Chapter 1372 Clearing a Path

Chapter 1372 Clearing a Path

A moment later, Cassie and Nephis landed behind him. The water splashed quietly as it licked the shore of the drowned island, the black vines glistening with crimson luster in the blaze of dusk. Apart from that gentle sound and the whispers of the wind, the dark garden was silent. Sunny lingered for a few moments, extending his shadow sense outward. Eventually, he shook his head and said warily:

"There's movement." Updated from n0velbIn.(c)o/m

Which meant that there was none.

The dark vines also did not seem to exude poisonous mist, and neither were their black flowers full of parasitic pollen. As far as Sunny could tell, the garden of thorns was entirely safe.

They were not taking any chances, though. Taking a step forward, Nephis silently raised a hand. Wisps of white flame rose from her skin, and then suddenly shot forward in a rain of incandescent drops. As her eyes shone with incinerating radiance, the white drops fell on the vines and suddenly exploded into a roaring blaze. Nephis stared at the dark garden with grim determination, and following her will, the flames spread with astonishing speed. Soon, the entire place was engulfed in fire. It crawled up the walls of the crooked temple, turning the magnificent edifice into a towering pyre... soon, the three of them found themselves standing in front of a sea of flames.

The black flowers dissolved into the white inferno. The slithering vines were obliterated from existence. The ancient stones cracked and melted, revealing more of the dark interior of the lost temple. Still, no abomination revealed itself from the depths of the burning garden. Nephis let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. The furious radiance illuminating them from within dimmed, and then disappeared to reveal her pale complexion. At the same time, the raging flames were left without the will that had been pushing them forward. With no more fuel to burn, they grew smaller and were gradually extinguished. The black garden had been turned into cinders and ash, while the walls of the drowned temple were cracked and blackened by soot. The path was clear. The more powerful enemies he faced, the more of them possessed means of sensing Sunny had expected an ambush to spring until the last moment, but it seemed that there was indeed no danger here... at least on the surface. What waited in the depths of the temple, though? No one could tell.

He considered sending his shadows underground to explore, but decided against it. The more powerful enemies he faced, the more of them possessed means of sensing and harming intangible beings. The shadows were no different from parts of his soul, but lacked the protection of his Ascended body. So, keeping them close when dealing with a powerful opponent was a wiser choice. "Let's go."

Shielding her face from the heat, Cassie took a hesitant step forward. Sunny observed her for a moment, then followed. Catching up to the blind girl, he asked:

...Did Cassie's shoulders tremble a little at the sound of the sword wraith's voice? He wasn't sure.

Sunny hesitated for a moment, but remained silent in the end. He didn't really want to answer, and didn't really know what to say. There had indeed been a conversation like that, soon after their first meeting on the Forgotten Shore. The blind girl had been fast asleep back then, though... most likely.

She had never indicated otherwise. "Stop."

At the sound of Cassie's voice, Sunny tensed up.

"What is it?"

Had she really heard the Sin o Solace?

The blind girl remained motionless for a moment, then took a step forward and leaned down. Her hand disappeared into the ash, and pulled out the singed remains of a crude spear from beneath it. Her face turned somber. Dropping the spear back to the ground, she sighed and said darkly:

"...It's the Drowned."