Chapter 1058: Falling Chains (Part 2)

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Kenward patted his horse lightly, slowing down. He had to do this as Adam was finding it harder to point the way.

It wasn’t a problem, on the contrary, it was bound to happen. It meant that now wisps of darkness surrounded the Twilight Crystal, closing in around it like a star at the center of a solar system.

Adam could still see the dark route, but he needed more time to figure out exactly where to go.

Well, that was mostly because of how fast they were moving most of the way.

A few minutes ago, they were on the west side of the Sacrificial Waterfalls that were many kilometers away. Now, they were in the northern part and were moving towards the northeast where the dark route had directed Adam.

Osmer, Rosana and the others could watch Adam and Kenward’s road from afar, but could not affect them. Even if Kenward wasn’t that strong, the distance was too great to attack.

Moreover... soon, Adam and Kenward would leave the borders of the Sorrowful Dew Expanse and enter the territory of another region.

True, the black flash brought Adam to the Sorrowful Dew Expanse, but that didn’t mean that somewhere in the gorge or near the dew trees was the Twilight Crystal.

Adam was close enough that the dark route could lead him to the destination indicated by the First Star. No more, no less.

"Adam, are you sure this is where we need to go?" Kenward asked, pointing ahead.

In the distance, behind the streams of dark mist, the outlines of chains and objects hovering above the ground could be seen. They were too far away for Adam to make out more details.

"Yeah, like you said, it’s become harder to understand the dark route, but I can see it."

Without further ado, Kenward rushed forward.

"Looks like we’ll have to move to the Soaring Chain Islands lands," Kenward said dryly without much optimism or desire. He seemed to prefer to let things be resolved in his territory.

Adam raised an eyebrow.

"The Soaring Chain Islands? Is there anything I should be worried about? I mean... Do I have to go on alone?" Adam asked with slight concern.

He wasn’t going to ask Kenward for help if it wasn’t possible, but he hoped that he would have support for this short and extremely dangerous journey.

"You don’t have to worry about that. Until you get the Twilight Crystal, I will be helping you. However, you must never forget one simple thing, Adam."

Kenward glanced over his shoulder.

"Although I enjoy your company, I am not doing this for you, Adam, but only because of the First Star’s desire. I’ll do what it takes to get you through the dark route to the end, don’t expect anything more."

"Sure, I’ve been through enough events to understand such simple things. After all, I am no longer a naive child."

Kenward nodded deeply. "That’s good to hear."

"So..." Adam lingered, looking ahead. "Soaring Chain Islands, is there trouble waiting for us there?"

"Something like that." Kenward narrowed his eyes. "I think you’ve noticed we’ve been followed for the last few minutes, right?"

"Yeah... It was from somewhere far away, but I could feel it. From the looks of it, they’re not going to attack."

Kenward raised a hand, pointing in that direction. "That’s where the Sacrificial Waterfalls are. They follow the same path as the Befallen Crown and are full of the regenerative monsters."

"Wait... Does that mean?"

"Yes. That girl you mentioned is on the way. If she’s a regenerative monster and escaped before you were consumed by the black flash, she’s there. But, they’re not all that important. I mentioned the Sacrificial Waterfalls so you’d know that’s where you’d be killed instantly."

Adam gulped. He realized that it was great luck that he ran into Kenward, the monster of the Free End.

"What about the Soaring Chain Islands? Are they subordinate to the Befallen Crown as well?"

Fortunately for Adam, Kenward shook his head, though his heavy gaze showed that it was too soon to relax.

"The problem is that they don’t obey the Befallen Crown, but they also don’t follow the Free End. They’re one of the forces that didn’t choose one of the two main sides. But that doesn’t mean they’re weak.

"The Soaring Chain Islands are full of monsters you don’t stand a chance against. And, it’s not in my plans to completely exterminate hundreds of my kind just so you can get to the Twilight Crystal."

A chill ran down Adam’s back. At first, Kenward reassured him that he wouldn’t abandon him, but his last words made Adam very wary.

"Wait..." he stammered. "What’s the plan then? Most likely, the Twilight Crystal is in their territory. Even if they don’t obey the Befallen Crown, they’re still monsters and I’m human!"

It wasn’t worth forgetting that Kenward was an exception to some extent. However, even he would kill Adam upon meeting him if not for Adam’s bond with the First Star.

"Well, that’s why I’ll be traveling to negotiate with their leader," Kenward replied as they sped up.

The great steed swept through the barrier of dark mist, finding himself on the green grass under the bright light.

Adam’s eyes went wide as his gaze traveled upward.

Just ten meters ago, there was a dark sky and a permanent eclipse disk above them - now he was looking at slowly flowing clouds under the light of a calm, vivid sun.

A light, warm breeze blew across their faces, swaying countless types of flowers among the tall, full-of-life grass.

Dozens of islands loomed overhead casting shadows on the surface, the great, long-rusted chains descended from the edges eager to reach the bottom - fully justifying the name of this region.

"Their leader..." Kenward’s deep voice rang out. "Saegar. He’s a cunning bastard, but he’ll never miss an advantage. If we can offer him something more valuable than your life, he’ll stay out of our way."

"And... Let’s be honest."

Kenward leaned forward.

"For monsters like me or Saegar, the life of the K3-Phantom isn’t worth much."