As Nephis steered the ketch toward the wall of darkness, Sunny had some time to prepare himself mentally for the arduous struggle that lay ahead of them. He also had time to observe Ananke closer.
What he saw… did not bode well.
Despite being an adult — and someone hundreds of years old, at that — the priestess had regained the body of a young child. Looking at her youthful appearance, it was hard to remember how ancient, decrepit, and frail she had been once, when they met her in the far future.
But the change was not exactly a benevolent one. Despite being full of vitality, Ananke had obviously grown much weaker. Her immature body was not as strong and physically capable as it had been before… but, worse than that, the differences went deeper than that.