Shadow Slave

1529 Worm of Doubt

The conversation with Mordret left Sunny in a somber mood. The bastard clearly knew more than he had deemed necessary to share, but the few pieces of information he did offer were… concerning.

However, Sunny did not dwell on the distant threat of the Sovereigns for long. He did not have the luxury of worrying about something waiting far in the future when there were lethal dangers waiting for him in the present…

Or past, technically, considering that Verge was situated far downstream, as close to the Source and the Estuary as the Seekers of Truth had been able to build it, before the Defilement was born.

Not long after he talked with Mordret, the Chain Breaker was attacked for the first time since leaving Twilight. The cohort dealt with the swarm of the Drowned with comparative ease, allowing him to collect a few soul shards and for Jet to replenish her reserves of essence.

After that, they maintained a battle-ready schedule at all times. Sunny's Shadows stood guard at different points of the ship day and night. Nephis and Cassie took turns steering the graceful vessel, keeping it at low altitude, sometimes just above the flowing water. Jet's crow and Kai scouted ahead for signs of approaching danger.

The most useful scout, however, was none other than Mordret. With his ability to perceive the world through reflections and the vast expanse of water around them, he could see far and wide, warning them of any suspicious movement far in advance.

They did not have to fight too often. Sometimes, danger came from below the water, and sometimes, it came from the sky. But most of the time, the Great River remained calm and peaceful, leaving them with plenty of free time on their hands.

Knowing that the cohort was drawing closer and closer to the inevitable attack on Verge with each passing day, Sunny threw himself into weaving.

was a lot

had five Supreme soul shards, which meant that five of the Transcendent Memories the cohort possessed could be potentially elevated to a higher Rank. The first thing Sunny had to do

had received in the Second Nightmare —

destroying them slim. Best of all, they were Memories of the First Tier,

was somewhat of a harder choice — it was the

weapon, which could take many forms, possessed several insidious enchantments. In a sense, it was similar to the Cruel Sight, but much more versatile, destructive, and potent. Because of the similarities between the two silver blades, Sunny had an easier time studying its weave. Therefore, he had a better chance of transplanting a new

attempt isolating a single enchantment and

from harm. Considering Neph's propensity for destroying her Memories with her own flame, or simply by exposing them to too much punishment, that single improvement would serve her very

Twilight. Both of them were of Transcendent

The charm was a more complicated one, and served to enhance the material properties of other objects — making weapons sharper, armor more durable, and so

protected, two would be capable of delivering more harm to the enemy, and one would be able to better support the rest

detail, creating threads of shadow essence, and preparing himself for the alterations was going to take him a

Strangely enough, studying the unfamiliar weaves also gave him some inspiration for

weaving, not paying

focused mind. Sunny was reluctant to pay it much attention at first, but with each passing day, the worm of

because the Sin of Solace did not miss any opportunity to

Sunny's mind was a seemingly innocent

Cassie survive the explosion that