Shadow Slave

A storm raged outside.

The sky was hidden behind a great dark veil of angry clouds, hurricane winds were ravaging the world, and the boundless sea rose up against the tyranny of heaven. The undulating expanse of fierce waves stretched endlessly in all directions, each of them towering like a rolling mountain.

The Night Garden sailed through the storm, indomitable and dauntless. Illuminated by the colorful glow of countless lanterns, it was the only island of warmth and light in the world of cold darkness... apart from the branching bolts of lightning that descended from the roaring sky like silver arrows, that was, as if meant to punish the sea for its defiance.

Instead of striking the sea, however, they were drawn to the masts of the Night Garden, making it seem as if the ancient vessel was surrounded by a radiant mantle of electric arcs as it battled the storm.

Each colossal wave was like the wall of a great fortress, dwarfing the world with its imposing height. The bow of the titanic ship, however, towered above them. It cut and crushed them like an unstoppable siege ram, moving forward at a steady pace.

The violence of each impact was terrifying, the roaring thunderclaps were deafening, the flashes of lightning were blinding... Well, at least Sunny assumed they were.

His eyes had not recovered yet, and he fled from the physical pain by abandoning his corporeal form to hide in Jet’s shadow. She was in the runic hall of the main pagoda at the moment, deftly steering the ship in its voyage through the calamitous storm.

The Night Garden had some defenses against the fury of the elements. There seemed to be an invisible barrier protecting the main deck of the titanic ship, making the winds less powerful as they assaulted it and preventing the torrential rain from causing a flood — to the point that many people gathered outside, hiding beneath colorful oil-paper umbrellas to enjoy the view of the storm.

However, that did not mean that the Night Garden was invulnerable. It could still be damaged, or even capsized, unless controlled by a steady hand. The bow of the ship had to be aimed at the waves, and it had to maintain a sufficient speed — myriad things had to be considered, as well, to keep the passengers safe.

Jet seemed to be handling the task just fine, aided by several surviving elders of the House of Night who acted as her advisors. The Night Garden was basking in the fury of the storm, replenishing its reserves of essence.

Sunny could not see the stunning battle between the titanic ship and the cataclysmic storm, but he could still sense its profoundity. To him, it was a storm of shadows — vast and as deep as the sea, they flowed and roiled chaotically due to the unceasing barrage of lightning bolts and the passing of the titanic ship.

Observing the fury of the elements from the safety of Jet’s shadow was strangely soothing.

After a while, the noise of the storm receded into the background of his mind, and Sunny was left alone with his thoughts. He had a lot to think about.

Nightmare was ready to take him into the dreams of the Night Garden, but Sunny did not want to venture into unknown territory before recovering his eyesight. So, until then, there was nothing for him to do except think.

Beholding the great tapestry of fate had left a profound impression on him, even if it left him temporarily crippled. The damage to his eyes could have been worse, but it was not insignificant either — Sunny would remain weakened for a few days, and there were the invisible wounds to consider, too.

Even now, his mental state was a bit strange. It was as if his mind had received a powerful shock, and was still a little numb as a result... who knew what would happen to it if he peered into the fate often, and for prolonged periods of time?

‘Come to think of it...”

Exploring the Strings of Fate was even more dangerous than Sunny thought. This time, he had seen the past of the Night Garden — which, unexpectedly, was intertwined with the past of the World Tree, an avatar of Heart God. He had seen the birth of the Sacred Forest and some of its long history, culminating in the creation of the titanic ship by the Demon of Repose...

But he could have just as easily stumbled onto visions of something that he was not meant to see.

What would have happened to Sunny if he caught a glimpse of Heart God battling the Creatures of the Void? What if he heard their profane names spoken aloud and was exposed to the forbidden knowledge of the Void?

Hidden in the shadows, Sunny trembled. The Strings of Fate stretched far into the past, to the very dawn of time — and even beyond it, to the Age of Chaos. ɌãＮＯᛒƐS̈

That bygone era was a terrifying place, though. It was a time when man-eating giants struggled in the darkness... and that darkness was the only mercy offered to mortal men — if it was stripped and they beheld the hidden faces of the giants, the terror of the truth would drive them mad and haunt them till the end of days.

So, Sunny could not peer into the past recklessly.

‘Goodness. I really am an oracle now.’

He let out a mental chuckle.

Still, it was a gift he could not refuse. The future was destroyed, but the ability to learn the secrets of the past alone was too important a boon. After all, knowledge was the origin of power, and even if there was a price to be paid for acquiring it, Sunny was ready to pay it.

Because eventually, he was bound to delve into the darkness and face the man-eating giants personally.

The ability to interact with the Strings of Fate had to become one of the tools in his arsenal. He just had to treat them with utmost caution, never reaching out to touch them recklessly.

The Strings of Fate...

Sunny remembered the sensation of the golden thread under his fingertips.

Back then, he had only slid his fingers along its length.

But could he do something else, too?