That was because Imp had gnawed through the outer layers of the tower, of course, going most of the way around it.
Sunny had summoned the gluttonous goblin immediately after noticing the lookouts of the survivor group. While he was greeting Effie, talking to Morgan, informing her of danger, and observing the seven vessels of the Gate Guardian slowly surrounding them, the Ravenous Fiend was busy stealthily eating through the exterior of the steel finger.
And just then, the tower finally couldn't support its weight and toppled.
The cool shade filling its interior was instantly torn apart by blinding sunlight.
…But plenty of shadows remained.
Calling upon them, Sunny instantly manifested dozens of dark tentacles. Some of them wrapped themselves around the bodies of those corpses that had not been buried under countless tons of steel, only to be instantly destroyed.
This was just a distraction, though.
The rest of the shadow tentacles grabbed the humans, and unceremoniously tossed them out of the way of falling metal, into the merciless heat of the desert.
At the same time, a whirlwind of sparks manifested into Transcendent Echoes, who threw themselves at the abominations. Everyone used their own means to slow the enemy down.
There were screams, there was noise. There was an explosion of white flame, and the sharp sound of the air being cut by countless blades. Blood spilled.
Falling onto the white sand, Sunny rolled and jumped to his feet.
"Run!"
Most of them had made it out of the tower, but five out of the eleven Ascended that Morgan had called were nowhere to be seen.
The white dunes around them trembled, and then exploded, and a vast cloud of sand covered everything in sight.
Kai held Effie's hand as he soared into the air.
Nightmare appeared out of the darkness, rushing toward Jet.
Morgan had her own mount, which looked like a horned destrier made of steel.
…Sunny found himself near Nephis.
Without thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed her tightly…
And stepped through the shadows.
An instant later, the two of them appeared a few kilometers away, in the shadow of a tall dune.
He had pulled her with him into Shadow Step.
Sunny stared at Nephis with a startled expression, and she looked at him with wide eyes.
"What… what was that?"
He opened his mouth, then froze for a moment.
"That, uh… I just thought that it might work. What would you know? It did."
Sunny couldn't bring other living things with him when he stepped through the shadows, but his Aspect had already shown that it treated Nephis as an extension of him in certain instances. Or rather… it was more like it treated Sunny as an extension of Nephis.
They were connected by Shadow Bond, which meant that their souls were bound together. Sunny didn't have to like it…
But it would be foolish not to use it.
Nephis looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay."
She looked at him some more and added:
"You can let go of me now."
Sunny smiled crookedly.
"Oh, but I really can't."
Just then, a black steed jumped over the dune and rushed down its slope. Jet shouted from Nightmare's back as they flashed past them:
"Move! They're following!"
Burning through his essence, Sunny sighed, and then pulled Nephis back into the shadows.