Shadow Slave: Back in time

They walked in silence. Only the Carapace Scavenger's Echo's footsteps on the grey ash could be heard. The atmosphere was pregnant with determination. Nephis' and Sunny's eyes shone with resolve. Cassie, meanwhile, was mildly confused. She had, of course, been told that the gargantuan tree was the Awakened Terror: it enthralled its preys with its fruits. A couple of days after they'd arrived to the Bone Ridge, she had received the vision about the Carapace Demon: it was a formidable enemy. She had informed her companion of its wound. However, weren't they walking too carelessly into its den? She wasn't an expert of Awakened humans, but she was aware that both Nephis and Sunny were nowhere near average. They could slain Awakened Beasts and Monster with such ease… but, of course. They had been bestowed a True Name for a reason. Still, it was an Awakened Demon and they were Sleepers, no matter how skilled.

She expressed her concerns.

"Aren't we being… too careless?"

Sunny's response came quickly.

"Why?"

Cassie was quite surprised by his question. He was always planning every fight thoroughly and now, he was asking why she thought they were being careless? Was there something she was missing?

"The Demon."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It rarely leaves the vicinities of the Terror…"

'Oh, so that was why.' Thought Cassie, before Sunny had continued his answer.

"…and besides, it is already dead."

The blind girl didn't get it immediately. He had said that the creature they had been stalking for a while was dead, as if he'd asked what time it was.

"What? It's dead? How?" Exclaimed the oracle.

"Do you remember my Aspect Legacy Relic, that Ascended Monster?" At her confirmation, he kept explaining. "Well, I sent it ahead to kill the Demon. I have received the confirmation of the kill form the Spell just now." He grinned. "And an Awakened Sword of the III Tier, too, to boost!"

Cassie processed it for a couple of moments, before turning to Nephis.

"Did you know, Neph?"

Nephis confused voice came a second later.

"Yes, of course, why."

She seemed the underlying tone of accuse in Cassie's question. Sunny spoke before Cassia could.

"Sorry, Cassie. We should've told you the plan."

The Scavenger Rider nodded satisfied.

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The sun was still high in the sky when the trio arrived. They could smell the blood of the corpse of the Demon before they could see it. Its legs and pinches were mangled and damaged, but its main carapace was only broken in a single part: it had caved in, and was oozing blood. Sunny gave Serpent thumbs up: the body wasn't damaged too much. The Shadow only had a couple of wounds: after slumbering for some time in his master's Soul Sea, he would be fine.

Sunny turned to Nephis.

"Nephis, start crafting the boat. Cassie, help her how you can. Remember, don't eat any fruit."

Nephis nodded and walked to the carcass. Sunny headed to the tree.

"Where are you going?" Asked Cassie. She had already been told that they would be forced to travel by boat on the Dark Sea.

"I'll climb the tree. I need to check something."

"Ok."

Sunny augmented his body with a shadow. The other was wrapped around the Puppeteers' Shroud, to increase its mental protection. He had to hurry: they only had a couple of hours until sunset, and a lot of thing to check.

He pulled himself up using a branch. The red leaves made him uneasy: their rustling was whispering to his mind. The tree is generous, it said. The tree is giving you shelter, it stated. The tree is innocent and benevolent, it reasoned, you should protect it; protect it and you'll be happy… you will have as many fruits as you want.

Sunny's mouth was watering… those fruit looked ripe… and delicious… and wonderful…

Sunny shook his head. He had to snap out of it. The fire of hatred inside him grew stronger.

"Don't worry, oh so great Soul Devourer Tree. Only ashes will be left of you."

As if reading his mind, a light tremor shook the tree, and the movement of the leaves grew faster.

Sunny remembered quite well the location of the Vile Thieving Bird's nest. He climbed higher and higher. The branches grew thinner and become more chaotic. He jumped from one to another, and finally reached a point where the branched above twisted downward. He approached it and forced his way through the leaf barrier. The nest inside was as big as a house. However, it seemed… abandoned. And in the middle of it, was an egg. The egg was as tall as a human, grey and lifeless. Sunny walked to it as the Midnight Shard manifested in the world with countless sparks, and stabbed it without hesitation. The sword penetrated with some effort, then the Spell whispered in his ears, but its tone was confused, as if it wasn't sure what exactly was happening.

[You have slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn.]

[You have received a Memory…]

A flow of shadow fragments entered his soul as he took in that he had received Weaver's Ichor again. But he would check it and its implication later. He needed to get back. He hurriedly descended the tree, jumping from a branch to the other. When he reached the ground, he gazed at the downing sun: only a bit less than an hour was left until sunset.

Sighing, he turned to where the remains of the Demon laid. What was in its place was a boat, crudely made from its body, but still durable, strong and somewhat reliable.

"I'm back. Is everything ready?"

Nephis nodded. Together, they pushed the boat to the edge of the island. Sunny turned to Cassie, who was patently waiting next to them: she wasn't suited for manual tasks such as that.

"Cassie, you can get in. It's only a few minutes until the sun sets."

Cassie did as instructed.

"Are… you sure? About crossing the Dark Sea?"

"Yes."

Sunny and Nephis walked to the base of the great tree. There, were already gathered countless bags of the highly inflammable oils looted from the centipedes, and a few candles, fashioned from the Carapace's fat. 

Nephis positioned herself a meter from the base of the tree, then took a deep breath. Unseen, covered by the Starlight Legion, the coils of a black tattoo moved slightly. In the past month, both Sunny and Nephis had learnt how to control what little essence they had with the help of Serpent.

Sunny took out a makeshift torch and passed it to Nephis. She grasped it in her hand and made it ignite. As she dropped it to the ground, she invoked the name of the Soul Devourer Tree, as well as those of Flames and Destruction. As her body collapsed as a puppet whose strings had been cut, the fire spread. It seemed as if the wood was water and it were a man in a desert. Sunny took Changing Star in his arms before she could fall to the ground. He ran towards the boat holding her; being there for a moment longer was a danger in and of itself because of the heat and smoke, and the fire was acting as a beacon of every single creature in the rising Dark Sea. As soon as he reached the boat, he posed Nephis and grabbed the staff Cassie was handing him. They were propelled forward by the wind enchantment of the staff, and began their sail West.