It's already been more than half an hour since Sunny climbed down from the cliff that was actually a gigantic beheaded statue.
Cassie was still there, sitting atop the headless statue. Her fists clenched on her knees, the anxiety growing in her heart, silently praying that her shadow would return as soon as possible.
Cassie doesn't know when she started thinking of Sunny as her shadow, but it's a thought that's been in her mind since the first day she met him in the Academy; as if it were fate.
And then Sunny give the impression of being a shadow. So...
"He said he'd be back soon. Why hasn't he come back yet?" Cassie wondered with great concern.
The only one keeping her company at that moment was Thene, Sunny's Echo.
Cassie turned toward her every now and then, sensing her presence thanks to [Strength of perception], the Memory that Professor Julius gave her, which heightened her senses. The fact that the Echo was still there meant that Sunny was still alive, much to her relief.
His Echoes, the snake and the lady, were... special, so to speak.
Cassie had the feeling that they were no normal Echoes, because every time she turned toward Thene, she would stroke her head or squeeze her cheeks with a maternal affection.
Even the snake from before acted without her giving him any command and carried her straight to safety when that Corrupted Devil was hot on her heels.
Cassie will definitely have to ask Sunny about this to clarify her doubts later.
...
Another ten minutes have passed, the anxiety in her heart was reaching its peak.
The line of a tear began to appear on her cheek. "W-where are you Sunny?" She sobbed in fear.
But she wiped the tear off before it could fall.
Cassie was tired. She was really tired of all this.
Being a dead weight, feeling useless, always having to ask someone for help with anything.
In short, she was tired of her flaw!
Sunny had assured her that her flaw was a sign that she would become incredibly strong one day, but when would that day come?
A well-thrown curse and a male voice brought her attention back from her thoughts. "I swear on my God-fathers, sooner or later I will slit the throat of this shitplace and piss in it!!!"
Sunny had returned, his footsteps barely echoing on the cliff surface.
"Sunny!" Hearing him, Cassie's face lit up. She turned and walked toward him with a huge smile.
Coming closer, she threw herself onto his chest with all her weight, wrapping her tiny arms around him in a warm embrace.
Of course this lead her, once again, to hit his wounds.
"Aaaah!!!"
'Damnation!!! And two! Give me some break, do you?' Sunny thought, but he couldn't really be mad with Cassie. Without seeing him, how could she know if he was truly injured? He had no blood to bleed and made almost no noise. It was natural.
"Sorry, Sunny!" Cassie immediately pulled her arms away from him, leaning down her head in embarrassment for her awkwardness.
At least this time she's not naked.
Sunny grabbed her back in a hug and said: "Don't worry." His voice still choked with pain.
He then released the hug, put his good arm on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"Cas, listen! As you may have noticed, I'm hurt again, but nothing an half hour of rest can't fix. After that, we need to get down and start looking for a way back home."
These words made her hands tremble, but Cassie let him finish first.
Sunny continued: "Staying here is like courting death, so whether we like it or not, we'll have to fight. Down here, it's full of Nightmare Creatures; my ability allows me to sense their whereabouts and avoid them, but we can't escape forever. Did you understand?" He said to her firmly.
Cassie nodded, leaving no room for doubts.
Sunny, seeing her determination, took her hand and gave her the [azure blade].
Hearing the Spell, Cassie blinked, then opened her runes.
"Sunny, why did you give me your weapon?" she asked him, concerned.
"Because, since I can't be by your side all the time, at least I can give you something to defend yourself with." He said.
The objects created by the Priestess with [Shadow shaper] revert to shadows as soon as they are held by anyone other than Sunny or herself. They pass through the hand and dissolve to the ground. This is because Sunny doesn't yet have [Shadow manifestation] to keep the shadows tangible to the others. The only option available to arm her, in the end, was to give her the [azure blade].
Sunny explained to her: "I have two Echoes of the ascendant rank, but one serves me as a weapon, while Thene needs to provide with cover when I'm in trouble. And that means: if the need arises, you'll have to fight, Cas."
Cassie visibly paled, her hands trembled even more. Sunny, seeing this, took them, helding gently to warm them.
"Don't worry," Sunny reassured her, "I'll do my best not to leave you alone, I won't let any Nightmare Creature eat you."
And then he added with a bold smile: "At least, not before I've had the chance to eat you myself."
Sunny said that last part to make both her and himself laugh a little. This because Sunny was under pressure, too. And somehow, it worked.
Cassie chuckled, understanding that he was trying to reassure her. "Okay then. I'll do my best." She said with a large smile.
Cassie clenched her fists wrapped in his hands.
Her determination had returned. Before, Cassie wondered when her chance will come, and now, her shadow had give that chance to her.
