Above, us, in the dark shadows of the outer solar system, there is the shape of something unknown, something unspeakable. It waits, it bides its time, and as the days of summer grow longer, so does its voice grow louder.<br><br>On the quiet island of Sarah Ann in the Pacific Ocean, home of the renowned Firmament Foundation, awkward teenager Eirian Calohan has come in search of the mystery of their father's recent demise. Instead, they are confronted with the stark contrast between languid life on the tiny island and an unspeakable cosmic horror.<br><br>Together with their new friends, they set out to unravel the truth surrounding the death of their father and to also uncover just what it is that the Foundation has reached out to in the dark eternal night of the distant void.

All Cats Are Beautiful

What was happening in Firmament Foundation that they were intent on creating creatures that looked like giant slugs and little kids, Eirian asked themself; what was it that their dad had known about that place, and was that the reason he had died? There were so many things they wanted to ask Sumire and Poppy, yet both girls, despite the great enmity between them, seemed to have agreed to avoid directly answering questions.


Alaina turned back to look at them when she realised they were not following, her face expressionless, her fringe held back by the band in her hair. She opened her mouth to speak, yet whatever it was that she might have said was drowned out by a sudden cry from the first of the sisters—Taichou, Eirian reminded themself, the one in the white kimono—as something dark and sinister swooped down from the upper floor of the house.


“An owb!” Mauve cried out in sudden amazement.


Chapter 29