Shadow Slave

Sunny waited for a moment, then slowly straightened and looked around.

The Chain Breaker was laying on white sand, tilted awkwardly. It had shattered the side of a black cliff and was now leaning on it, which prevented the ship from turning over. They had gotten lucky despite the blind landing.

The fog was still there, obscuring the world, but it had become less thick. Sunny could make out the figure of Saint standing still on the bow of the beached vessel, as well as more cliffs rising high above them. It seemed that Nephis had guided the Chain Breaker to a small strip of sand at the very edge of the island.

Changing Star herself was leaning heavily on the steering oars. Her face was paler than usual, and the white flames were gone from her eyes - she had completely exhausted her essence to carry the ship across the dark abyss.

Sunny grimaced. It was very unfortunate to have one of them utterly drained of essence right now. No one knew what dangers were waiting for them on the misty shore... these first minutes could very well prove to be of vital importance.

Not that there had been a choice.

"I'm fine."

Noticing his gaze, Nephis forced out a faint smile and put a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"I can still put up a fight."

Sunny nodded, having no doubt in her ability to do just that, despite this weakened state. She was a seasoned slayer. Nevertheless, they had to be careful not to allow themselves to be wounded - it would be quite a while before Nephis could heal them again.

Cassie used the Guiding Light to pick herself off the deck and shivered slightly as the mist caressed her skin. Her expression was troubled. Noticing it, Sunny tensed as well.

"What is it?"

The blind girl had an intuition that was far superior to even his. It had saved their lives numerous times, so seeing her this nervous was not a good sight.

She lingered for a while, then shook her head with a frown.

a very ominous feeling. This place, Wind Flower... every part of me is screaming

around them. All his instincts were telling him one thing - that there were dreadful predators somewhere close. Much more dreadful than even

Sunny scowled.

always in

words nonchalantly, he summoned the Sin of Solace and called upon his Shadows. Saint, Fiend, and Nightmare

deck and was now peering into the fog, her expression impassive. After a few moments of silence, she turned

"Do it."

the Guiding Light. None of them really understood how the divine relic worked, but they had established that it could

same way to Jet. That

Crow landed on his shoulder, Cassie gripped the wooden staff tighter. Then, she lingered for

"Huh... that's strange."

still pointing to somewhere deep in

It seems to be working

girl

Effie yet. The light should still be pointing to Wind Flower...

concentrated for a moment, and then the radiance of the enchanted crystal changed subtly. It was still

Guiding Light truly pointed to Effie, her lifeless body, or something else entirely. And yet, seeing it

Or else... or else I'll be very cross with

took a step

"Let's go, then."

moment later, Nephis was by his side. Saint and Fiend landed with a bit

of them remained motionless for a few moments,

soft white sand and the black cliffs faintly visible in the fog. A piece of rock fell from the shattered crag

enough, so was his shadow sense. It was not entirely gone, but the range was limited to about as far as

like being that vulnerable