There weren't any cliffs or waterfalls, but this was probably worse than that. We ran along the path, dodging shadows which seemed to morph the longer we ran from them. They turned from bubbled of shadows, to actually looking like monstrous humanoids, with claws and teeth. I didn't know how they'd changed, but I supposed that Senka was right in the fact we had to spend more time with them, letting our brains get used to their existence. It also explained why exactly they weren't killed when they were cut in half, because that was just a small portion of their bodies.

We ran until Senka slipped, causing us all to fall after her. I didn't know if it could be described as a dune, but we were suddenly in a large bowl made of shadow.

"This isn't some giant's breakfast bowl, is it?" I asked Senka. "Because the last time we fell into a ditch like this, we were left by our pursuers because they didn't want to deal with what then attacked us." But at the time, our pursuers were human, which I hoped had more sense than sentient shadows. I really hoped that Senka wasn't reading my thoughts right then, or even Onyx for that matter.

"No, we're close." Senka stood up, grumbling about the fact that her dress was dirty.

I helped Aknon to his feet, and we all huddled together once again. Even though the creatures were still following us, they'd slowed down. I still couldn't stop myself from looking behind me, making sure that they were a fair distance away.

"To meeting your creator?" Prin asked quietly. She was in the middle of all of us, as though we were escorting her somewhere like a band of bodyguards. "In a giant's breakfast bowl?"

Senka laughed and nodded. "It's less of a breakfast bowl and more of a funnel." She put her sword away and gestured for us to do the same with our weapons. "This will lead us right into the middle of where you'll get your answers."

"I don't like this," Aknon commented with a sigh as he reluctantly put his dagger away.

"What? You don't want your dagger out when we reach the centre, trust me." Senka laughed a little, and I wasn't sure if I should be scared or not by the sound of her laugh. "It'll do more damage to you than it would any potential enemies."

"And you're not allowed to back out now," Sarphi added, in a voice which was a little loud and didn't sound too happy. "You're the one who's been pushing us all this way for the past four years. You've been the one more desperate than all of us to get these answers."

Aknon nodded and gulped. "I don't think we're going to get the answers we want." His words dripped with honesty. His steps slowed, and he turned to the side to address us. "What if we're disappointed?"

"Then, we would need to face reality," I said in a quieter tone. "Nothing's going to change when we find out the truth." I didn't believe a word I said. "At least not between us. We'll still be here to annoy you." That was where the truth kicked in.

Aknon laughed and shook his head, looking down once more. "You two do that a lot," he admitted. "But what if this is something we can't handle? What if it's a terrible secret which means we're in danger?"

"Then we would be in danger together," Sarphi said encouragingly. "Like all the other times we're in danger. Apart from when Acer's the only one."

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Yes, it's nothing new to us. But also, what will change when we find out why we're like this? It's not like we'll change, or some magic force out there will know that we know and think that it's the perfect time to come after us."

Sarphi hit my shoulder harshly. "What do we say to ourselves when we think about saying stuff like that?" Her tone was condescending, looking at me pointedly.

"Not to."

Senka then let out a loud cry, putting her hand over her mouth as she looked at us, black tears falling down her face. "The sibling connection is so beautiful." She sniffled and looked away.

Onyx slowly came over to her and rubbed himself against her leg, probably to comfort her. Senka glanced down and patted his head awkwardly, like you would do to a child who was getting a little too close.

"Okay," Aknon said, clearly uncomfortable. "Let's just go and get whatever answers we're after." He gestured for Senka to continue leading the way.

"But wait, what's gotten into you?" Sarphi asked, reaching out and putting a hand on his chest. "You were so excited; you've been really hesitant the past day or so."

Aknon looked to Senka for help, but she shrugged. "I told you that it's fine and I don't want to talk about it." His voice grew more and more serious as he talked. "I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but it's for the best."

"For the-?" Sarphi was in the middle of questioning him rather loudly when the ground fell from beneath our feet.

