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.

a lot for

shards, which meant that five of the Transcendent Memories the cohort possessed could be potentially elevated

received in the Second Nightmare — the former after slaying the Sun

tremendously robust weaves, making the possibility of the alterations damaging or destroying them slim. Best of all, they were

— it was the Transcendent weapon

it was similar to the Cruel Sight, but much more versatile, destructive, and potent. Because of the similarities between the

attempt isolating a single enchantment and supplying that enchantment alone with the power equal to

responsible for channeling elemental damage, as well as protecting the blade 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

by Nephis in Twilight. Both of them were of Transcendent Memories of the First Tier — one

by its impact, and could also shape that force into a flat, severing field. 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

capable of delivering more harm to the enemy, and one would

in great detail, creating threads of shadow essence, and preparing himself for the alterations was going to take him a long while. He hoped to

unfamiliar weaves also gave him some inspiration for his own unrelated project — the complicated puzzle of turning the Covetous Coffer into

not paying attention

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

Sin of Solace did not miss any opportunity to remind him of

Sunny's mind was a

Cassie survive the explosion that consumed