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.

estuary was also its source… within the Tomb of Ariel, the past was connected

of the past, near the Estuary, and

then shook his

wait… that doesn't make

Not only was it mentioned in the descriptions of the Stifled Scream and the Shroud of Graceless Dusk, but it was the reason why the Seekers of

of Dread had

had wished to be free

First Seeker, had finally found

River was to reach a point before time existed — before the gods were born,

there

is. The

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

was the area of the river that corresponded to

tiny speck on the crimson layer of the twisting ribbon. That was Fallen Grace. He thought

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

cold, realizing that not

that is… that

had already

seemed to explode

***

'Of course…'

Great River, Sunny

Nightmare, drifting on a

about 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

piece of flotsam,

the water roaring and was thrown underwater when the suddenly furious current overturned the piece of flotsam. By the time he resurfaced, the seven suns were shining

sparkling, dreamlike expanse of the Great River, as if the

through time and space instead