The chain leading to the Shipwreck Island was about four kilometers long, which was on the shorter side by the Chained Isles standards. As a swift shadow, Sunny would have been able to ride it all the way to his destination in just a few minutes. Sadly, the heavenly chain was currently drawn taut and nowhere near the Sky Below, which meant that its links weren't covered by a thick layer of shadows.
He was going to have to cross it on foot. He conserved more Essence if he was already moving through a larger mass of shadows. If he was only a silhouette, the cost would make him vulnerable once he got to his destination.
As the ground behind him started to move, announcing the approach of something far more hungry and terrifying than the swarm of gluttonous maggots, Sunny slid out of his hiding spot, dashed toward the edge of the island, and jumped down.
Falling through the vast expanse of the blue sky, he landed on the iron surface of the heavenly chain, rolled down a few meters, and then finally caught his balance.
The chain stretched far into the distance, rising higher and higher until it connected with the slowly descending Shipwreck Island. Unlike how it was with the other pieces of land Sunny had seen in this strange region of the Dream Realm, the chain didn't simply disappear into the soil, but instead led to a tall stone structure that resembled a castle gate. Two massive pillars rose high into the sky, overgrown by vines and moss.
The gate itself had been broken a long time ago, and now, the space between the pillars was empty, the wind passing freely through its vast opening.
...Further away, the corpse of the iron giant continued to sway in the air, his one remaining hand pointed at the Sky Below.
Summoning the Cruel Sight, Sunny turned it into the spear and cautiously moved forward.
The further he walked, the lower the Shipwreck Island descended, until finally the heavenly chain became almost horizontal. In about an hour, Sunny crossed the abyss separating two isles and approached the stone structure he had noticed from afar.
Up close, it was even more monumental. He found out that he had been wrong, though: the pillars did not seem like they had ever served to house a massive gate. Instead, they just reached for the sky, built for some unknown purpose. There were weathered steps cut into each of the pillars, leading all the way to the top.
Sunny frowned.
'Who would be crazy enough to climb that high?'
Even now that the island had descended, up there on top of the monumental pillars the Crushing must have been suffocating. With a shrug, he used the Dark Wing to glide upward and climbed onto a wide stone platform between the pillars.
From here, the remains of an ancient road led further into the island. Following it to reach the top of a low hill, Sunny stopped and looked down, at the sight of the peculiar landmark that gave this place its name.
At the very heart of the desolate island, a large wooden ship lay broken on the ground.
It must have been beautiful and magnificent once, but now, all that remained of its former glory were the fluid lines of the graceful and narrow hull. The ancient wood somehow remained untouched by the passage of time, but the bow of the ship was completely shattered. There were also large breaches here and there along the length of the wreck, and green vines covering large sections of it.
What was a ship doing at the heart of a land that had no rivers and no seas remained a mystery, but Sunny became hypnotized by the sight of a crushed vessel for a completely different reason.
A triumphant spark appeared in his eyes.
'I guess I am in luck today!'
With a dark smile, he shifted his gaze and looked at the tall mast of the ship.
A dead, withered tree coiled around it, it's naked branches stretching into the sky like bones. Sunny recognized that tree, even if it looked very different from how it was depicted on the reverse side of the mysterious coins, full of life and in bloom.
This was the same ship he had seen before.
…Which meant that the coin might have come from inside the wreck, or at least was connected to it somehow.
Initially, Sunny had only planned to scout the vicinity of the island and search for the traces left by the dead Chain Worm. But now, he felt as if this scouting expedition could actually lead him directly to the treasure he so desperately wanted to find. What were the chances that the coins depicting the strange ship came from somewhere else?
Close to zero, most likely.
Now, he only had to sneak into the wreck, explore it, and return in one piece.
…Which was not an easy task, considering how close to the Tear the island was. Sunny could not see any Nightmare Creatures moving across its surface, but he knew that there had to be some, and that they were going to be of the truly dreadful kind.
Still, he wasn't going to turn back now.
'It's worth it…'
***
Sunny spent some time observing the island. No matter how hard he looked and how much his shadows roamed around, he couldn't see any abominations anywhere near the ancient ship.
…That didn't mean there were none, though. It just meant that they were better at hiding than he was at looking.
