Shadow Slave

Sunny turned away from the chilling testament that Ariel had left behind in the silent waters of the still lake and continued forward.

There were a million thoughts in his mind. The magnitude of the revelation he had received dwarfed almost everything Sunny knew — the very reason for the cold reality he was born into now had an explanation. The future, too, had become much clearer. And it was a frightening future, as well.

The gods were dead... but not all of them.

The seventh god was still alive, slumbering in the cradle of the Void. All of existence was already infected by the horrors of his nightmare, and once the Forgotten One awakened, even that ailing world would come to an end.

And yet, Sunny had no desire to ponder these truths right now.

The matters of corrupted gods and dying worlds were far away. The dreadful future they promised was far away, too... although perhaps not as far as he would have hoped for. In any case, none of it held any meaning as long as he was bound.

As long as he wasn't free.

Free to live his life the way he wished to live it, as well as free to try and change the predestined outcome. Even if the end promised by the truth of Ariel truly came before Sunny died peacefully of old age, even if he failed to change anything, in the end... there was really only one thing sadder than living as a slave.

It was dying as one.

So, Sunny wished to gain freedom even more desperately now.

And, unlike the dreadful truth, his freedom was near.

The Guiding Light was still shining, pointing across the dark waters. Sunny followed that light through the darkness.

As he walked across the still lake, subtle ripples spread from where he stepped. His reflection walked alongside him, and a few steps back, the Sin of Solace followed, staring at Sunny with hateful eyes.

'Why is he being so quiet?'

There was something strange happening to the sword wraith. He seemed... different, somehow, ever since they had entered the Estuary. Sunny had long grown accustomed to the company of the loathsome apparition, but now, he was growing wary of its presence.

Not the least because he knew now what harrowing knowledge the Sin of Solace was harboring, prevented from sharing it only by the seal placed on him by the Estuary Key.

Just like the Void could break its seal and consume all of existence, the knowledge of it that the wraith possessed would consume Sunny should the Estuary Key disappear.

The thought was chilling.

transfer the Key of the Estuary to someone,

little of it he had left. There were no lights shining

been calm before, was slowly growing restless. There were powerful currents moving underneath the surface, making the dark water stir and surge, forming waves. Soon, advancing had become

the distance. Jagged rocks were rising from the water, resembling cliffs. The water was flowing between them, restless, and

of rushing water and

black rocks, looking at the surging water with a complicated expression. There was a labyrinth formed by the passages between the jagged cliffs, shrouded in mist.

could hear it roar in the distance, as

of reality grow

'What is this place...'

not know... but he had a

when he noticed something at the base of one of the cliffs. There, a mark had been left on the black stone, as if cut into it by a sharp

one meaning "sun", the

Mad Prince passed

And not only him.

sure that here, the lake hidden

the lake existed entirely outside of

He would also enter the Great River at a point in time

far in the

the day he had entered

how the Mad Prince had been able to invade a cycle of the Great River where he was not meant to exist — and had taken the future Plagues with him. Cassie had said

her exact

it to invade the next cycle of the Great River, the two of them meticulously prepared

these words back then, overwhelmed by other matters, but now, he finally understood what Cassie had

or rather, time itself did not exist yet in the Estuary. So,

time — not the subjective time of the Great River represented by its current, but the objective time that dictated

map the labyrinth and find a way to come and go as he pleased, visiting different eras of the Tomb of Ariel. He could even travel to a time before the Plagues invaded the latest cycle, prepare for their arrival, then destroy them in

had not been as powerful

the Twilight would not be destroyed, yet. Perhaps the Nightmare could be

not. Maybe Twilight had always been fated to be destroyed by the forces of the Defilement, and the beautiful cities of the sybils had always

did not have a

He barely had one.

so, Sunny entered the labyrinth and followed the Guiding Light, wondering where it would lead

to the