Shadow Slave

The next day, Effie appeared on the deck of the Chain Breaker, carrying her baby. She was still recovering, and in truth, it would have been better if she stayed in bed for a few more days… but time waited for no one.

Luckily, Effie was an Ascended, and possessed a body that was much more robust than that of a mundane woman — or pretty much any other Master, really. So, even though she looked tired and drained, her vitality was returning at a frightening pace.

Perhaps she would indeed be ready to fight by the time they reached Verge.

The Chain Breaker was traversing the abyssal void, with the radiant ribbon of the Great River surrounding it like a twisting ring. The seven suns revolved around it, making the inconceivable flowing realm shine. There were no stars in the impenetrable darkness of the false sky, but the light of the river was enough to illuminate the vast expanse of silent darkness.

Holding the baby, who had just woken up, Effie smiled.

"Look! That is pretty impressive, right? Nothing like a boring medical ward in NQSC. Leave it to a child of mine to arrive with such style…"

Frightened by the howling of the wind and the coldness of the void, the baby opened its mouth and let out a shrill cry. Soon, the sound of his voice drowned out the wind. At the same time, the leaves of the sacred tree rustled a little louder, as if concerned for the tiny human..

Sunny stared at them for a while, then shook his head.

'That kid… is bound to have a very unique life, I guess.'

Sunny's own birth was rather unusual, considering that it had happened during a solar eclipse and on a winter solstice. But being born in a Nightmare taking place inside a pyramid built by a daemon from the corpse of an Unholy Titan? That took the cake.

the Nightmare first, for Effie's child

a sigh, Sunny went to keep

closer and

was alert, afraid that the black void would be hiding horrors of its own, but it was

infant was indeed no different from a dumpling… all he could do was sleep, cry, and suckle on Effie's breast. There was little sign of intelligence in his eyes,

the baby

very happy, so Sunny could not hold it against him. Everyone had their faults, after all. Plus, while the infant himself was a bit of a letdown, watching how everyone reacted

allowed herself to show her soft side, which had been hidden behind the mask of composure for so long that few people remembered what it looked like. 𝐥ìg𝚝𝔫օ𝑣𝓮𝓵w𝓸𝓻𝐥𝓭~𝙘օ𝕞. Jet seemed to be in the same boat as Sunny, but she was also a bit

she was holding herself back,

forced her to hold the infant. Which was a very rare

the baby, which seemed to suit him fine. He did, however, seem a bit fascinated by the whole thing. Motherly love must have felt alien to him,

a lot of time to pay attention to the newborn. The battle for Verge was approaching, and so, everyone was

Breaker returned to the Great River. This time, they did not pass above one of the Edges, landing directly in the middle of the vast flowing expanse,

the same, the seven suns were the same, and the currents

of time, the air itself somehow felt

the present day — the Age of the Nightmare Spell — then these distant waters, situated very close to the misty Source, corresponded to the earliest days of creation… the

of awe at simply

was also hard not