Shadow Slave

1484 Radiant Depths

Surrounded by darkness, the Chain Breaker continued to travel down the twisting underwater tunnel. Cassie had taken up the steering oars, which alleviated some of Sunny's nervousness — while she was the most experienced helmsman among them, he barely knew what he was doing.

So, the chances of the flying ship colliding with the walls of the tunnel and being torn apart by the water current were reduced by a lot with the blind seer at the helm.

Still… no one knew what waited for them in the depths of the Great River. They were nervous, apprehensive, and full of grim anticipation.

The cohort rested, consumed a hearty meal, and went about repairing the slight damage dealt to the flying ship by its crash landing on Aletheia's Island. The enchanted hull weathered the rough landing well, only receiving a few shallow scrapes. However, there were more delicate parts of the ship that had to be mended or replaced.

Sunny, Nephis, Jet, and Effie were not carpenters or builders, but their skill was enough for the task — after all, Sunny was a specialist in wilderness survival, while Nephis had been able to build boats all the way back on the Forgotten Shore. Effie had the experience of surviving in the Dark City for years, while Jet... was Jet. She was somehow capable of doing anything that needed to be done.

Later, they gathered on the deck and silently observed the darkness below.

After a while, Sunny grew bored and summoned the Covetous Coffer. Borrowing Effie's locket, he began comparing the two weaves with each other. He was very curious to see if he could make the storage inside the Coffer habitable, as well… for now, it seemed incredibly far-fetched.

But then again, many of the things he had accomplished seemed far-fetched once. If he was not capable of doing something today, he might be able to do it in the future. Becoming a competent sorcerer was a gradual process.

Time slowly passed.

And as it did, the depths of the Great River slowly changed.

It was not something that they could see or hear, but more of a vague, eerie, oppressive feeling. Although the Chain Breaker was surrounded by water and had descended deep below the surface of the River by now, none of them could perceive what hid beyond the spinning walls of the twisting tunnel.

However, it seemed as if… the absolute darkness that surrounded them was somehow growing darker and darker with each hour that passed.

Sunny felt… a sense of immense threat. Cassie was pale, as well. It was as if they were surrounded by terrifying danger from all sides, worse even than it had been in the flowing mist of Aletheia's Island.

However, if there was some harrowing being in the water, it did not enter the tunnel to swallow them whole.

...Remembering how much the dreadful whirlpool resembled a colossal maw, Sunny could only hope that it was not because they were already in the being's intestines.

water… or maybe the

he tried to find distraction in

more

up and looked around with a

you think that it's getting

noticed it, too. The darkness seemed

and instead, a blinding

'What… what's this…'

It was

"It's the suns!"

confused by Jet's words at first. But

'Ah… of course…'

to dive into the Great River. And every night, the

that was on the surface. What would that light look like

currently

adjusted to the brightness, and he

were all frozen still, observing the radiant

It was… beautiful.

But also harrowing.

shuddered and took an involuntary step

a shadow suddenly moved, so colossal that it dimmed the radiance of the water for

came back to his

thing… how far away

What was it?

at the members of the cohort and found them in a similar state to his. Especially Cassie, who was blind, but also

of the water changed once again as another inconceivable shadow moved

He shivered.

"Go inside."

voice was hoarse. Lowering her