Chapter 1400 Footprints in the Sand

Chapter 1400 Footprints in the Sand

As Sunny's shadows climbed the cliffs, he and his companions cautiously advanced up the beach. Even the crow, who had been anxious and impatient to find its master all this time, seemed wary and subdued. The black bird was sitting on Sunny's shoulder, its feathers raised, and kept silent. The mist swirled silently around them. Saint and Fiend were in the rear, both ready to defend against an unexpected attack at any moment. Sunny and Nephis were in the middle. Cassie rode Nightmare at the front of the group, her back straight. The radiance of the Guiding Light that she held up illuminated the way. At some point, the shadow steed suddenly stopped. Sunny gripped the hilt of the Sin of Solace tighter and said in a low voice:

"What is it?"

Cassie remained motionless for a moment, then pointed the sacred staff down, at the ground. When Sunny and Nephis approached, they immediately understood why. Out there in the white sand, hidden in the mist, was a line of lonesome footprints. Sunny kneeled to study them, a frown appearing on his face. "Those were left by a human."

Neph's voice echoed in the fog. He nodded slightly.

Indeed, the shallow prints left in the sand belonged to a human. From the look of it, someone had walked across the beach, barefoot... it was hard to tell the gender of the person just from these traces, but they could not have been of a very large stature — both the size and the depths of the footprints proved otherwise.

The traces also looked fresh. They could not have been left more than a few hours ago.

Sunny felt a cold chill creeping up his spine. ...Who was talking barefoot walks in this harrowing place?

There was another strange detail about the footprints. Contrary to what Sunny would have expected, the line of them came from the direction of the cliffs and disappeared in the mist, heading toward the edge of the island. And yet, they had not met or heard anyone on their way here. He hesitated for a few moments, then looked at Nephis and said:

"Wait here."

Leaving one shadow behind to step out of it should the need arise, Sunny stood up and followed the footprints into the fog. Soon, his companions disappeared from view, and he was left alone in the swirling mist. 'Ah... I don't like it.'

If not for the fact that he could still see them through the shadow, Sunny would have been tempted to turn back. A few minutes later, he reached the end of the beach. The edge of the island opened into an abyssal chasm, the view of the colossal whirlpool and the darkness hiding below obscured by the fog. Sunny felt something he had not felt for a long time... a sense of vertigo.

'Come now, really... I can turn into a bird. Is it really necessary to be afraid of heights?'

As they climbed the stairs, Sunny walked behind Nephis. At some point, he noticed that she was paying a lot of attention to the stone steps disappearing beneath their feet. "What are you thinking about?"

She hesitated for a few moments, then said evenly:

"These are man-made."

Sunny nodded. After a short pause, Neph added:

"Which means that they must have been cut from stone by the Seeker who lived on this island."

It was a logical conclusion. Sunny glanced at the stone steps, thinking about how ancient they were. Then, he scowled. "You noticed it, too?"

Sunny lingered for a moment, then answered Neph's question with another nod.

These stairs were strange. They were supposed to be ancient, and yet, there was no sign of corrosion on them. The steps were not weathered and ground down by the endless assault of the elements... instead, they were perfectly preserved and sharp, as if someone had cut them just yesterday.

'Is this rock indestructible, or are there strange things happening to time on this island?'

Sunny wanted to examine this question further, but at that moment...

He froze. Out there, far ahead, the shadow he had sent toward the tower heard a sound. Although it was muffled by the mist, Sunny would never fail to recognize it. It was the sound of steel clashing against steel, followed by a scream of pain.

At the same moment, the crow that had been sitting silently on his shoulder suddenly jumped into the air and shot forward, instantly disappearing into the fog. Sunny's eyes widened. 'Jet!'