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 bit

meant to perceive the fabric of

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

not perceive the fabric of space, he could still sense that something was

No,

water splashing against the hull of the Chain Breaker, no sunlight, no glow that suffused the Great River at night. There

Nephis. She was still holding the steering oars, but at the moment, there was nothing for her to do. The ship was still flying… rising?... due to inertia, and it was impossible to control

that Nephis was alright, and then looked behind her.

with her beautiful silver

looked at him, too. She hesitated

we have left the

the Great River, so there could very well be a vast empty space inside it. However, somehow, Sunny did not feel as if they were buried under an inconceivable mass

what then? Had they reached the bottom

instead of being thrown down? In fact… the Chain Breaker was still rising, even though the speed of its ascent was growing slower

"What the hell happened?"

an answer, and eventually said with

had crossed a boundary of some sort. You saw

say something else, but then suddenly

moments later, her eyes

raised a hand

"Sunny… behind you…"

have felt it through shadow sense.

empty as what he had

Sunny grew still.

am I looking

was like a colorful ribbon painted in lilac, azure, and crimson, with

a circle, its surface twisted

Sunny a few moments to realize