Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1573

Chapter 1573 Stone Maze

1573 Stone Maze

Sunny turned away from the chilling testament that Ariel had left behind in the silent waters of the still lake and continued forward.

There were a million thoughts in his mind. The magnitude of the revelation he had received dwarfed almost everything Sunny knew — the very reason for the cold reality he was born into now had an explanation. The future, too, had become much clearer. And it was a frightening future, as well.

The gods were dead… but not all of them.

The seventh god was still alive, slumbering in the cradle of the Void. All of existence was already infected by the horrors of his nightmare, and once the Forgotten One awakened, even that ailing world would come to an end.

And yet, Sunny had no desire to ponder these truths right now.

The matters of corrupted gods and dying worlds were far away. The dreadful future they promised was far away, too… although perhaps not as far as he would have hoped for. In any case, none of it held any meaning as long as he was bound.

As long as he wasn't free.

Free to live his life the way he wished to live it, as well as free to try and change the predestined outcome. Even if the end promised by the truth of Ariel truly came before Sunny died peacefully of old age, even if he failed to change anything, in the end... there was really only one thing sadder than living as a slave.

It was dying as one.

So, Sunny wished to gain freedom even more desperately now.

And, unlike the dreadful truth, his freedom was near.

The Guiding Light was still shining, pointing across the dark waters. Sunny followed that light through the darkness.

As he walked across the still lake, subtle ripples spread from where he stepped. His reflection walked alongside him, and a few steps back, the Sin of Solace followed, staring at Sunny with hateful eyes.

Why is he being so quiet?

There was something strange happening to the sword wraith. He seemed… different, somehow, ever since they had entered the Estuary. Sunny had long grown accustomed to the company of the loathsome apparition, but now, he was growing wary of its presence.

Not the least because he knew now what harrowing knowledge the Sin of Solace was harboring, prevented from sharing it only by the seal placed on him by the Estuary Key.

Just like the Void could break its seal and consume all of existence, the knowledge of it that the wraith possessed would consume Sunny should the Estuary Key disappear.

The thought was chilling.

It's… a good thing I never tried to transfer the Key of the Estuary to someone, I guess.

Sunny continued to walk across the dark lake, losing all sense of time — or rather, what little of it he had left. There were no lights shining under the surface of the water anymore, but gradually, the lake itself changed.

Its surface, which had been calm before, was slowly growing restless. There were powerful currents moving underneath the surface, making the dark water stir and surge, forming waves. Soon, advancing had become harder.

Eventually, Sunny saw something in the distance. Jagged rocks were rising from the water, resembling cliffs. The water was flowing between them, restless, and wisps of mist rose here and there.

The silence was broken by the sound of rushing water and the whispers of distant currents.

Sunny reached the towering black rocks, looking at the surging water with a complicated expression. There was a labyrinth formed by the passages between the jagged cliffs, shrouded in mist. The water traveled through the stone maze, disappearing from view.

He could hear it roar in the distance, as if plunging from great heights.

He could also feel the very fabric of reality grow thin and strange all around him.

'What is this place…'

Sunny did not know… but he had a suspicion.

And that suspicion only grew when he noticed something at the base of one of the cliffs. There, a mark had been left on the black stone, as if cut into it by a sharp blade.

Two runes, one meaning "sun", the other meaning "loss".

'The Mad Prince passed through here.'

And not only him.

Looking into the passages formed between the cliffs and listening to the distant roar of water, Sunny felt sure that here, the lake hidden in the inner part of the Estuary connected back to the Great River.

Only, since the lake existed entirely outside of time, the connections it formed were special.

If he followed one of the streams, he would most likely be able to exit the Estuary. He would also enter the Great River at a point in time different from where he had left it — perhaps far in the future.

Or, perhaps, far in the past.

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