Shadow Slave

There was no one aboard the Chain Breaker except Nephis and Sunny. She was wearing a light tunic, holding the oars with a steady hand. He was shrouded in Ananke’s Mantle, leaning on the railing nearby.

The deck of the flying ship was desolate, and they were both silent, consumed by heavy thoughts.

The Chain Breaker looked somewhat different from how it had been before. There were bands of dull metal reinforcing its elegant hull, a new ram protruding from its bow, and countless other alterations that were hidden from sight, making it look more like a battleship than a stunning yacht. Sunny and Cassie also created a miniature version of the defensive array they developed to secure the human Citadels in the Dream Realm, which itself was based on the spell Sunny had created in Ariel’s Game, and applied it to the flying ship.

It was odd, really...

The Chain Breaker looked unfamiliar, but Sunny recognized its new shape well. He had seen it already, once — in the Tomb of Ariel, where he and Nephis had found the Chain Breaker drifting on the currents of the Great River and were surprised by its embattled look.

Sunny did not know if the artisans who had refitted the flying ship had simply chosen the optimal design, or if their design had been informed by the sketches he supplied through Cassie to illustrate what he wanted. Had the past been informed by the future? That was a paradox he did not really want to think about, at the moment.

All he wanted was for the Chain Breaker to survive the Nightmare Desert and get inside the Tomb of Ariel in one piece.

But then again, they had found it on the Great River once — battered, but afloat. So didn’t that mean that the Chain Breaker would make it into the Tomb of Ariel in one piece, no matter what?

Was the future already decided by the past? That was another paradox Sunny did not want to think about. He was not going to rely on its illusory promise and relax, that was for sure. Even if Sunny had already seen the result, he was still going to defend the flying ship with all his might.

At that moment, Nephis suddenly spoke: “When I saw the Chain Breaker in the Tomb of Ariel, it looked like this.”

She paused for a moment and then added: ”It was battered, its hull was covered in scars and burns, and its enchantments were heavily damaged. But it still took me to Fallen Grace, to Twilight, and all the way to Verge. Do you know what I am thinking about, though?”

Sunny looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “No. What?”

Nephis hesitated for a few moments, then sighed.

”l entered the Nightmare far upstream of Weave, atop the carapace of a Great Monster. But I only found the Chain Breaker past the time storm, downstream of Weave. So...”

She pursed her lips.

“I must have fallen overboard at some point while trying to reach the Great River. Or rather, I will.”

She seemed a little offended by the notion. Sunny blinked a couple of times.

Come to think of it, he had entered the Nightmare even further upstream than Nephis. So, was he going to fall overboard, too?

Why would both of them be separated from their ship while entering the Tomb of Ariel? He scratched the back of his head.

”I guess getting into that pyramid... will be a rough process. Well, no surprise. There were all those butterflies, after all”

A swarm of Great Ones so vast that Sunny felt a hint of terror just thinking about it — despite being a Supreme.

Nephis looked at him intently, then looked ahead.

”It’s strange, isn’t it? The future being our past, which is our future”

Sunny chuckled.

“Oh, yes. It is indeed odd... strange enough to drive one mad.”

The Chain Breaker already emerged from the Dream Gate that Nephis had summoned. They had quite a way to go — first to the Forgotten Shore, and then to the Nightmare Desert, repeating her lonesome journey she had made as a Sleeper.

There were no subjects of the Longing Domain on the Forgotten Shore, and Nephis obviously did not place a tether there. So, she could not open her Dream Gate directly between Bastion and the Dark City. Instead, they had come to the waking world first. Considering that their journey had to be completed in utter secrecy, the place where Nephis had led them was not in the NQSC. It was in the remote area of the desolate, deadly wasteland far north of the city. As the flying ship moved above the poisoned ground, Sunny could see swarms of Nightmare Creatures scurrying to hide from its shadow.

He could also vaguely hear the Call of Nightmare, hinting at the presence of several Nightmare Gates nearby.

Sunny frowned.

He had not had the reason to venture into the lifeless wilderness of the Northern Quadrant often, but the last time he did — soon after becoming a Saint, on his way back to Antarctica — there were not nearly as many Gates and nightmare creatures polluting the world.

Perhaps this area was simply less fortunate... or maybe it was a sign of how much closer the waking world was to being devoured by the Dream Realm completely, now.

In any case, there was no reason for them to stay here long.

As the radiant Dream Gate behind them shimmered and closed, a Dream Gate that seemed to contain absolute darkness opened ahead of them instead.

Nephis suddenly took a deep breath.

“I never once went back there, you know.’ Sunny looked at her.

”To the Forgotten Shore?”

She nodded slowly.

”Yes.”

Nephis remained silent for a short while, and then smiled suddenly.

”Funny, isn’t it?”

She gazed at the lightless expanse of the Dream Gate ahead.

”It’s still called the Forgotten Shore, but none of those who were sent there can ever forget it. In fact, the Forgotten Shore is quite unforgettable... dreadfully so.”

Sunny looked away with a faint smile.

”I live there, remember?”

He shook his head.

“All this time, and you’ve never once visited your boyfriend’s place. How sad.”

Nephis glanced at him briefly and pushed one of the steering oars down.

”In my defense, my boyfriend never invited me. Then again, the last time | was there, I made a bit of a mess.’

Burning down the Bright Castle, destroying the sun, and demolishing the Crimson Spire could indeed be called a bit of a mess. Sunny was suddenly concerned about the Mimic.

The Chain Breaker dove into the darkness, and a few moments later...

Changing Star, the Star of Ruin, had returned to the Forgotten Shore.