Shadow Slave

The next day, Sunny left the Sanctuary in the company of the Fire Keepers. Traveling across the Chained Isles with Cassie and her cohort proved to be somewhat inconvenient — after all, they couldn't all turn into shadows and swiftly glide across heavenly chains as he could — but also a much more safe and pleasant experience than he was used to.

In fact, this was probably the most relaxed and serene journey Sunny had ever undertaken in the Dream Realm.

Even if the party moved slower, it was also much more battle ready and capable than any solitary Awakened could ever dream to be. Each of the Fire Keepers was a talented fighter with years of experience under their belt, and more than that, they fought together like a singular, finely tuned battle machine.

Even though Sunny didn't want to admit it, he had to give Cassie credit. Under her leadership, the cohort had become a beautifully cohesive battle unit in less than a year. She must have learned well from how Nephis had built her cohort, and then her army, back in the Dark City.

The fact that these young men and women shared a common past and had gone through a harrowing hell together must have helped a lot, too.

Whenever the party encountered Nightmare Creatures, Sunny felt a very strange and unfamiliar sensation… it was almost as if he didn't have to do anything. He could literally remain still, and nothing would happen to him — his temporary companions were more than capable of dealing with the abominations themselves.

Of course, that was only because the route they were taking had been carefully chosen to avoid the really dangerous places. There was another reason for why this expedition was going so smoothly… Cassie herself.

Traveling with a powerful oracle was a very convenient thing, indeed. Not only was she able to steer the cohort clear of anything they were not equipped to deal with, she also had a supernatural intuition when it came to predicting which islands were going to enter into a descent, and which were going to rise instead.

Thanks to that, they were able to avoid being caught by the Crushing and having to either endure it or scramble to escape to the nearest isle — which could have landed them into the hunting territory of extremely powerful Nightmare Creatures.

Just like before, Sunny and she worked together to make sure that nothing unexpected happened. With Cassie's intuition and his shadows scouting ahead, the cohort always had plenty of time to avoid a confrontation with dangerous abominations or thoroughly prepare for it.

...It was almost like the good old times.

The fact that Sunny — unlike the Fire Keepers, who had spent most of their time on the Chained Isles up north — knew this part of the region pretty well also helped. On the way, they had passed through many islands that he had explored and hunted on before.

Plus, he had the Covetous Coffer now, which made their rest stops and meals much more enjoyable. So, as far as traversing the Dream Realm went, this journey was almost enjoyable.

After a calm and comparatively uneventful week, they finally reached the Shipwreck Island.

***

This close to the Tear, the Nightmare Creatures were much more dangerous and vile. Sunny and the Fire Keepers were currently on the island he had visited before — the one with dozens of stone towers laying in ruins, overgrown by moss, and monstrous worms hiding underground.

They had just fought off a swarm of them, and were now approaching the edge of the isle. Soon, the sight of the gargantuan chain stretching into the distance opened to them, and they heard the sound of rusty metal scraping against ancient iron on the wind.

The Fire Keepers froze and stared at the distant Shipwreck Island... and the corpse of the metal giant that was entangled in the remnants of a broken chain, swaying slowly above the dark abyss of the Sky Below. They were as stunned by this forlorn visage as Sunny had been when he first saw the mangled remains of the steel colossus.

After a while, one of them said:

"That wound in his chest… what kind of force could have shattered such a creature? And his arm… we saw it already, didn't we?"

Sunny didn't respond, since the question wasn't directed at him, and thus his Flaw remained silent.

Another Fire Keeper lingered, then asked in a curious tone:

"Maybe we should climb down and investigate, after taking control of the island?"

Sunny glanced at her, then shook her head.

"I wouldn't recommend that."

The young woman raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

A dark smile found its way onto his face.

"You think the monster in the wreck is bad? The being that dwells on the dark side of the island is much, much worse. Believe me. And that giant is well within its reach. In fact, I think that it uses him as bait to feed on the Chain Worms… those are Fallen Demons, by the way, and of a very nasty variety. They're just candy to that thing, though."

The Fire Keepers turned their attention to the underside of the Shipwreck Island, which was shrouded in darkness. Their faces turned solemn, and after a while, one of them asked:

"But what is it?"

Sunny shrugged.

"I have no idea. I only saw the tip of its root. That is why I am still alive, most likely… if I saw the whole thing, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

After that, everyone remained silent. Sunny used that time to take another look at the two tall pillars that rose into the sky from the ancient stone structure on the other end of the chain.

Now that he knew that the ancient ship had been a flying one, the purpose of these pillars became clear, too.

They were wharves… or rather, mooring masts. The flying ship had to dock to something, after all, when it was not braving the vast expanse of the sky.

That made him think… there were several such pillars on the island, which suggested that Noctis had not been the only one in possession of a sky vessel in the ancient past. Maybe flying ships were how all the inhabitants of the Chained Isles traveled across the chasms of the Sky Below.

That made sense, really. The chains themselves were not exactly convenient roads, it's just that the Awakened used them for that purpose.

But how had the captains of the flying ships dealt with the Crushing? Or had there been no such curse on the Chained Isles before Hope escaped from its bonds?

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud rattling of the heavenly chain.

The Shipwreck Island was descending.

The Fire Keepers looked at each other. Their faces turned grim. Cassie gripped the hilt of the Quiet Dancer, and then said, her voice calm and steady:

"Get ready. You all know the plan, so I won't waste time repeating it. Stay strong, stay together, and stay alive. Today, we will be victorious!"

Sunny stretched his neck, then summoned the Cruel Sight.

'Let's hope your intuition is right this time, too...'