Shadow Slave

Sunny had yet to recover from the shocking revelation about the nature of his world, but time waited for no man. The revolution was going to end soon, so he had to gain as much as he could from his first meeting with Wind Flower. But still...

"If my world is one of the six divine realms... then which god did it belong to?"

The most suitable candidate was War God, the Goddess of Life - as well as of progress, technology, craft, and intellect... the patron deity of humanity. Heart God was a possibility, as well. However, he could not quite imagine Earth having anything to do with the fallen gods of the Dream Realm. These two concepts were just too incompatible.

Plus, the waking world encompassed more than just Earth. There was the moon, the sun... all the planets of the Solar System, and countless stars beyond. A whole universe of them, billions of years old! How could all of it be simply one of the divine realms?

But then again... the gods had never been constrained by mundane logic. They were the ones who had created the universal laws of existence. Even time itself was merely one of their weapons - who was to say that a god could only will something into existence, not will something to have always existed?

"Ah... my brain hurts."

Sunny's mortal mind seemed to be incapable of truly comprehending such matters. Wind Flower must have been the same. She certainly knew more than Sunny, but there was no telling how accurate her understanding was. In any case, for now, it did not matter. He was elated to learn such profound mysteries, but his immediate goal was not enlightenment. It was getting the hell off Aletheia's Island. And Wind Flower was conveniently offering her help in that regard.

Sunny took a deep breath.

"Do you know... how we can escape this horrible place?"

He paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I should describe our situation first. There are five of us here. Three, including me, start the loop in the hidden bay at the southern edge of the island - well, what I call the southern edge, anyway. The fourth member of the cohort is in the forest, not too far away from the bay. It's the fifth that is the problem... she is all the way on the northern edge of the island."

His expression darkened.

"There are all kinds of terrifying abominations hidden in the mist, so we can't travel freely. No matter how many times I tried, I failed to pick up the fifth member and return to our ship before the loop ends. This tower... and you, Lady Wind Flower... are more or less my last hope."

Wind Flower looked into the window, then let out a quiet sigh and put her cup on the table. Then, she stood up.

"Come with me."

himself standing at the edge of a tall cliff, looking at the flowing waters below. The colossal whirlpool was gone, replaced by the beautiful vista of the Great River sparkling under the light of the seven suns. However, not too far away, the world was obscured

looked into

you how I

at

who had brought me here, and put me to sleep at the top of Aletheia's Tower. There is a seed of Corruption in my soul, and so... remaining inside this cycle of time is the only

lingered for a moment, then looked at the Great River once

of the Defilement and conquer this Nightmare. However... even after breaching the walls of the city and fighting our way to the

exquisite line of her

Seeker... must be tremendously

a Sovereign in command of a vast army of Awakened had failed to put an end to the Defilement,

thoughts turned dark and bitter.

lightly shook

has no power. That thing could not even be called a living being anymore... it's just a grotesque, sprawling mass of festering flesh contained within the Citadel, its tendrils slowly spreading across all of Verge. The problem, however, is that anyone who touches it becomes infected by Corruption. That... is how I became

looked at Sunny

you still think that you and your companions can

silent for a few moments, trying his hardest not to imagine the revolting image of the cursed

Eventually, Sunny nodded.

my companions... she is immune to the Corruption, in fact. I have a Memory to borrow that Ability of hers, as well. There is probably no one in the world suited for the task better than the

smiled faintly and lingered for a moment, then added in a strangely

"...It must be fate."

the fact that there was someone out there whose

retreated from Verge, my father brought me here, to Aletheia's Island. The only place that could delay my eventual fall into Corruption.

Sunny hesitated.

that I know

looked at him with

know

frowned, then