Cassie doesn't want to waste all this.
She doesn't want to waste all the trust, time, and training her friends have given her.
Therefore, she will seize this chance to grow stronger. Because, if her shadow can go so far as to kill a Corrupted Devil while being a Sleeper just for her... then who says that she couldn't do the same?
Before lying down and let his wounds heal, Sunny briefly explained to Cassie what he knew about the Forgotten Shore, but not before glancing at the Shadow Priestess to tell her to be ready.
They will have to be ready to go down within an hour.
The main objective: find Nephis.
...
Hoping she's here too.
'Eeehm... Listen! Dear narrator-chan! Kindly, never do the bird of ill omen again; because without Nephis here, Cassie and I are screwed.'
An hour later.
Sunny and Cassie set out through the red maze of corals of the Forgotten Shore, keeping themselves as hidden and silent as possible.
Sunny lead from ahead, Serpent in hand, Cassie was right behind him with Thene at her left. Both had their guard up with weapons in their hands, ready to be used.
With the large range of his shadow sense, avoiding large bunch of Nightmare creatures was easy for Sunny, he even gave the [Silver bell] to the Priestess, so that with her [Shadow walker] ability, she can use it to draw the attention of their enemies elsewhere, teleporting from one side to another.
This and the scouting of his shadow helped them avoid a lot of trouble, but when was necessary, they had to fight.
There was certainly no shortage of opportunities to fight, that's sure!
And when that happened, Cassie didn't just sit back and do nothing. This time, With the Memory [Strength of perception] in hand and Thene at her side, she elegantly unsheathed her weapon to face the opponents; and indeed she did all very well.
Without her fears holding her back, Cassie shone under a new light when she fought. She evaded the scavenger's attacks with elegance and pierced the flesh of the centurions, where exposed, with precision.
Sunny could have said that, if it weren't for her flaw, there would most likely have been three twin-queens of the Academy back then, not two.
Cassie even managed to kill two Carapace scavenger while he wasn't looking. Thanks to this, Sunny has learn a new trait of his Aspect.
That is, when someone died inside the range of his shadow sense, as long as this is active, their shadows will enter in his Soul Sea.
The Spell doesn't announce who is, since he wasn't the one who killed them from the beginning, it simply says when their shadows enter.
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny, on his part, was fairing even better. Light and agile as he was, he moved across that marshy terrain even better than the Nightmare Creatures that inhabited it. Using the [Shadow Dance], Sunny predicted his enemies next moves, avoided their attacks, went on the offensive at the most opportune moment; and when there were no uncovered spots, a single slash was enough to sever their shadows.
The Shadow Priestess acted as a liaison between the two when they fought and provided them with cover.
Clearly not everything went smoothly.
The accident from last time has happened, at least, another three times so far. This led the two of them to risk dying more times than necessary.
Also, Sunny didn't fare as well in a direct fight as he did when operating from the shadows, especially if the enemies outnumbered him. Each time, at least one of his arm or his leg came out injured. The poor snake had to work non-stop to heal him every time.
When the night fell, Sunny let Cassie sleep on his lap, so as not to let her sleep on the cold ground. He didn't sleep very much, instead.
[Shadowspawn] attribute let him stays awake for at least three days. Someone had to stay up on guard. Sunny didn't even have the opportunity to use [Abyssjaws] to hunt underwater yet, as not to let Cassie alone again, even if his Shadows were there.
This, however, did not displease him.
Seeing her peaceful face as she slept and how she unconsciously embraced him, seeking him in her sleep, was sweet.
While Cassie slept, Sunny took the opportunity to stroke her head, it was like a stress reliever for him by now.
In all of this, a week had already passed.
Cassie had already had her vision of the bright castle, but still there was no sign of Nephis.
'Damn it, Neph! Where are you?'
Sunny wondered worriedly.
After several attempts, he and Cassie had finally found a new spot where the water didn't reach at night, finally leaving the top of the headless statue.
The two of them were now resting. Sunny was looking toward the horizon, trying to find sign of the Changing Star. He was sitting there biting his hand with anxiety.
"Please, Nephis! Where are you? We can't do it here without you." He murmured to himself.
As soon as he finished saying this, a large white light was seen in the distance.
Sunny turned to look toward that light. He sighed.
Someone was starting a damned fire on the high seas. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the culprit was.
"Obviously!" Sunny facepalmed.
"I was trying to find her by looking for her footsteps, I should have looked for her autismsteps instead!"
Who else but Nephis could set the sea ablaze by sheer autism?
Sunny went to wake Cassie to tell her that they had finally found their friend.
Meanwhile, somewhere else...