Shadow Slave

1532 Unchanging

After an especially fierce battle against a swarm of aerial abominations, the deck of the Chain Breaker was slick with blood. Fiend was sitting near a pile of grotesque corpses, munching on them with shining eyes. The disturbing crunching sounds spread far and wide, making the members of the cohort throw disgusted looks at him.

The ravenous ogre paid it no attention, continuing his morbid meal in utter delight.

The flying ship had landed on the water, and was now swaying gently on the waves. Its sails were filled with wind, and steered by Neph's steady hand, it moved swiftly across the current.

Sunny had just finished inspecting the hull of the Chain Breaker to check if it had received any damage. Apart from a couple shallow scratches, everything seemed fine. Relieved, he gave Cassie the sign that it was alright, and went about helping Kai wash the blood off the deck.

The motions of cleaning the ship up after a battle were so familiar by now that he could have performed them with his eyes closed and his shadows gone.

Eventually, everything that needed to be done was done. The pile of corpses had disappeared, consumed by Fiend. The soul shards had been recovered and cleaned. The deck had been washed, the sails and masts had been checked.

The members of the cohort returned to what they had been doing before the Nightmare Creatures attacked. Effie was already starting to prepare dinner, and a delicious smell wafted from the galley.

The seven suns were falling toward the horizon.

Instead of returning to his usual spot and manifesting shadow hands to continue weaving threads of essence, Sunny hesitated for a while, then made his way toward the stern of the ship. There, Nephis was standing in the runic circle, holding the steering oars.

He leaned against the railing nearby and summoned the Endless Spring, taking a sip of the invigorating water.

They spent some time in silence. The silence between them had been comfortable once, but now, it was making Sunny feel burdened.

Eventually, he asked:

"How long do you think it will take us to reach Fallen Grace?"

at the

on the wind and the

meant that he would have spent around nine in the Nightmare. The same went for Nephis, while Cassie… Cassie would be closing in on having been in the Tomb of Ariel for the better part of two

for Effie and

'What a mess.'

to the other members of the cohort. He was still shy of turning

about that for

the people in

Fallen Grace had been supposed to migrate it downstream after the news of the Defiled sybil's demise reached

since Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie had not bothered to stay back and check, there was no

that brat, Cronos,

Nephis sighed.

know how much time we spent

after becoming aware of them, not how many deaths it had taken for him to learn the truth of the loop.

who had experienced each day of the Nightmare normally, from start to finish, was Mordret. But even he had no idea how long it had been since they entered the Tomb of Ariel — or rather, since they started this cycle of the Great River — because it was close to impossible to track the passage

mouse with Soul Stealer for a very long time before the

a while, trying to choose the correct words. But they weren't

with words, they

could not be

then said the first thing that came to

that

"I'm sorry."

voice interrupted him, making Sunny flinch slightly. He glanced

at the horizon. Her motionless face was painted by the light of the descending suns. She remained silent for a moment, then sighed and turned to

making you

face. His own expression was neutral, not exposing any of the swarm of emotions hiding behind

had been delaying went much smoother than he had