Shadow Slave

In the morning, Sunny woke up and simply remained on the cot, staring at the ceiling. He felt strangely apathetic.

Yesterday, he had considered whether it was worth it to continue studying Nether's writings. There wasn't much left for him to learn from the runes... as soon as that idea entered his mind, all the motivation and excitement he had been feeling about translating them disappeared. Without something to look forward to, he could not find a reason to get up.

How long had he spent in the Sky Below, anyway? A month? Closer to two?

In any case, he had beaten his previous record.

'Might as well get comfortable…’

Sunny closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

He spent the next few days doing nothing. Sometimes, Sunny would go outside and look at the sea of flames. Sometimes, he would remain in the Ebony Tower, staring at the walls. Only his incarnation that guarded Rain remained active, which was the sole reason he was not dying of boredom.

Eventually, however, he became fixated on a strange thought.

‘...Can I cross the Hollow Mountains?’

The question seemed rhetorical, but it was not. Sunny did not dare delve into the hollow interior of the great mountain chain, where elemental darkness dwelled. But what about braving the mist shrouding it to traverse the exterior?

If the mist enveloping the jagged peaks was indeed pure nothingness, then anyone who entered it would become nothing. At least that was what one would think... they would think wrongly, though.

Sunny had undeniable proof that it was possible to survive in the mist, at least for some time. It was the fact that Saint Cormac had spent months exploring the Hollow Mountains on behalf of Clan Valor before being killed by Saint Tyris.

What had been his goal? Searching for a way to cross to the other side? Looking for an entrance into the Underworld, where Nether's stronghold was supposedly located? Or something else entirely, which Sunny could not even guess?

In any case, if Cormac could do it, then Sunny could, too.

'Should I try?'

He had no plans and no particular desires, except for the desire to be far away from everyone. Was there a more distant place than the unexplored vastness beyond the Hollow Mountains? There, Sunny would be truly and utterly alone, which was what he wanted.

The romance of the unknown....

His curiosity and wanderlust were calling him.

On the other side of the impregnable mountain chain... lay the Forgotten Shore.

the creatures that had populated the coral labyrinth were gone, annihilated by the Terror of the Crimson Spire. The dark sea was gone, as well, sealed by his own hand Maybe a

burn the damned thing to the ground. lіght~nоvel~cаve~c`о/m. He

was not

now. They also knew that the Nightmare Desert lay to the east, thanks to Nephis making the journey. However, no

those mysterious regions of the Dream Realm. Sure, no one would ever learn about his discoveries... but he would know, Doing it for himself was

subtle sense of excitement slowly took hold of

no... I must have lost

a reason. Who would want to enter a Death Zone of their own free will? One would have to be completely insane to do

He would never.

was still full of monster meat, but there were plenty of ingredients from

he turned the pages absent-mindedly. Eventually, his attention was drawn

Sunny frowned.

"Huh."

Waffles? Or pancakes?

about these staple dishes, so

he decided

***

the thought of crossing

rather... he had tried

in his mind like a catchy melody. The more time he spent idling in the Ebony Tower, the stronger the call of

I do it

He probably could.

continued to hesitate,

was more or less

they seemed alert. His shadow sense had long ago enveloped the island, so he could instantly feel the most minute changes in his

highest

‘The portal.’

not to leave any traces of himself anywhere on the

body, and

enough, a delicate figure walked down the stairs, followed by a few more. It

We will

The cots were disassembled. The enchanted lanterns were gathered and prepared to be carried away.

'What are they doing?'

very unlike her usual tidy self. She observed the Fire Keepers silently, but at some point,

a bit, seemingly without aim. Eventually, she stopped near the cot Sunny had slept on and touched the pillow briefly. He was about to grow