Shadow Slave

The five members of the cohort were gone, off to scout the approach to Verge. Sunny felt uneasy and worried about their safety, but not tremendously so. Each of them was a powerhouse in their own right, and possessed a wealth of experience when it came to moving stealthily through a region infested with Nightmare Creatures.

Nephis, Kai, and Effie were veterans of the Forgotten Shore, where humans had been at the very bottom of the food chain. Effie, who had hunted in the Dark City alone for many years, was especially proficient in navigating dangerous terrain without alerting anyone or anything of her presence.

Jet had already been a frightening existence before the Southern Campaign, and grew only more tenacious after going through the disastrous months in the Antarctic Center, followed by serving in the military reconnaissance in East Antarctica.

Mordret was by far the most slippery of the five, so even if Sunny was inclined to care about his well-being, the bastard was the last person in the Tomb of Ariel he would be worried about.

So, the scouts were more than capable of fulfilling their mission unscathed.

If anything, Sunny was more concerned about himself and Cassie. The restlessness he had felt for the past few months reached an apex, telling him that something was about to happen.

The Sin of Solace was not shy about voicing his opinion, either:

"You've done it now, fool. What madness made you think that staying here alone with her was a good idea? It wasn't me, that's for sure. Now, you are completely defenseless against whatever new betrayal she had in mind, with no one to cover your back."

Sunny looked at him somberly, then turned away.

Saint, Fiend, and Nightmare were still aboard the Chain Breaker. So, the loathsome wraith was wrong — there was someone to cover his back. There were plenty.

'No, that's wrong...'

that? Cassie was not going to betray the cohort. That was just his paranoia

his was a bit concerning. He had grown so used to the Sin of Solace that listening to the apparition's poison was already a habit. It had failed to

it was simply the result of the incredible mental strain he

Mad Prince started to

out the incessant whispers of the sword wraith

ice land, hiding it in the shadow of a tall rock

them to do but wait

Sunny was consumed by alarm and doubt, Cassie seemed perfectly at ease. If she had been surprised by his sudden decision to stay back —which, in all honesty, went against how he would usually act — she did not show it.

for said danger. One of his shadows continued to keep an eye on Cassie, while the other five spread out to have a better view of the environment. He commanded Saint and Fiend to remain on the ship and sent Nightmare to hide in the shadows

passed in tense

...It was strange, really.

Sunny's mind. He had enjoyed the benefit of having Cassie around for long enough to know how potent and miraculous, albeit not applicable in a direct confrontation for the most part, her powers were. So, he was understandably wary of the Defiled version of the blind

How had her other Abilities grown, and what was

nervous. If there was one thing he did know, however, it was that the Last Plague would be

cohort was definitely a dire danger. They had already exterminated the other Plagues, after all. So, Sunny had been

they descended from the black void. There was no one laying in ambush at the shores of the frozen landmass, either. ?ìg??օ???verse~?օ?. Even now, when the members of the cohort had split up into three teams, nothing

Why was that?

Torment, perhaps, unable to receive any visions of fate in the Tomb of Ariel, just like Cassie was unable to see anything except darkness in

would certainly

Cassie was really unable

Torment's strange passivity the result of the Mad