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!"

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

before the battle with Undying Slaughter, and dusk was still too far away. The timing of their escape was not at all optimal, but

the last cycle of the time loop, after all — Nephis dashed to the enchantment circle at the stern of the ship. Cassie had disappeared

That cursed place.

pain, all the suffering, all the deaths… with how elusive time had been inside the loop, the months Sunny spent repeating the same desperate actions over

you can

appeared from somewhere, unnoticed, and was now

says that your suffering is over? That your pain is over? Fool… ah,

Sunny smiled darkly.

I'm not as pitiful as

the black cliffs rising above the beach crumbed and collapsed, falling down like a black avalanche. A giant crack appeared on the ground, the sand spilling into it like water, and crawled

the flying ship moved, as

and soared into the sky. Nephis was guiding it away from the disintegrating

Aletheia's Island break apart in

lost

gained

and Effie were now safely back with the cohort. That had been the reason why Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie had

the forces of the Defilement had lost. Two members had rejoined the cohort, while two of the Six Plagues

It was a combination of good fortune, their unrelenting efforts… and, to a large extent, of the nefarious

gained — knowledge. Knowledge about the Mad Prince, yes, but also about so many other

him on Aletheia's Island. The nature of the Dream Realm, the