Shadow Slave

1527 Leaving Twilight

The Chain Breaker left the drowning remains of Twilight behind and turned away from the rising suns. Drifting above the currents, it traversed the dreadful battlefield and escaped into clear waters.

The Great River flowed below them. By now, the sight of the world in constant motion was both familiar and calming. Sunny had a feeling that returning to reality, where the ground was solid and unmoving, would be a strange experience.

There were no Nightmare Creatures in the vicinity of Twilight, so they could relax for a few days. The members of the cohort rested and recuperated, not doing anything in particular. They slept, consumed delicious meals, and spent their time in idleness.

Even Mordret's presence did not dampen the peaceful mood. He was nothing if not accommodating, even pleasant to be around. Of course, he was… true monsters knew better than anyone how to appear sympathetic and friendly, after all. And the Prince of Nothing was a singular existence even among the insidious monsters.

But that was fine. Sunny did not mind sharing a ship with him, as long as Mordret was an ally. Gods knew that the cohort needed all the help it could get in this dreadful, utterly unreasonable Nightmare.

Sunny himself did not do much in the first few days of their journey across the Great River. He slept some more, spent some time staring at the sky, and chatted with Kai, describing the past events of the Nightmare in more detail.

The month he had spent with Nephis on the carcass of the Black Turtle, the battle with the Azure Serpent. Their meeting with Ananke and the visit to forlorn Weave. The journey to Fallen Grace and their reunion with Cassie. The battle against the Defiled sybil… the dreadful months they had spent on Aletheia's Island, and their eventual escape.

In the process, Sunny also spoke about the many mysteries they had solved and the startling revelations they had received in the Tomb of Ariel. Looking back… he had truly learned a lot here, both about the past and the present.

And about himself.

for his outrageous tales. Sharing his experiences with a friend soothed Sunny's conflicted heart, a little. He was not quite alright — after suffering

Almost.

was a way to deal with that, even. Sunny felt that

like a good idea. She was slowly recovering, at least. So,

nothing

traveled far away from Twilight. They were still bathed in the beautiful blaze of the endless dawn, but the waters the

here onward, there would be untold horrors hiding beneath the waves once more. The radiant sky would harbor terrifying abominations once more. And

mood aboard the Chain Breaker subtly

Sunny was

gathered on the graceful

been a more deadly

veterans of both the Forgotten Shore and the Antarctic campaign, with plenty of incredible feats under their belts. Soul Reaper Jet was one of the most feared individuals in the world, with even Saints being

Divine Aspects, unheard of in history. Their individual power was already outside the scope

have felt concerned for

Speaking of Mordret...

having access to the well of knowledge the Prince of Nothing possessed was simply too tempting. Granted, the bastard lied as easily as he breathed, so anything he said had

as a rule of thumb, nothing Mordret said could be trusted. But Sunny still wanted to ask him a

could usually be seen at the bow of the Chain Breaker, where Saint stood guard with Morgan's Warbow in her hands. He seemed to be very interested in the graceful stone knight, or maybe the bow she held.

left his usual spot under the branches of the sacred tree, walked past Ananke's ketch, and approached the Prince of Nothing. Sensing

pleasant surprise.