Shadow Slave

Nephis studied the immaculately white bone plain in front of her for a few moments, then turned around and looked at the Fire Keepers. They were gracelessly sprawled on the ground, with pained expressions on their faces. Even with their powerful Ascended bodies, it had not been easy to remain completely still for three long days.

If there was one consolation, it was that Nightmare Creatures they had been fighting when the merciless skies revealed themselves were nothing but ash now. The Fire Keepers, meanwhile, had all survived.

There was a reason why she had chosen this particular cohort to follow her into the Godgrave.

The Fire Keepers were a fearsome force even now, when the number of Awakened, Masters, and Saints had vastly increased. That was because each of them was an Ascended, and a cohesive battle unit consisting of close to fifty seasoned Masters could not be ignored by anyone.

Not to mention that the Fire Keepers were the survivors of the Forgotten Shore, and as such, could be easily called the most talented Awakened warriors of their generation… all generations, perhaps.

These warriors were her personal army, and under her leadership, their brilliant glory and fame had grown explosively in the past four years. The Ivory Tower, the Chain Breaker, the crest of the Fire Keepers, and her own name, Changing Star, had all become symbols of unrivaled virtue, valor, and excellence.

Their names were known far and wide, all according to her conscious will and intent.

The Fire Keepers were her heralds and emissaries, but each was also a heroic figure in their own right… still, some of them had more renown than others. The seven Masters in front of her had once been Cassie's own cohort, and therefore, they were a cut above the rest.

That was not the reason why Nephis had chosen them for this mission, though. The real reason was that one of the members of the cohort, Erlas, possessed an Aspect that could augment the endurance and stamina of his allies. Knowing what waited for them in Godgrave, she wanted to have his powers at hand for when the white void of the sky above the ancient corpse was revealed.

her consideration had not been in vain. If not for his support, the last three days would have been much

was no time to waste.

have five minutes to recover. Five more to drink water

but it was better to relieve the fatigue on the move.

«Yes, Lady Nephis.»

Keepers groaned as they started to move. Storage Memories were summoned, water and field rations were hastily consumed. Shim, the leader of the cohort, used his healing powers to help the less resilient members recover faster. They were seasoned veterans and did not need her to tell them what to

to quench her thirst, as

had given her subordinates ran out, the bone plain was already starting

«Ready your weapons! Forward!»

started to walk, the Fire

god — or whatever the ancient skeleton had been, once — seemed like a continuous surface of solid white, in truth, they were littered

moss and vermilion grass spread from them, devouring the flawlessly white surface of the ancient bones. Swarms of

only the

whims. There was no way to predict when the veil of clouds would be torn, and how long it would take for the stormy barrier to repair itself. Therefore, everything here lived at

be born, grow, consume, and propagate before turning to ash. The white plain was bare and featureless a few minutes ago, but in

would come to look as if the infernal subterranean jungle had escaped the great hollows. By then, the most harrowing of

the Fire Keepers were