Shadow Slave

Standing around the cairn, the members of the cohort looked at it with somber expressions — except for Cassie, who turned away and faced the mountainside, as though trying to hide her emotions.

Now that they knew what they were looking at, their mood suddenly became forlorn and solemn. People stranded on the Forgotten Shore were well acquainted with death and tragedy, but finding this lonely grave so far away from any place where another human could find it, lost under the alien grey sky of the Dream Realm, was still a poignant revelation.

None of them had ever met the Dreamers of the first cohort, but after living in the shadow of their legendary achievements and hearing stories of their deeds for so long, it felt as though this grave belonged to one of their own.

Because of how bleak and tense the reality of the Bright Castle was, it was easy to forget that in this cursed world, all of them were fellow humans. But in front of the quiet grave, the truth was stark and cutting: it was them alone against the endless tide of Nightmare Creatures, and every human life lost diminished them all.

Sunny sighed and noticed that there were words carved into one of the stones placed on top of the cairn. It took him a while to make sense of the inscription, because it wasn't written with the runes he had grown accustomed to. Instead, it was written in simple letters of the human language, which looked strange and alien in this forsaken land.

Cut into the stone by unknown means, a single sentence was left behind on the otherwise unmarked grave.

"Her nightmare is over"

With a heavy heart, Sunny silently repeated it several times. It was strange how much meaning could be expressed with so few words. They echoed in his mind and lingered there, leaving a deep and mournful mark.

'...Rest in peace, whoever you are. I... I hope that your dreams are sweet and serene now.'

With that, he turned away and gritted his teeth.

When would their own nightmares be over?

The other members of the cohort were slowly coming back from their sudden reverie. Kai sighed and looked at Changing Star, his face full of sadness.

"I guess… I guess this is what we've been looking for. The First Lord and his expedition definitely passed this way. But what now?"

Nephis threw a last glance at the grave and turned to face the charming archer.

"There should be an entrance to an old mine somewhere nearby. From what Cassie had seen, this is where they went."

Sunny frowned. Something in what she said made him uneasy. But why?

Turning his head, he looked at Cassie, who was still silently standing a few steps away from them, her head turned to the mountains. It seemed as though the blind girl was enjoying the sight of white mist that was flowing down the mountain slope, slowly approaching the valley.

She had been awfully quiet all this time.

With an ominous feeling suddenly gripping his heart, Sunny gestured to Nephis to draw her attention. Changing Star frowned, then followed his gaze and slightly changed in the face.

Walking over to her friend, she carefully placed her hand on the blind girl's shoulder. Instantly, Cassie flinched at turned around, her face pale.

"...Cassie? Did you see something?"

There was an expression of terror written on the blind girl's face. For a few moments, she just breathed heavily, as though trying to control herself. Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet but steady:

"The mist... we must get underground before the mist comes. If not, all of us will die!"

Nephis didn't waste any time questioning Cassie further. Turning around, she shouted:

"Sunny, Night! Find the entrance to the mine, quick!"

A moment later, Kai rose into the air and dashed toward the giant amphitheater on the opposite side of the quarry. Sunny did not hesitate, too: his shadow detached from his feet and glided away with startling speed.

Despite the urgency of the situation, he remained calm.

'So… I guess there is a reason why we haven't met a single living creature in this place, after all.'

Sunny had expected something like this to happen from the very moment they entered the foothills of the Hollow Mountains. Even before learning about how dangerous these peaks were, he had already known that no land that the crimson coral was incapable of growing on could be safe.

"Caster, Effie! Prepare to move as soon as the scouts find anything!"

Glancing at the white wall of mist that was already starting to seep into the valley, Nephis lingered for a moment, then summoned her sword. Behind her, Cassie rose slightly above the ground and unsheathed the Quiet Dancer, holding the elegant rapier in her left hand.

Two transparent wings turned into a blur behind her back.

Looking at them, Sunny sighed and walked over to stand near the Stone Saint. His mind was preoccupied with perceiving the world through the shadow. Then, he closed his eyes to concentrate on his other senses.

The shadow and Kai found the entrance to the mine almost simultaneously. A tall archway was cut right into the side of the mountain, with false columns carved into the rock around it. The mouth of the tunnel was dark and ominous.

There was a twisting path leading away from the mine into the quarry. Sunny couldn't see where it exited the maze of stone blocks, but was sure that Kai would see it from above.

Opening his eyes, he noticed that the wall of mist was now looming above them, mere seconds from falling down into the quarry, and said:

"Follow me!"

With that, he ran toward the general direction of where the mine was situated. The others ran behind him, exerting as much speed as they could manage — except for Caster, of course.

Halfway to the wall of the quarry, Kai landed near them and gestured to a barely visible opening between the stone steps.

"There! Hurry!"

They entered the hidden path and ran as fast as they could, soon approaching the wide tunnel.

At the very edge of darkness, Sunny stopped for a second and looked back at the swiftly approaching wall of mist.

As he gazed into the milky fog, a cold and heavy feeling of dread suddenly grasped his heart.

Not wasting any more time, he turned around and dove into the shadows.

A few moments later, the mist swirled around the entrance of the tunnel and devoured the rest of the world.