Shadow Slave

1487 The Source

Sunny stared at the distant Great River, frozen in place. His face was motionless.

However, there was a storm raging in his mind. Fragmented truths that he had learned, witnessed, and experienced in the Tomb of Ariel were moving, colliding with each other, and clicking in place with a dreadful noise. The inconceivable truth of their Nightmare was slowly revealing itself.

From start to finish... it was all...

He was suddenly overcome with fear.

Shifting his gaze slightly, Sunny studied the beautiful ribbon that twisted on itself, forming an infinite loop.

Deep crimson, vibrant azure, soft lilac... the seven suns shining in the darkness...

It was like a dream.

'How can this be? How can the Great River flow in a circle?'

But then again… of course, it could.

In hindsight, it made so much sense.

There had always been a paradox in how the Great River was described. Because it was always described as "endless"... Sunny had not paid it much attention before, assuming that the word was simply there to provide flavor. But he should have known better. The Spell was always deliberate with its choice of words.

The description of the Stifled Scream read:

[...a great river was contained within it, flowing endlessly from the future into the past.]

But how could a river of time be endless? The past wasn't infinite. If the Great River really flowed into the past, anyone sailing it would reach the point beyond the origin of time eventually — so, by definition, it could not flow endlessly.

of Ariel, the past was connected to the future, creating a

was a reason why the Nightmare Creatures populating the Great River were most powerful in the far reaches of the past, near the Estuary, and in

frowned, then shook

that

what about the Estuary? The existence of the Estuary was also undeniable. Not only was it mentioned in the descriptions of the Stifled Scream and the Shroud of Graceless Dusk, but it was

find the secrets that the Demon of Dread had hidden in the

had wished

the First Seeker, had finally found it, the Defilement was

was to reach a point before time existed — before the gods were born, and therefore outside their control. At least that

there be no

is. The

of the beautiful ribbon. From this distance, he could not really see the current of the Great River, but he did see a

of it was shrouded in boiling clouds, which gave birth to immense cyclones. That was the area of the river that corresponded to the end days

been situated was hidden from view, but Sunny saw a tiny speck on the crimson layer of the twisting ribbon. That was Fallen Grace. He thought he saw another city on the lilac

mist. The mist was absolutely impenetrable, covering a considerable length of the river. The flow of

felt cold, realizing that not only was

that is…

had already brushed against

seemed to explode in

***

'Of course…'

Great River, Sunny took a

spent in the Nightmare, drifting

the situation had seemed strange and bizarre. So, he had never properly questioned where that place was. However, now that he thought about it… even considering the general weirdness of the Great River, those first

mist, the piece of flotsam, and what

Sunny had never seen his makeshift raft sailing out of the mist. Instead, he simply heard the water roaring and was thrown underwater

the sparkling, dreamlike expanse of the Great River, as if the mist had never existed at all. There were also the demented runes carved into

if he had been sent there through time