Shadow Slave

The Ivory Island was as peaceful and idyllic as ever. Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, enjoying the cool breeze and the view of the boundless expanse of the blue sky.

Come to think of it, it was rare to find such a tranquil haven in the Dream Realm. Even the Sanctuary, which was beautiful and serene in its own way, never felt safe - there was always the possibility of an attack, after all. What protected the Sanctuary was people, and people were not omnipotent.

The Crushing was a much more reliable guardian.

The three of them - Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie - had just arrived from the waking world. Sunny was wearing the Shroud of Dusk, since that was his best armor Memory. The other two, however, had slighted their combat armor in favor of lighter garments.

Cassie was wearing the familiar tunic and sea wave cloak, while Nephis was in something that he recognized as the black underlayer of the Starlight Legion Armor.

Sunny still couldn't believe that a mere Awakened Memory of the Second Tier had survived years of wandering through the Dream Realm and the Second Nightmare.

...But, in any way, the three of them looked like people ready for a vacation.

They weren't the only ones, either.

'What is this...'

Sunny glanced toward the entrance to the Tower, where two figures were waiting for them.

Effie was sitting on the ground, enjoying a veritable mountain of snacks. Her Transcendent armor was nowhere to be seen, leaving a lot of olive skin exposed to the sun and the wind. There was a relaxed, extremely pleased expression on her face.

Kai was standing nearby, wearing his military uniform. He was looking at the dragon bones that surrounded the Ivory Tower with a neutral expression on his handsome, slightly melancholic face.

Noticing the new arrivals, Effie happily waved a hand.

"Hey! We're here!"

Sunny walked over, both pleased and confused to see the two of them.

"I see that you're here... but why are you here?"

Kai turned around and smiled slightly.

"Hey. Our companies have spent a lot of time on the city walls recently, so we were rotated out of active duty for a couple of weeks. We're on leave."

Effie nodded.

"Yeah. So when Cassie offered to go on a field trip, we had nothing better to do. Plus, we're curious to revisit a few places, too."

Sunny gave the blind girl a suspicious look. He was sure that he only decided to spend some time on the Chained Island this morning... when the hell had she found time to invite Effie and Kai?

Noticing his gaze, Cassie simply shrugged.

'Well, whatever.'

He was glad to see them, anyway.

"I see. Good, then. But, uh... I wouldn't call it a field trip. I expect to fight at least one creepy abomination this week, so don't get too relaxed."

Effie dismissively waved a greasy hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah. That abomination, though... is it edible?"

He stared at her bleakly.

"...I'm not sure."

She grinned.

"No problem! We'll just have to find out, then."

Shaking his head, Sunny turned away and glanced at the graceful silhouette of the flying ship that rested on the water not too far away. Since Cassie was the one who knew how to control it, he addressed the next question to her:

"Let's not waste any time. Where to first, captain?"

He had already shared the places he wanted to visit with the blind girl, so she was in charge of plotting the course.

Cassie smiled.

"The first stop is right beneath us, actually. It was not on your list, but I wanted to study the runes there. Just a few hours."

Sunny shrugged.

He had nothing against others adding more locations to the list - they were going to be helping him out with his goals, so it was only fair.

"Let's go, then."

Together, the five of them headed toward the lake and boarded the ship. Cassie entered the runic circle at the stern, saturating it with her soul essence as she gently took the steering oars. The leaves of the sacred tree growing around the mast of the flying vessel rustled gently as it lifted off the lake's surface and soared into the sky.

There were no Sailor Dolls on the deck, and no Fire Keepers to replace them. The sails were lowered, so their speed was not what it could have been. Still, for a simple descent, that was enough.

The ancient ship moved past the edge of the Ivory Island and tilted down, diving into the sea of clouds. Surrounded by white mist, Sunny suddenly thought about something and turned to Cassie.

"...Have you named it? The ship?"

She lingered for a few moments.

"No. I wasn't sure if I had the right. It had to have had a name before, after all. What did Noctis call it? Do you know?"

Sunny frowned.

"Actually, I never heard him call it anything except for "this beauty"... come to think of it, knowing Noctis, that could have actually been the name. This Beauty."

Nephis listened to them with a hint of interest, while Cassie chuckled.

"...Sounds like something he would do, indeed. In that case, we should give it a good name. Let's come up with one before this journey is over."

They plummeted through the clouds, and as they did, Sunny could feel the ferocious pressure of the Crushing assault the flying vessel. At that height, it should have been obliterating... but, to his surprise, he didn't feel too uncomfortable. Lines of ethereal light ignited along the hull of the ship, as if a powerful enchantment had been activated, and the invisible weight grew weak.

Soon, the clouds receded, and the patchwork landscape of the Chained Isles was revealed far below. Islands shone on the velvet backdrop of the dark abyss like precious gems, connected to each other by the thin threads of the heavenly chains.

And there, right beneath the descending vessel, was an island that Sunny knew all too well. His face darkened a little.

'...This place, huh? I never thought I would return here one day."

Below them were the ruins of the Red Colosseum.