Shadow Slave

"So, what do we do now?" The cohort was hidden between the cliffs on the northern side of the island. Effie was pillaging the Covetous Coffer while Jet and Nephis sat tiredly on the ground. They had taken point in the battle against the Cavern Terror, but strangely enough, Sunny and Cassie seemed more drained.

The blind girl shook her head in dejection. "I'm... not sure."

They had just shared their findings. The method to infiltrate Aletheia's Tower, the remains of a slain Great Tyrant, the sleeping woman on the top floor... and how they had failed to wake her up.

Sunny was in a grim mood. They had wasted so much time and effort, but had nothing to show for it. The escape from the island seemed just as impossible as it had before. 'Curse it.'

He remained silent for a few moments, then glanced at Nephis.

There was something gnawing at him. "Cassie said that you've met one of the Nine?"

That question held no real importance for their current situation, but he felt curious. Perhaps knowing more about the former master of the island could help them think of a new solution.

Neph looked at him with a hint of surprise. "Yes, I did."

Sunny did not react much to her confirmation. "Was it in your Second Nightmare?"

He was more or less certain of it, but, unexpectedly, Nephis shook her head. "No... I met him in the Nightmare Desert."

Everyone was confused by her answer - Effie and Jet because they did not know who the Nine were, Sunny and Cassie because they did.

could a person from the ancient past of the Dream Realm be alive in the

their confusion, Nephis

the Nightmare Desert, I found two skeletons nailed to a mystical tree. One called himself Azarax the Mighty, and the other called himself Eurys of the Nine. I got the impression that they were left on that tree

a

trusted, though... to me, it seemed like he had been a high-ranking soldier of the Demon Army. In any case, I took him off the tree, and he guided

nailed to a tree? Sure, the Nightmare Desert is full of old bones that refuse to stay dead. However, none of those I've seen ever spoke

dream right after she had returned from her Second Nightmare. Had there not been a terrible tree there, with

it about slitting a god's throat? Surely, that was a play on

Right?

'Interesting.'

side of the daemons. Aletheia, meanwhile, had come to the Tomb of Ariel - perhaps the only place where

he supposed to

was one unfortunate conclusion Sunny had to make... it was that

for the

to wake up that woman again. If nothing helps... although I don't like it, we might want to try attacking

an eyebrow. "You want

moments, then said

he had thought. The shy girl he had known on the Forgotten Shore would have never thought of killing a

have thought of it

why am

of them. Sunny was not the same person he had been on the Forgotten Shore... he hoped that it was for the best. Cassie would not have