Shadow Slave

It was only when the Time Slayer drew closer to the remains of the Serpent King that they were able to appreciate the enormous size of the ancient skeleton. Each vertebra was large enough to dwarf the ancient ship, and its skull was like a cavernous harbor.

Daeron of the Nightmare had been enormous in his bestial form… but he had not been nearly as colossal as the real Serpent King seemed to have been just before his death.

Sunny stared at the ancient bones, feeling a powerful mixture of reverence and wistfulness. He had found many traces of Daeron over the years, both in the Dream Realm and in the Nightmare. And perhaps because Sunny had met and spoken with his daughter, Wind Flower, it almost felt like he and the Serpent King knew each other. There had been their battle, as well.

So, seeing the final resting place of the ancient Supreme — the only Supreme of the Twilight Sea — he could not help but feel a pang of sorrow.

‘So this was where your nightmare ended.’

Sunny sighed heavily.

Daeron had been so powerful, so cunning, so determined. He had strived to resist the Nightmare and save his people so earnestly. But his journey had ended here, in the darkness… in bitter defeat.

Even if his death paved the way for those who would come after him, Sunny could not help but feel that such an end was unjust.

‘Daeron deserved better.’

But then again… they all did.

Ananke guided the Time Slayer to the skull of the great serpent and moored it to a dock built upon it.

Soon enough, they were inside. Sunny did not know what he had expected to see, but there were actually several buildings built inside the skull of the Serpent King, as well as two crossing streets and a square… it was as if he was looking at a small port.

There was not a soul around. Looking around, Sunny judged that people had lived here once… but for the longest time, Ananke remained here alone.

She led them to one of the homes and made a fire in the hearth, then sat in front of it to warm her hands.

Sunny looked around, noticing the signs of someone having lived in this little home for a long time, and asked:

“So… this is the Ark?”

Ananke shook her head.

“Goodness, no. The Ark was hidden inside a pocket dimension, and that dimension was contained within the inner space of this bone ring. We actually had soil, wind, grass, and a semblance of a sun there. This, meanwhile, was merely… a forward base, of sorts. A place for those who guarded and maintained the Ark to stay while performing their duties.”

She sighed.

“And when the Ark began collapsing, this became the shelter for those who ventured outside the Estuary to explore the Great River. And in the end… it was the final shelter of the River People, as well.”

Ananke remained silent for a short while, then said in a somber tone:

“When we understood that the situation was untenable, we attempted to come up with a way to save at least some of our people. But all we could think of, in the end, was to create lesser versions of the Ark and try to postpone our extinction for as long as we could.”

She shook her head.

“The Great River could not sustain the remains of the River People anymore, so we chose the seven strongest Transcendent champions among us. Each of the champions was entrusted with an Ark Amulet — an enchanted locket that contained a small pocket dimension of its own, its inhabitants frozen in time. The remaining River People surrendered themselves to the Ark Amulets, and then… we scattered.”

Ananke smiled bitterly.

“It would have been better to stay together and lean on each other, perhaps… but we figured that if each of us went their own way, then even if most of us perished, at least one would survive in the end. So, each of the seven Ark Guardians left for a remote corner of the Great River, determined to find a way to survive.”

Sunny held his breath for a moment.

“And did they? Survive?”

Ananke remained silent for a long while, then slowly shook her head.

“No… one after the other, they all died.”

A sad smile illuminated her lovely face.

“Only I remained.”

Sunny felt sad for her, as well.

But after a moment of compassion, he finally realized the meaning of her words.

“Wait. If you were one of the Ark Guardians… then does that mean that you had been entrusted with one of these Ark Amulets, too?”

Ananke studied him for a few moments, then smiled and pulled a cord that was tied around her neck.

A moment later, Sunny saw it…

Seven flawlessly white lockets, seemingly carved from the same bone that surrounded them, were hanging on the cord like a heavy necklace.

There was a beast that resembled a dog carved on one of them, a fish on another, a beetle on the third…

Ananke let go of the cord, hiding the lockets under her mantle once more.

“The other six perished, but I did manage to recover their amulets. So, they are all with me, now — the people whom Daeron and Cronos had saved.”

As Sunny and Nephis looked at her in shock, Ananke said with a smile:

“People from the Fallen Grace, from Weave, from the River Nomad tribes. The descendants of the Outsiders from the Twilight Sea, as well — even their royal princess, the granddaughter of the Serpent King. All that remains of the River People is here, with me… under my protection and care. Dozens of thousands of people, all in all.”

She patted her chest, where the seven lockets hang, hidden by the black fabric of her mantle.

“So even if I waited for a long time, alone, it never felt like it. And now, my long wait is over — because of you, my lord and lady. Salvation Cronos had promised me… it has finally arrived.”