Shadow Slave

Sunny stared at the last engraving for a few moments, and then continued walking.

The revelations he had uncovered on the walls of the ancient mine gave him a lot to think about. The truth that he had been piecing together for a very long time was finally more complete than fragmented.

So, something had indeed fallen from the sky and put a start to the eventual destruction of this land. Sunny had suspected that this was the case for a while now, especially after witnessing the colossal impact crater that was situated between the Dark City and the Ashen Barrow.

At times, he had been almost ready to believe that it was really the result of the Vile Thieving Bird dropping the Weaver's eye "on the mortal realm below", as written in the description of the Lineage Memory he had consumed.

The Thieving Bird had gone mad after looking at the reflection of the -unknown- which was apparently forever frozen in the depths of Weaver's pupil. The madness and corruption that reigned over the Forgotten Shore were similar enough for him to draw a parallel.

However, now he knew that it had been an actual being that had fallen from the skies, wreathed in light and flame. A beautiful figure that emanated brilliant radiance and had three eyes on its terrible, perfect face.

Sunny didn't know what led the ancient humans to attack it, but they had killed the creature — perhaps managing such a feat only because it was already weakened by its fall from the heavens and the events that had sent it plummeting down.

But by doing so, they had unleashed the flood of darkness and caused the destruction of their land.

Sunny was under the impression that the annihilation of the ancient civilization had been instantaneous, but as it turned out, humans had continued to fight against the curse for a long time. Generations, even — that's why the founders of the Starlight Legion were described as being born in the all-consuming darkness.

He didn't know whether the monsters that came to feast on the human flesh had been contained within the body of the fallen being along with the ocean of darkness, or whether they were all humans corrupted by the curse — with those present at the moment of the creature's death becoming the most terrifying ones.

What he did know, however, was that the Starlight Legion had managed to push the monsters back and build an impregnable fortress for the humans under their protection. That fortress would later become the Dark City.

And then, the founders of the Legion had achieved something even more inconceivable. They had built the cyclopean Spire and somehow used it to…

To create an artificial star.

Yes, the sun shining above the Forgotten Shore was not real. It was, in fact, a human creation.

'...Speak about ambition.'

It was hard not to feel awe after learning that those seven madmen had actually managed to create a sun. They had made a defiant oath to return light to the cursed land and gone about it with terrifying resolve and sincerity.

The story depicted in the ancient engravings ended with a celebration. The forces of good had vanquished the curse of darkness and brought a new era of light and prosperity to the inhabitants of the ancient city.

…However, that was not where history ended.

Something happened between then and now that had caused the obliteration of the ancient civilization, the corruption of the Spire, and the appearance of the Crimson Labyrinth.

But what?

That was a mystery for another day. Perhaps he would be able to find the answer to it back at the Dark City.

What Sunny did note, however, was the difference between the dark reality shown in the engravings and the state the Forgotten Shore was now.

Yes, the ancient murals showed a world completely devoid of light, but it was different from the hell that Sunny and the other members of the cohort knew. The engravings did not show the curse of darkness as a literal sea.

With no sun and no sea, there was no cycle of tides that turned the Forgotten Shore into an ocean of black water every night.

The dark sea had appeared at the same time as the Labyrinth, then? Or at least as the result of the same event. Sunny was sure that the two were connected.

But he didn't know what significance that information hid.

...The other thing he had noted was that, while other members of the party were initially indifferent to the ancient engravings, at some that changed.

When they had been walking past the mural depicting the radiant being with three incandescent eyes, Nephis had stopped and looked at it for several long moments.

Then, she turned her head away, lingered for a second, and continued walking.

Sunny had not missed that detail. However, he couldn't even begin to guess what it meant.

***

Some time later, they entered a wide circular hall. In the center of it, a dark chasm opened into the depths of the mountains, leading so far down that Sunny couldn't even see its bottom.

It looked like the gates of the Underworld.

Thousand years ago, there were wooden ladders and platforms leading down the main shaft of the mine, as well as a system of ropes and pulleys to lower the miners and lift containers full of precious ores up. Of course, all of that had rotten and collapsed a long time ago.

With a sigh, Sunny glanced at Nephis and asked:

"We are climbing down, aren't we?"

Instead of answering, she simply summoned the golden rope and shrugged.

He shook his head.

"Wait. At least give me some time to scout ahead and see if anything is waiting for us at the bottom of this thing."

With that, he sent his shadow down the wall of the endless shaft. The shadow wasn't very ecstatic at the prospect of gliding down into the depths of the scarry well, though. Giving Sunny a resentful glare, it sighed and dove down with visible reluctance.

A few minutes later, the shadow reached as far down as the range of Shadow Control allowed. It was still not at the bottom of the mine, but at least there were no primordial horrors in its sight.

Sunny summoned the Dark Wing and gave the members of the cohort a nod.

"We can proceed. Be ready, though. Who knows what might happen?"