowers dissolved into the white inferno. The slithering vines were obliterated from existence. The ancient stones cracked and melted, revealing more of the dark interior of the lost temple.

Still, no abomination revealed itself from the depths of the burning garden.

Nephis let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. The furious radiance illuminating them from within dimmed, and then disappeared to reveal her pale complexion. At the same time, the raging flames were left without the will that had been pushing them forward. With no more fuel to burn, they grew smaller and were gradually extinguished.

while the walls of the drowned

moment, but it seemed that there was indeed no danger here... at least on the surface. What waited

enemies he faced, the more of them possessed means of sensing and

close when dealing with a powerful opponent

"Let's go."

the heat, Cassie took a hesitant step

to the blind

"How are you feeling?"

hilt of the Quiet Dancer and forced

used to. I am long accustomed to perceiving the world from multiple points of view, after all. Still...

to looking upon the world from several points of view - that was a natural state for him, considering the growing number of shadows he possessed. However,

was exactly that Cassie managed to handle the mental strain of perceiving two different moments simultaneously, especially to such a degree that it aided her in combat instead of becoming a hindrance...

his own talents were that he rarely considered how exceptional his companions were, as well. Cassie was usually quiet and unassuming, so it was easy to overlook

it was

the blind

but why do

deep inside, he still saw Cassie as the helpless girl that had desperately needed his assistance on the Forgotten Shore. Both of them had changed drastically since then, but that first impression was so deeply ingrained that erasing it was

If so...

was ingrained deep inside Cassie's heart.

all. It was no time for

to ask the question? The image of a deceitful, selfish scumbag who outright told Nephis that she was a fool for dragging dead weight around, and that it would be better for the two of you