Shadow Slave

Nephis had offered a good plan, one that was both solid and flexible enough to hopefully keep all of them alive while accomplishing the goal. Each member was assigned a role that suited the situation best, making all three teams highly mobile and capable of defending themselves in case there was an ambush.

Cassie, meanwhile, was the least suitable for swift movement and stealth, while at the same time being the most familiar with steering the Chain Breaker — so, she was the best candidate for staying on the ship.

And that was precisely what Sunny did not like, even if he chose not to share his reasoning.

By now, he was thoroughly confused about what he felt toward Cassie. Was he suspicious of her? Or concerned for her? Or simply acting paranoid, his thoughts muddied by the Sin of Solace? He did not know, but he did know that as soon as she spoke, his intuition raised an alarm.

The blind girl did not directly volunteer herself to remain alone on the Chain Breaker, but she did not need to. As soon as they had decided to leave someone behind, she was the obvious choice. Instead of telling Nephis to choose her, Cassie could simply let her come to the conclusion without anyone's help.

...And while Sunny was not sure about the reason for his anxiety, he was absolutely certain that Cassie had engineered this situation on purpose. For some reason, she wanted to send the cohort off and stay on the Chain Breaker alone.

Why? Was it to lure them into a trap?

Of course, no. Sunny had already established that suspecting the blind girl in wishing to harm the cohort was preposterous.

However... he could easily imagine her going on some stupid, self-sacrificial quest by piloting the flying ship into the heart of Verge and dropping it on the First Seeker. Or maybe drawing Torment away from the city at the cost of her life, to let the cohort win.

Which was not to say that his imagination reflected reality. There can be any number of explanations for Cassie's subtle manipulation, from completely innocent to absolutely ominous.

In any case, he did not like it.

Which was why, after Nephis explained the plan, Sunny shook his head.

far inland, they'll be completely alone. If something happens, not only will Cassie be in

silent question

Eventually, she nodded:

valid concern. Do you have a suggestion?"

I'll be able to deal with all kinds of situations. That would leave you without a partner, though, so the number of teams should be

He smiled.

both of you, while Kai can carry both Jet and

under Neph's nose, considering she was more

at Sunny for a bit, a subtle hint of confusion hiding

proceed with that

to say anything else, so everyone immediately started preparing for the mission. Effie brought up the straw basket Sunny had masterfully weaved for her, cushioning it with

was meant to be the infant's crib. Safely wrapped, the baby was going to spend the next few days on the idyllic

inside Effie's Supreme Memory, sleeping and being visited by his mom, or other members of the cohort, every few

the first days of one's life, but

of the cohort whose task it was to scout the frozen landmass were ready to depart. Sunny watched them from the bow of the ship, not feeling the

other, they were going to see each other tomorrow — either when the scouts returned, or when things went south and the Chain Breaker

island and came to a halt, hovering just above the

from it, landing on

wielding the somber silver blade — a unique hybrid Memory of both the Transcendent and Supreme Ranks, the result of the most complex and intricate sorcery Sunny had

to the shore. He was clad in the Supreme armor crafted from the ivory dragon scales, wielding a Transcendent bow of the Fifth Tier. Another Supreme Memory, a lethal Severing Arrow, was ready to be summoned the moment he had

of polished steel. Incredibly, she seemed to have mostly recovered from bearing a child, already. Even if there was some remnant malady holding her back, she

behind her, looking like she was born to exist in this land of ice. Chilling mist swirled around her, pierced by the somber glow of her cold blue eyes. Then, the mist flowed into her hands and took the shape of a sinister

did not have particularly powerful Memories, or insidiously lethal Reflections to fight