Shadow Slave

Sunny stood at the deck of Ananke's catch, looking at Cassie, but not seeing anything. A storm of emotions, fragmented thoughts, and burning desires raged in him, making it hard to comprehend the true scope of what the choice presented to him was.

He took a deep breath.

At that moment, the Sin of Solace tried to distract him by saying something, but Sunny forcefully cut off the voice of the sword wraith, concentrating on the sound of waves breaking against the shore of the frozen wasteland instead.

'Calm down... let's think this through.'

So... Cassie, who had turned so quiet and unassuming to almost be invisible, had been burning with an insane ambition all along. Just like Sunny, who had swore to break the chains of fate that bound him, she had been pursuing the very same goal, as well.

Acting behind the curtains and armed with the revelations she received, the blind seer had been subtly manipulating the events of the past years to achieve that goal, suffering in silence as she stubbornly pushed toward it. All to give Sunny back the choice she had taken from him.

The extent of her machinations was both admirable and frightening, so vast and intricate as to almost be inconceivable.

But it was real. Cassie had indeed managed to create a moment where at least one of them — Sunny — had an opportunity to free himself from fate.

And that... was much more significant than one would think.

Sure, Sunny could fulfill his most ardent wish and win back his freedom, destroying the Shadow Bond, and even his [Fated] Attribute. Thus making it possible for him to live a life free of its shackles.

But what Cassie wanted to achieve went far beyond that.

What she wanted was to forge a weapon to resist fate. And that weapon... was a single variable.

Just as it had happened with the cycles of the Great River, which were thrown into utter chaos by the appearance of the Mad Prince, the tapestry

of fate would become chaotic and unpredictable with the appearance of a fateless being. The entire flow of fate would change as a result of that.

Fateless... was a very suitable name for what Sunny could become, should he enter the Estuary and reach its innermost secret.

However...

While Cassie wanted to break fate, just like Sunny... in a contradictory fashion worthy of a human, she also wanted Sunny to refuse that chance and remain with her, Nephis, and the cohort. To choose them over his desire to be free.

Sunny wanted both of these things, as

fate was nice. Gaining his freedom was nice. Learning the secrets of the Tomb of

forces of the Defilement was also nice. Choosing to remain by the side of the people he

he supposed

only freedom there was the freedom to choose

be choosing his own chains. In a sense, that

But, but...

there was no freedom in the waking world. Maybe there was

in the Tomb of Ariel, which contained an entire realm of its own. Who was to say that there

that she was telling the truth. And despite everything that had happened between them,

now he knew

giving the choice she had

she had managed to

by such a show of

about her redemption in an incredibly extreme and possibly misguided way.

wished for so fiercely was not in his hands. But what was he supposed to do

'It's... true...'

to be careful

and looked at the Guiding Light, which

the message

blind girl nodded

impossible to find the entrance to the Estuary within the mist, unless you know the way. The Guiding Light is now showing the way to the Estuary. The message she delivered to me was the True Name

He hesitated.

is the

girl smiled

my mind. The seal was only removed once we reached Verge. And after I used it to activate

for

is incredibly powerful. Just bearing it for a few moments put a terrible strain on my mind and soul.

motionless for

more or less