My back slammed against the hard floor, and I began falling down some kind of slope. This gave me horrible flashbacks. We all screamed, Prin's voice being the loudest out of us all.

The already-dark forest became even darker as we continued to slide for several minutes. Time felt almost non-existent whilst we fell. I felt like I was descending into madness for a few short minutes.

That was until I was falling through the air and then landed heavily on my back, hitting my head and bouncing a few times.

A loud clanging reached my ears, causing me to jolt to my feet. It was incredibly difficult to stand, as it felt like we were standing on quicksand.

"Is everyone okay?" Senka asked for a few feet away. She didn't seem to have any issues standing. "That thing is really not the best for new arrivals."

Onyx was jumping up and down, using the floor as a trampoline, panting happily. It was a hilarious sight, or it would be if I could see much of it. I could see pretty well in the dark, which told me that this was someone using very powerful magic. There's a difference between darkness and magic. One was the absence of light, and the other was the creation of darkness. It didn't make much sense to me, because surely, it's the removal of light, but Aknon says otherwise.

"I'm fine," I muttered and stumbled forward, falling to the ground once more, my legs feeling like jelly themselves. "Whose bright idea was this?"

"Not very bright," Sarphi muttered sarcastically, presuming talking about our surroundings rather than the idea of the bouncy floor, as she seemed to enjoy it. Her and Prin were holding hands and jumping up and down on the ground.

"Of course, between the dog response and the human response, you're more likely to go for the dog one." I teased and rolled my eyes as I eventually reached Senka. "So, where are we?" I figured that was important.

"You are one major battle away from your answers," she said enthusiastically, getting her sword out again. "We just need to get past this final battle and then we get to askew hat you want, or rather see the answers, or rather let me stop talking."

I raised an eyebrow, noticing that she'd probably said more than she'd meant to. That was a nasty habit of hers, but she still hadn't revealed all of what's going on. For all we know, she could've lied in the past. We could also be walking to our deaths.

"Why exactly do we need to battle something?" Aknon asked. "Haven't we done enough fighting? And if we know there's something ahead, and we know what it is, can't we just figure out a way around it?"

I had to admit that he had a very good point, but I also thought that would be far too easy. Whenever things appeared easy, they were often hiding a very mean and unpleasant side.

"Because that's against the rules," Senka stated simply, looking a little like a child as she gave the impression of a teacher's favourite, who was always Aknon, by the way. "We have to fight this thing, and then we get your answers."

"Sorry, but I can't really fight." Prin stepped forward, looking between us all. "I don't have a weapon, and I've not really fought much in my life, especially not real opponents." She reached up with her free hand and brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"Well, we'll protect you?" Senka said in a hopeful voice, but she didn't sound at all confident. She looked behind her, and I wasn't even sure how I could tell that, since it was so dark. She blended in very well with the shadows, other than her white skin. "I'm sure that Onyx will help us anyway."

Onyx, clearly hearing his name, barked loudly and raced around us, causing all of us to wobble and trip over our feet and fall to the bouncy ground once more. Everyone besides Senka anyway.

"What are we facing, anyway?" Sarphi asked with a frown as she and Prin got to their feet, the two of them bouncing over to me and yanking me up in a rather painful tug. "If you know what it is, and that Onyx could fight it, then what exactly is it?"

"It's Onyx's mother," Senka replied with a sigh and a shudder. "I didn't say that it would be a physical or violent fight. I just said to get ready for a fight."

"You got your sword out," I pointed out.

"I did." Senka nodded and lifted up her sword.

"You said that we were one major battle away from getting our answers," Aknon pointed out.

"Yes, I did." Senka nodded again. "Now, prepare yourselves. This will be unlike anything you've ever experienced." Senka raised her sword, the glint of it illuminating the area around her as she slowly began walking.

I wanted to make a really sarcastic and sassy comment, but Sarphi dragged me after her. She was probably just excited about meeting another shadow dog.