Shadow Slave

1480 In a Day's Work

Without the deadly Nightmare Creatures hiding in the mist and blocking the way, it took them a surprisingly short amount of time to reach the hidden bay. Sunny struggled to believe how much blood he had spilled in the past to traverse the dreadful reaches of Aletheia's Island… now that its prisoners were gone, the island had fallen silent.

Of course, it was hard to recognize the places where Sunny had fought, struggled, and died. The forest was no more, with most of the ancient pines laying on the ground, either toppled or entirely destroyed. The mist was largely gone, too, revealing the scene of startling destruction in all its frightening glory.

Massive carcasses towered above the devastated landscape here and there, some of them partially devoured. Rivers of blood flowed between the toppled trees, turning the remains of the forest into a vile swamp. It was like a scene out of a feverish nightmare…

Well, of course it was. They were in a Nightmare, after all.

As the cohort hurried to reach the Chain Breaker, Aletheia's Island was starting to fall apart. It was shuddering and quaking, making it hard to advance at a steady pace. More cracks appeared in the bloodsoaked soil, some of them leading all the way down to the darkness below. Sometimes, a wide chasm would open right in front of the cohort, forcing them to change course and rush to circle around it.

It felt like they were running out of time.

…But, in the end, the did not.

Sunny was starting to feel rather restless, but just then, the cohort finally reached the stone steps leading down to the white beach. Cassie was riding Nightmare, while Effie was once again being carried by the Covetous Coffer. Sending the two of them ahead, he joined Nephis and Jet in descending from the cliffs in a much faster way…

They simply jumped off the edge and used their Memories to glide down.

Finally, they saw the Chain Breaker in the distance. The graceful vessel was where they had left it, crashed against a black cliff, its bow buried in the white sand.

"Hurry!"

the white beach, the whole island seemed to have tilted. A thunderous sound of something impossibly large breaking rolled from behind them, and Sunny felt his

away. The timing of their escape was not at all optimal,

were looking around with stunned expressions — neither of them had seen the Chain Breaker during the last cycle of the time loop, after all — Nephis dashed to the enchantment circle at the stern of the ship. Cassie had disappeared to somewhere under the deck, while Sunny

That cursed place.

harrowing hell did not feel real. After all the pain, all the suffering, all the deaths… with how elusive time had been inside the loop, the months Sunny

says you can

from somewhere, unnoticed, and was now standing behind

is over? That your pain is over? Fool… ah, you don't even know how pitiful

Sunny smiled darkly.

At least I'm

the beach crumbed and collapsed, falling down like a black

the flying ship moved, as

faster, it rose above the ground and soared into the sky. Nephis was guiding it away from

Aletheia's Island break apart in

had lost so much

gained

Cassie had come to the mysterious place

they had gained, the forces of the Defilement had lost. Two members had rejoined the cohort, while two of the Six Plagues had perished. That was a truly surprising, but indescribably beneficial outcome.

just luck. It was a combination of good fortune, their unrelenting efforts… and, to a

was another thing Sunny had gained — knowledge. Knowledge about the Mad Prince, yes, but also about so many other

existence had been revealed to him on Aletheia's Island. The nature of the Dream Realm, the past atrocities