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.

Because its estuary was also its source… within the Tomb of Ariel, the past was connected to the future, creating a single whole. The proof

of the past, near the Estuary, and in the far reaches of the future, where

frowned, then

that doesn't

into the future, having no end… then 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

the secrets that the Demon of Dread had

hideous truth he had wished to

had finally found it, the Defilement was

before time existed — before the gods

could there be no

is. The Estuary

this distance, he could not really see the current of the Great River, but

gave birth to immense cyclones. That was the area of the river that corresponded to the end days of the Doom War, while the cyclones were

a tiny speck on the crimson layer of the twisting ribbon. That was

mist. The mist was absolutely impenetrable, covering a considerable length of the river. The flow of time near it seemed restless

felt cold, realizing that not only was

that is… that is

he had already brushed against

to explode in his

***

'Of course…'

River,

spent in the Nightmare, drifting on a piece of flotsam in

where that place was. However, now that he thought about

of flotsam,

the water roaring and was thrown underwater

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

through time and space instead of simply