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?"

the

six. Depends on the wind and the obstacles we'll meet along the

in sight. Which meant that he would have spent around nine in the Nightmare. The same went for Nephis, while Cassie… Cassie would be

for Effie and

'What a mess.'

even sure how old he was exactly, anymore, especially in relation to the other members of the cohort. He was still shy of turning twenty-one

thinking about that for a

the people

supposed to migrate it downstream after the news of the Defiled sybil's demise reached them. That would have allowed them to regain their youth, and maybe even usher in a new generation, with

Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie had not bothered to stay back and check, there was

that

Nephis sighed.

tell. After all, we don't know how much time we

to learn the truth of the loop. Time had also acted extremely strangely in the depths of the Great

the Tomb of Ariel — or rather, since they started this cycle of the Great

played cat and mouse with Soul Stealer for a very long time before

trying to

with words, they would have solved them a long time

could not be solved at

winced, then said the first thing that came to

wonder… how that

"I'm sorry."

interrupted him, making Sunny flinch slightly. He glanced at her,

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

am sorry for making you dismiss your

kept quiet for a while, studying her face. His own expression was neutral, not exposing any of the swarm of emotions hiding behind

he had been delaying went much smoother than he had