Shadow Slave novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85 One Step At A Time

Sitting inside the Vile Thieving Bird's nest, Sunny frowned and clenched his fists.

Something unnatural was happening to them ever since they came to the Ashen Barrow. Now that he had remembered Cassie's warning, it was apparent that their minds were affected, making them forgetful and easily distracted.

Even now that he knew about it, thinking straight was strangely hard. It took all of his will just to keep the knowledge of the anomaly in his memory.

The events of these past few days were still hazy. Remembering something else, Sunny closed his eyes in frustration.

Had they really spent mere days on this island? The number of shadow fragments he received from eating Soul Tree fruits suggested otherwise. It was quite possible that as much as a whole month had passed since the first time they ate them.

And their minds were corroded a bit more with every day that passed. Pretty soon, there would be nothing left of them at all. Only empty shells, walking around wearing their faces.

Sunny's face paled.

With a growing feeling of dread, he realized that there were large gaps in his memory. He could not remember how they got to the Ashen Barrow, and where they were going. Other things, too, were unclear and blurry.

'Stay calm.'

Despite how compromised his memory was, there were still ways to understand what was going on, and then maybe undo it. After all, he was able to remember Cassie's warning. That meant that their memories were not gone, just obfuscated.

'First step: resist the impulse to forget everything again.'

Not succumbing to the constant pull on his mind was not an easy task, but he was able to manage, at least for now.

'Second step: try to understand the reason why you were able to remember these things.'

When Cassie begged him to remember the number five, she must have already known that he would receive a new Attribute. He had noticed the existence of the mysterious fifth Attribute as the result, which triggered the frightening revelation.

However, why was he able to not forget about the existence of the fifth Attribute altogether?

What made him so special? Cassie had even said that he was the only one who could do it. Why him and not Changing Star?

Sunny massaged his temples. Then, a sudden realization came to him.

'Doubtless!'

One of the enchantments of the Puppeteer's Shroud was providing him with a small amount of resistance against mind attacks. That's why he was slightly less susceptible to the frightening forgetfulness that infected them on the Ashen Barrow.

That was the reason why he had been the last one to agree to eat the "miraculous" fruits. Why he had often felt that things were wrong. He was also the only one who had managed to remember Cassie's warning, even if it took him a long time.

Cassie knew about the Puppeteer's Shroud, and that's why she had chosen him instead of Nephis.

'Smart girl.'

So… their warped state was the result of a mind attack. But who could attack them on this desolate island?

The answer was pretty obvious.

'That damned tree!'

Looking down, Sunny felt cold sweat running down his back.

The Soul Tree was, in fact, a colossal, ancient and utterly horrifying Nightmare Creature. If he was right, then its power had to be simply unimaginable. He was afraid to even think about what its rank and class were.

'No wonder it was able to drain a whole area of the crimson labyrinth of all life.'

No wonder it was able to survive and thrive in this hellish place. Of all the horrors in this hell, it might have been the most terrifying.

Finally, Sunny knew the reason why no other Nightmare Creature dared to approach the Ashen Barrow. Even monsters were afraid of the Soul Tree.

…Except for equally harrowing things that dwelled beneath the waves of the deep, dark sea.

There was no way for them to destroy it. The Soul Tree was just too big, old and powerful. For a moment, Sunny entertained the idea of setting it on fire, but quickly abandoned it. He would need a volcanic eruption or some sort of divine intervention to burn that colossus down.

'So… what to do?'

After thinking for some time, Sunny decided not to be hasty and move forward one step at a time.

First, he had to know the exact situation with his Attributes.

Summoning the runes, he tried once again to read the description of the hidden fifth Attribute.

The result was the same. He knew it was there, but could not remember what it was no matter how much he tried.