Shadow Slave

1481 Emergency Repairs

The Chain Breaker was assaulted by hurricane winds as it plummeted into the heart of the colossal whirlpool. Nephis had yet to run out of essence, so their fall was controlled… for now.

However, that would change soon.

Sunny was still overwhelmed by the destruction of Aletheia's Island. Shaking off his reverie, he took a deep breath and forced himself to move.

All across the flying vessel, deep shadows stirred and surged forward, turning into inky-black hands. The manifested shadows pulled on the ropes, unfurling the horizontal sails. Those sails extended from both sides of the ship and were meant to help it glide on the winds.

At the same time, he nervously looked down.

…All Sunny could see was darkness.

It was not the true darkness that his sight had never been able to penetrate. Instead, the abyssal chasm was simply so deep for him to see anything.

'Great…'

By now, the slopes of the vortex had almost turned vertical. It was as if the Chain Breaker was surrounded by a vast wall of dark water, its current so fast that its surface was like a blur. At first, the dreadful maw of the whirlpool was dozens of kilometers wide, but the further they descended, the narrower it became.

Eventually, it was as if the Chain Breaker had entered a twisting vertical tunnel that was just a few kilometers in diameter. They were surrounded by absolute darkness, with only a scattering of lanterns illuminating the deck. It was like a small island of light in an ocean of nothingness. No one except for Sunny could see the spinning walls of the tunnel… which was, perhaps, for the best.

He knew that if the ship touched the water, it would be torn apart by the tremendous pressure of the current.

'What the hell am I thinking? It's not for the best! Not at all!'

The Chain Breaker was falling vertically, for now, but it was only possible because Neph was still empowering its enchantments with her essence. Once her essence ran dry, they would have to move in a wide spiral along the watery walls of the tunnel to keep the ship balanced. Otherwise, it would be too easy for it to roll and overturn.

By then, not seeing where the darkness ended, and the furious current began, would be lethal.

Even worse, the tunnel was not strictly vertical. Looking down, Sunny could see it twisting and turning, like a descending tornado.

He gritted his teeth.

"Damnation…"

Could they even survive in this abyss without the Chain Breaker's enchantments?

struggling with the steering oars, but at that moment, Cassie's voice reached his

"Sunny! Here!"

entrance to the

moments, then rushed to

"What is it?"

the cargo hold, a grim expression

help. Summon her

upon Saint and sent all six of his shadows to augment her. As soon as the taciturn knight appeared, her onyx armor shone with dark radiance, and a feeling of oppressive might emanated

the cargo hold, various objects were neatly laid out on the wooden floor. There were amphorae containing strange liquids, brushes, stone etchings of complicated runes, mortars, and items that Sunny did not even

stone from the hidden chamber of Aletheia's Tower was also there, illuminated by the faint radiance

Cassie a long

"What's this?"

blind girl was already walking toward the

I had plenty of time to think, as well. About how to repair

and pointed at the chunk of black

me shatter it. I tried to do it myself…

In any case, the jagged piece of black

Cassie was not

repairing the runic circuit of the flying vessel, connecting its enchantments to the sacred tree. If Cassie succeeded in time… perhaps, they

But Saint was a Transcendent

knight, he gestured at the black stone. Her ruby eyes shone darkly, and,

on the jagged piece of rock… and bounced away, not leaving even a single scratch

flowed from beneath Saint's armor, entering the black blade.

its beak and hammerhead were capable of delivering truly devastating blows. A weapon such as this was far better suited for piercing armor and breaking bones than a

a step back, then slowly raised her weapon above

struck down with enough force to make Sunny

flash, a shockwave, and a

had already lowered the lucerne. Her

black stone lay broken into several

them

"Again!"

mortars. The stone dust was

hold, Nephis was running out of essence, and the

for a moment, then pointed to

"Go! Help Neph!"

Shadow Step to appear by Neph's side. Using his ability to see in the dark, he helped her guide the flying vessel into a