Now, Sunny could sense the flawlessly flat surface of the Tomb of Ariel, torn and ravaged. There were four gargantuan, deep canyons marring the vast expanse of black stone — his goal was the depths of the third one, from where the endless tide of Nightmare Butterflies was pouring into the world.
And these Butterflies were not only countless, but also untouched by the blizzard, as terrifying and strong as could be.
"Hold tight!"
Sunny sent a torrent of essence into the runic circle of the Chain Breaker and grabbed the oars tightly, prepared to make the last push.
Above him, his two incarnations readied themselves to dive into the densest, most impenetrable part of the Nightmare Swarm.
...When they delved into the obliterating flood of Great abominations, it was unlike anything Sunny had experienced before. He had known that it would be bad, but still underestimated the sheer vicious impossibility of the task.
The Shadow Butterflies were wiped out almost in an instant. His incarnations held fast a little longer, but in a matter of moments, they were gruesomely savaged, as well — one barely escaped back to the deck of the Chain Breaker, the other was so severely damaged that it could not even retreat.
Abandoning her bow, Saint leaped into the air and grabbed the mangled remains of Sunny's avatar. He dismissed his corporeal form and wrapped his tattered shadow around her, dazed and blinded by the pain. Saint was left open in the air, and a moment later, she already received a terrifying blow. A cloud of ruby dust spread around her and was instantly carried away by the winds. As Saint's wounded form plummeted back toward the flying ship, Sunny dismissed her and drew all of his shadows to his last remaining avatar — the one holding the oars.
Somewhere far behind, a Nightmare Butterfly finally pierced the lethal blizzard and descended upon the icy figure of Serpent, shattering the black ice with its scythe-like legs.
More followed.
But by then, the Chain Breaker had finally reached the third of the titanic claw marks and careened, plummeting into the depths of the canyon.
Toward the spot where the Nightmare Butterflies were the densest, and therefore where the breach that led to the interior of the Tomb of Ariel lay.
“Nephis, now!"
Throwing away the stem of a golden fruit, she lunged forward and reached the bow of the flying ship in the blink of an eye.
There, Nephis placed one foot on the railing to keep herself balanced, inhaled deeply... and then raised the Blessing, grasping its hilt with both hands.
In the next moment, the world was drowned in blinding light.
The world was shattered by the roaring flame.
Sunny's eyes were burned even through the blindfold, and his ears were momentarily deafened.
The cold air was suddenly scorching hot and searing, and smelled faintly of ash.
And the path in front of the Chain Breaker was suddenly clear.
Sensing Nephis sway and toppling to the deck, Sunny threw the flying ship into the breach... into the rough tunnel formed by shattered, glowing, incandescent black stone.
That stone had been the flesh of an Unholy Titan once, so Sunny did not even want to think what could have shattered it.
He dismissed the Serpent, knowing that his Shadow was severely damaged — but, hopefully, not irrevocably so.
‘Come on, come on...’
The Chain Breaker plummeted into the darkness, the walls of the tunnel growing closer and closer around it.
And then, in the darkness...
Sunny sensed a vast, endless expanse.
And myriad shadows of the Nightmare Butterflies rising to tear them apart.
"No!"
Gritting his teeth, he called upon the shadows and manifested a dark shield in front of the flying ship — a shield that was really a ram.
Just a heartbeat later, the Chain Breaker collided with the rising tide of Nightmare Butterflies, groaning under pressure as its shield fractured and fell apart.
The flying ship finally escaped into the vast darkness of the Tomb of Ariel, where millions of Nightmare Butterflies rest on the endless expanse of black stone.
A myriad of them rose to destroy the flying ship, but Sunny aimed it down — toward the heart of the vast darkness, where the Great River was supposed to flow endlessly, illuminated by seven radiant suns.
It was strange, though...
He could not see the suns. He could not see anything, really.
‘Where is it?'
The Chain Breaker rushed away from the breach and from the walls of the Tomb of Ariel, pursued by a dreadful trail of Nightmare Butterflies. It was as if a colossal tentacle of seething darkness separated itself from the interior walls of the great pyramid and stretched toward the fleeing ship, aiming to catch and destroy it before it got too far.
Now, it all depended on which was faster — the Chain Breaker or the pursuing mass of Great abominations.
On the bow of the ship, Nephis moved weakly and rose to her knees, using the Blessing to support herself.
On its stern, Sunny gripped the oars so tightly that their handles cracked.
He was overcome by pain and exhaustion... But, magically enough, his mind was at peace.
That was because as soon as they entered the interior of the Tomb of Ariel, the Call had gone silent. The unbearable terror of being close to the Seventh Seed abated, as well.
Sunny was full of a blissful, soothing feeling of relief.
‘Aaahh...’
He could not have even imagined that kind of bliss before.
"Nephis! Get..."
He did not get to finish the sentence.
Just then, a Nightmare Butterfly crashed into the side of the Chain Breaker, and another one rammed its bottom.
Another one climbed onto its deck and thrust a scythe-like leg at Sunny.
The flying ship spun out of control, throwing him into the air.
That was where the terrible blow caught him, assaulting him with horrid pain.
His consciousness was briefly extinguished. When Sunny came back to his senses, he was falling through the darkness, spinning, dazed and completely disoriented.
He could not sense anything around him, and neither could he see anything.
Right... that was because he was still wearing the blindfold.
‘I should probably take it off, now?'
It was then that a familiar, ominous feeling suddenly overwhelmed him.
Sunny opened his eyes wide.
'No. No way...'
That was when he hit the water, sending a towering geyser of it rising hundreds of meters into the air, and was pulled into its cold, dark depths.
'...Goddamnit it! Not again!'
He had finally made it back to the Great River.