Shadow Slave

Although the Seeker's Tower was right in front of them, Sunny had little hope that they would be able to reach its entrance this time. Not only was the tower protected by the eerie enchantment, but the revolution was also close to its end - it had taken them a lot of time to find Effie and get back to the heart of the island.

He did not know how much longer they had, exactly, but it might have been mere minutes.

In the end... they never found out.

The black cliff was surrounded by a wide open space where there were no trees. Not long after the members of the cohort cautiously abandoned the forest, a gentle wind caressed Sunny's face, forcing him to look up.

Wind Flower was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, so no one except for Sunny could see... but there was something there, above them, hiding in the black expanse of the misty sky.

Frozen in terror, he watched dozens of twisting tendrils descending from the turbulent black fog, each hundreds of meters long.

Then, he was dead.

...Coming back to his senses on the deck of the Chain Breaker, Sunny could not help but shudder.

This was the first time he had caught a glimpse of the being that dwelled in the mist above the island. Sunny had thought that Wind Flower had no horrors left to surprise him with... but he had been wrong.

'What is... what even is... that thing?'

Hiding how disturbed he was, Sunny turned and looked at Cassie. By now, he was if not accustomed, then at least familiar with the terrible trauma of dying. The blind girl had only recently become aware of the loop, though. For her, it must have been a harrowing experience.

But, contrary to his expectations, Cassie seemed perfectly fine - nonchalant, even. It was as though she had experienced countless deaths already.

Sunny lingered for a moment.

'Right. Considering her Aspect... she probably has.'

for a moment, and tried to make his voice sound

"Are you alright?"

appeared on Cassie's

It's just... it

at them silently, a hint of confusion appearing in her tired grey eyes. She was once again suffering from the symptoms of essence exhaustion. Sunny sighed and gestured to Cassie, imploring her to take care of

was off to retrieve

definitely not

not quite sure how to act around her now, after what the Sin of Solace had

get into the terrifying

to Jet on the way back to the Chain Breaker. At the same time, Cassie explained it to Nephis. So, by the

usual routine had to

to enter the tower, they couldn't waste time going to the far side of the island and back. There was simply not

cold mist and darkness? He was not sure what had happened to her in the previous revolutions, without them. But knowing what he knew about the island... he doubted that it was something

remained silent for a while, agonizing over

and I can handle

looked at her

"What do you mean?"

over and pointed to them map

two of us will enter the caverns, kill the Terror, find Effie, and hide ourselves away until the end of the loop. Soul Reaper is the key to slaying

her with a grim expression and shook his

you know close to nothing about the island. The two of you

Nephis smiled.

can take your Onyx Saint and Ravenous Fiend with us. You can also send one of your shadows to tag along. Once you unleash the Shadow Realm Fragment, you'll be able to extend your senses to almost anywhere

hesitated for

they would be able to survive the dread of Wind Flower on their own, but... there was a chance, no matter how small. Sunny would most likely be able to guide them through the forest remotely. Cassie could share senses with either Nephis or Jet, too, to warn him