After a while, Sunny frowned and summoned Saint. The taciturn demon stepped out of his shadow a few hundred meters down the slope of the hill and indifferently looked around. The Midnight Shard appeared in her hands, its austere blade reflecting the black onyx of the Shadow's armor.
…The two suited each other very well.
Saint turned her back to Sunny, raised the long tachi, and calmly headed toward the distant wreck. After thirty seconds or so, he left his shelter and followed, keeping to the shadows.
Minute after minute passed in tense silence. Despite his expectations, they didn't meet any powerful abominations. The island was quiet and deserted, covered only by overgrown ruins, vines, and piles of broken wood.
When they were halfway to the ship, however, something finally changed.
As Saint approached one of the piles of debris, it suddenly moved.
…And then assembled itself into the shape of a tall, menacing humanoid creature, its hands ending in long jagged blades.
As countless similar piles of splintered wood began to move all around them, Sunny breathed out a curse.
It had started so well!
***
Seele knocked on the wooden door a few times. A few minutes passed without any indication of an inhabitant within. Frowning, she deigned to stand beside the door, leaning against the wall as she waited for the occupant to arrive.
She was looking for the person Sunny had told her could assist her if she needed it. He had been gone for a few days, and March and Dan Heng had been asking her to figure out what happened to him — mainly because she was the only one that shared the same Citadel with him.
Seele had no personal reasons… none at all!
Almost an hour passed without anyone opening the door — whether to enter or exit. Irritated, she closed her eyes as she prepared to take a nap while leaning against the wall — a skill she learned to look cool.
[It's not cool at all, by the way.]
'You just don't see the vision…'
After all, she perfectly fit into the mysterious character archetype!
[You pretend to be slacking off so that nobody will disturb you when you read comics.]
She paused, her face scrunching up as her eyes stayed closed. Maybe she wasn't as mysterious as she thought…
'Better than reading… whatever you read, freak.'
[It's called adult literature for a reason. You're just not mature enough.]
Seele opened her eyes to roll them, before freezing as she looked towards the figure across from her. A petite girl in a strange dress with twintails and pink, flowery eyes leaned against the opposite wall. She held up a pendulum, staring into it's crystal with a smile on her face.
She spoke in a curious tone:
"Hey, Moth Girl. Did you know that butterflies have a symbolic meaning in mysticism?"
Seele blinked, confused by the mysterious lady's question.
However, hearing her refer to Seele as 'Moth Girl', along with the talk about butterflies, caused her to come to a realization.
"Uh… are you that 'Sparkle' person?"
With a short tug, the dangling pendulum retracted into Sparkle's hand. She stared directly at Seele, an easy smile on her face.
"So? What if I am? You haven't answered my question, so I'm not obliged to answer yours. Haven't you ever been told about the rules of reciprocity?"
As she spoke, Seele couldn't help but subconsciously compare her to the 'mysterious side character' archetype. Speaks in riddles, asks strange questions to guide the main character in the right direction, and appears in scenes with a swagger that separated them from the rest of the cast…
[Oh boy…]
Slightly excited, Seele awkwardly answered:
"N—no, I don't."
Sparkle tilted her head, before casually shrugging.
"It matters not. The Nightmare Spell is not all-powerful, so it's comprehension of you is sorely lacking."
She swiped her hand over a pink flower tattoo near her shoulder, which disappeared as if it never existed — seeming like a magic trick. Seele's eyes narrowed as a deck of cards suddenly appeared within Sparkle's hands, causing her to suspect a sleight-of-hand movement.
Without even shuffling the deck, Sparkle held out the deck, the top card face down.
"Go on. Pick one. Any one."
Staring at her in trepidation, Seele began to suspect that there was something wrong with this woman. Either way, she discarded her hesitation as she reached out to grab the top card. Sunny had told her that she could ask Sparkle if she needed anything, so, surely the shorter girl was trustworthy.
Taking the card, she flipped it over. It revealed a skeletal knight atop a pale, demented steed. Below were corpses and pleading individuals, hoping to escape their eventual demise.
Seele frowned.
The card was upside down. Just as she was about to fix it, Sparkle's grin widened.
"Death, in the reverse position."