The stone colossus wandered the Forgotten Shore aimlessly for thousands of years. Cassie did not know what power had brought him to life, nor what he was searching for in the depths of the dark sea.
She had seen a vision of the headless giant passing the ruins of the ancient bridge on a certain day and then traveling south to the very edges of this desolate land. She also knew that the leader of the cohort that had conquered the Bright Castle pursued the seventh statue across the Labyrinth for a long time before leaving on his doomed journey.
His reasons for doing so were, presumably, unknown.
Sunny wasn't sure that the blind girl had told him the whole truth about the wandering colossus. In fact, he was certain that there was a deeper layer of secrets surrounding the seven ancient statues and their importance to the riddle of the Forgotten Shore.
However, he was in no hurry to hunt these secrets down. Sunny knew that all three of them — Nephis, Cassie, and himself — were bound together to this cursed place. The strings of fate were wrapped around them tightly, stretching far into the future, where the final revelations waited. He was going to learn the truth sooner or later.
Until then, Sunny was content knowing no more than he needed to know.
…The stone giant walked across the dark sea, cutting its surface with his wide chest. The six humans were gathered on the circular platform of his severed neck, pressing themselves against the swaying stone. The cold water was spraying into their faces and the furious winds were threatening to throw them off the moving statue into the deadly waves below.
Nephis had long extinguished her flames, so they were surrounded by absolute darkness. Sunny was the only one who could see what was happening around them, so his role was to serve as the eyes of the cohort.
Using the strength of the shadow to hold onto the slippery stones, he looked forward with a grim expression on his face.
Currently, there was only one thought on his mind.
Were they going to make it in time?
The colossus was swiftly approaching the other side of the canyon. Sunny could identify it by the remnants of the ancient bridge that were still above the turbulent black waves. However, the water level was rising much faster.
"Sunny?!"
Looking toward Effie, who called out his name, he lingered for a few moments and then yelled:
"Prepare yourself! We're going to be underwater for a couple of minutes, at least!"
A chorus of curses served as the answer.
Unseen by anyone, Sunny smiled darkly.
This was going to be his second time diving into the dark sea. Wasn't this how Gunlaug had begun his journey to the throne of the Dark City?
Maybe Sunny would be a king himself, one day.
"...Now!"
The black water rose higher and higher. The shoulders of the giant were already submerged in its lightless depths. The circular platform was going to be next.
They were so close to the shore…
As the stone colossus moved across the bottom of the canyon, the platform rose and fell. After another fall, it was finally lost beneath the waves.
The cold, salty water crashed into them and then swallowed the entire world. The members of the cohort desperately held onto the cracks in the stone, trying to prevent themselves from being washed away by the raging current.
No one would be able to save them if they were.
Sunny closed his eyes, knowing that he would not be able to see anything through the impenetrable darkness of the cursed sea. Instead, he relied on his Shadow Sense, hoping that it was going to help him feel if something approached them from the depths.
Now, all Sunny had to do was hold tight and hope that the headless giant would reach the shore of the canyon before he ran out of breath.
Thankfully, everyone present was strong and powerful. Their physical form was either at the pinnacle of human ability or slightly above it. Several minutes underwater were not going to kill them… most likely.
Placating himself with this thought, Sunny waited, and waited, and waited, struggling against the terrible current with all his strength. At some point, he thought that he sensed an unclear shape swim close to the walking statue, but then the sensation disappeared.
'Any second now… any second…'
But the relief he was so desperately waiting for was not coming for far longer than Sunny had expected. Soon, his lungs began to burn, and his muscles began to spasm.
'Damnation…'
If he was having trouble, then others must have been in far worse shape. After all, oxygen traveled through human bodies with blood, and their blood had not been altered and comprehensively enhanced by the forbidden legacy of the mysterious Weaver.
Just as he thought so, Sunny felt one of the six shadows slipping from the circular platform.
It was Kai…
'Crap!'
Fortunately, before the colossus plunged into the dark depths, the charming archer had been worried about Cassie and tied himself to her with the help of the golden rope. Surprisingly, the blind girl turned out to be more resilient than him in the end. Now, she was holding both of their weights, desperately grabbing onto a narrow crack in the ancient stone.
Kai's unconscious body was floating a few meters behind her. He was safe, for now.
But how long would Cassie herself be able to hold on?
…When Sunny felt his mind weakening, his body was suddenly slammed into the platform with tremendous force.
The stone giant was climbing out of the canyon. His massive hands grabbed onto the edge of it, and with one devastating pull, the colossus threw himself upward.
'Ugh… curse it!'
Sunny felt as though he was aboard the worst amusement ride in human history. His bones groaned, being pressed down upon by an invisible weight.
A few moments of this torture, and they were above water once again.
Desperately grasping for air, Sunny inhaled several times and then weakly looked at the unconscious form of Kai. Crawling toward the archer, he grabbed him and dragged the body back to the rest of the group.
Entrusting him to Cassie, Sunny looked down at the dark water below… and suddenly growled in a low voice.
Turning her head, Nephis asked with a deep frown on her pale face:
"Sunny? What is it?"
Looking at the torso of the giant statue, he gritted his teeth and lingered for a few moments before answering.
Then, in a voice that was dreadfully grim, Sunny said:
"...We have a passenger."