Shadow Slave

1486 Colorful Ribbon

The Chain Breaker was still flying at high speed in the direction it had been expelled from the vortex. Thankfully, Nephis had rolled the ship in time, preventing the members of the cohort from plummeting down… but Sunny was still pressed into the deck, struggling to stand up.

The world was dark, with only the soft glow of the sacred tree illuminating it.

Finally, he rose to his feet, swayed slightly, and called out in a stifled voice:

"Is… is everyone alive?"

He could see Nephis nearby... she was safe. Looking across the deck, he noticed Effie leaning on the sacred tree, a startled expression on her face. Luckily, the huntress did not look injured.

Jet was a bit further away. It seemed that she had used the fifth form of her mist blade, the scythe, as a hook to keep herself in place. Her icy blue eyes were alert and focused.

Cassie had been sleeping in her cabin when the strange event happened, so she was definitely fine — the blind girl might have suffered a few bruises, but she wouldn't have been thrown overboard.

"I'm fine!"

"Alive is a strong word…"

Hearing Effie and Jet answer his question, Sunny let out a relieved sigh. Almost at the same time, Cassie appeared from below the deck, looking a bit haggard.

With each member of the cohort accounted for, he relaxed a little.

They seemed to have escaped the dreadful whirlpool. At least it looked that way.

The twisting tunnel was gone, replaced by a vast empty space. The oppressive feeling Sunny had felt in the depths of the Great River was gone, too, and time seemed to be flowing naturally as well.

Space, however…

a

the wrongness he felt, but it was definitely there. Humans, after all, were not meant to perceive the fabric of space — why would

the descent of the Spell. Especially here in the Tomb of Ariel, many things that he had considered absolute had proven to be less than reliable. The existence of the Tomb was in and of itself a paradox, considering that

still sense that something was

No, first…

sunlight, no glow

Sunny glanced at Nephis. She was still holding the steering oars, but at the moment, there was nothing for her to do. The ship was still

her face, making sure that Nephis was alright, and then looked behind her.

with

hesitated for a few

have left

what was at the heart of the Great River, so there could very well be a vast empty space inside it. However, somehow, Sunny

they reached the bottom

down? In fact… the Chain Breaker was still

"What the hell happened?"

looked uncertain. She frowned, struggling to find an answer, and eventually said

a boundary of some sort.

something else, but

her eyes widened a

raised a hand and

"Sunny… behind you…"

there was nothing immediately behind him — otherwise, he would have felt it

had seen before, but

Sunny grew still.

I

behind Nephis. But in the direction where he was currently looking, something floated in the darkness. It was like a colorful ribbon painted in lilac, azure, and crimson, with parts of it drowning in shadows. Seven small motes of light slowly moved through the darkness around it, making for a beautiful

ribbon created a circle, its surface twisted on itself

took Sunny a few moments to realize