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.

each other, true... but what about the person staying on the ship? Once we travel far inland, they'll be completely alone. If something

silent question in her eyes, but Sunny pretended not to

Eventually, she nodded:

a valid concern. Do you have a suggestion?" Sunny

most versatile, so 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 reduced from three

He smiled.

Ascended Ability to transport both of you, while Kai can carry both Jet and Effie in

able to pull any tricks under Neph's nose, considering she

hiding in her eyes. His suggestion was

with

was no time to waste and no need to say anything else, so everyone immediately started preparing for

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

sleeping and being visited by his mom, or other members of

to spend the first days of one's life, but such an arrangement was

scout the frozen landmass were ready to depart. Sunny watched them from the bow of the ship, not feeling

farewell, anyway. One way or the other, they were going to see each other tomorrow — either when the scouts returned, or when things went south

shore of the frozen island and came to a halt,

from it,

Ranks, the result of the most complex

wielding a Transcendent bow of the Fifth Tier. Another Supreme Memory,

on the ice, enveloped by her own Supreme armor — the legacy of the Sun Prince, which made her look like a beautiful statue of polished steel. Incredibly, she seemed to have mostly recovered from bearing a child, already.

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

was Mordret, wearing his own Ascended body. The Prince of Nothing did not have particularly powerful Memories, or insidiously lethal Reflections to