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Chapter 1508: Unleashed
Shadow Slave

"Sunny? What is it?"

Kai must have read something from his expression. But Sunny did not know how to answer — he was suddenly in a state of mild panic, feeling like there had been a mistake in their plan. They must have misunderstood the situation, somehow. But what was there to misunderstand? Twilight was besieged by the forces of the Defilement. In the middle of the battle, the Mad Prince had activated the defensive array, trapping Soul Stealer and the Dread Lord in frozen time… and, therefore, escaping from the clutches of his master.

The madman had also manipulated the events of this cycle to make sure that Sunny arrived at Twilight wearing the Serpent King's crown. He must have wanted the battle to resume… so that his future self, free of being enslaved to the Dread Lord, could turn its tide and destroy the tyrant of Verge. …Right?

"I… don't know. Something is wrong."

Sunny gritted his teeth and pulled Kai to follow him, aiming to leave the throne room as soon as possible. They had to traverse the battlefield and find the other members of the cohort, first. Together, they would stand a much better chance of surviving the clash with the Defiled legion. But before he could take another step, the palace shuddered, throwing both of them to the ground. There was a deafening rumble behind them, and the great hall was suddenly much brighter than it had been before. A whole section of the dome shattered and collapsed, revealing the beautiful twilight sky above…

And the giant head of the harrowing dragon that had broken it. Enormous chunks of stone fell down, burying the black throne beneath debris. Luckily, Sunny and Kai had already distanced themselves from the dais — otherwise, they would have been buried with it. 'Damnation…'

The Dread Lord's head passed through the breach, hovering in the air on his long neck. His eyes shone with starlight, full of sinister madness and malevolence. Then, the harrowing dragon pushed his enormous body inside, causing more of the dome to collapse.

A moment later, he landed in the throne room with a loud thud, and the palace shook once more. …Strangely enough, though, it did not look as if the Dread Lord was chasing them. Instead, it almost looked as if he was escaping something. Towering above Sunny and Kai, the dragon gazed at them and opened its maw, his porcelain fangs glistening in the dim twilight. Sunny cursed inwardly and called upon his Shadows, at the same time summoning the Sin of Solace.

However, before he could…

A thunderous voice suddenly resounded in his mind, causing him enormous pain.

[STOP.]

And, following the Dread Lord's command…

Sunny halted, frozen in place. It was as if the dragon's words were the law, and he was unable to disobey.

'What… but, but the Shadow Bond…'

By his side, Kai was frozen still, as well. It was only then that Sunny realized that the Dread Lord had not used the Shadow Bond against him. It was simply the authority of his voice. It was Kai's Ascended Ability, amplified and made more terrible by the dragon's Corrupted Rank. Kai's power had always been more than a little bit sinister. The charming archer was a good and honest person by nature, so he only ever used it to inspire his allies and influence Nightmare Creatures. However, in the hands of someone less decent, it had the potential to produce truly terrifying results.

Being able to make anyone do anything — at least those of lesser Ranks than you — was very much like wielding absolute power over them. And power, as everyone knew, corrupted.

Sunny had always known that his friend's Aspect had a scary side to it. That was why he was not too surprised to learn that it was the gentle and caring Kai who had become the dreadful lord of Verge… with Kai's upright character destroyed by the curse of the Defilement, the insidious side of his Aspect would have had nothing to keep it in check anymore. However, knowing and experiencing it himself were two different things.

'Curse it!'

Paralyzed by the dreadful command, Sunny kneeled in front of the towering dragon. ***

Somewhere else, on the devastated streets of Twilight, Nephis was released from the inescapable trap of frozen time. Disoriented, she fell and rolled, jumping to her feet a moment later. All around her, the time shackles binding the warriors of Twilight were slowly coming undone. Their cold eyes were regaining the spark of life. Their chests were beginning to rise and fall as they breathed for the first time in countless years. Their weapons glistened as they reflected the light of dawn. Sunny was gone. Considering that the defensive array had been deactivated, he must have reached the palace already. Mordret of Valor was nowhere to be seen — he had returned to his physical body, which was lost somewhere in Twilight. Cassie, Effie, and Soul Reaper Jet had to be somewhere nearby, but she couldn't see them. 'We… we can still win this battle.'

Although the cohort had been separated when escaping Soul Stealer's mirror realm, their primary goal was achieved. Time had been unfrozen, and the warriors of Twilight were released. Now, they just had to regroup, join forces with the defenders of the city, and overcome the invading legion of abominations. The battle would not be easy… it would be cruel and harrowing. Maybe even lethal.

But when had it ever been different?

Nephis took a step forward and hesitated for a moment, looking at the warriors around her. Suddenly, she had an ominous premonition. Something felt wrong about the scene…

'I need to convince them.'

She was a stranger to these people. They did not know that countless years had passed since the start of the battle… that their king was dead, and that their world had long been destroyed. That challengers from an alien realm had entered the Nightmare, hoping to prevail where their predecessors failed. But still, the Spell had a way of simplifying things. In its terrible world, there were humans, and there were Nightmare Creatures. Nephis might have been from a different world, but she was also a human… therefore, she was a natural ally simply by virtue of not being a Nightmare Creature. Looking at the defenders of the city, Nephis pushed down the familiar, debilitating discomfort of talking to strangers and said, her voice bright and clear:

"Warriors of Twilight! I am…"

And then, something odd happened, forcing her to fall silent and grip the hilt of her sword. …Countless people crowding the street all turned to look at her.

They did so with perfect synchronicity, their hollow eyes devoid of any emotion. Their eerie faces were calm and motionless. None of them said anything, simply staring at her in ominous silence.

Seeing herself reflecting in thousands of emotionless eyes, Nephis realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong. She might have been a human... but these people were not. Not anymore.

A harrowing realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

'They are... they are...'

They were Soul Stealer. All of them.

Nephis finally realized her mistake... but, by then, it was already too late to change anything.  

Shadow Slave
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Comments 31

  1. Offline
    6pain
    + 4 ⋅ 1 -
    Modret doesn’t want to to enter soul stealers victims soul sea because he might get corrupted by being fed the truth by soul stealer.

    Only Nephis can fight Soul Stealer since she is incorruptible.
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    1. Offline
      Xenko
      + 8 ⋅ 0 -
      The Mordred is afraid because when he enters the soul sea of someone, he mirrors their soul power, so he is being wary of copying the defiled nature of soul stealer's soul, while other fight with their own soul prowess, henceforth they are safe from the defilement
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      1. Offline
        6pain
        + 3 ⋅ 1 -
        Thanks that makes sense, this far by the best novel I have read even the calm before the storm episodes are enjoyable and leave you wanting more.
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  2. Offline
    Pro100zver25
    + 24 ⋅ 0 -
    1413: Furious Shadow.

    Sunny had transformed himself in the image of the Serpent King. However, he was not as powerful as Daeron. His onyx body was giant, compared to a human, but it was still much smaller than the Azure Serpent had been.

    Much more importantly than that, it did not possess the power of a Great Beast. Sunny was merely an Ascended, after all, and even though the shadows he had used to form the onyx serpent were more powerful and ancient than him, the essence that had manifested them was that of a Master.

    Six shadows were augmenting his shell, this time, but Nephis was not here to grant him the blessing of her flame... and although the Dread Lord was weaker than the Azure Serpent had been, the dragon was also not littered with gruesome wounds and nearing death.

    None of it mattered to Sunny, though.

    Consumed by frenzy, all he knew was the mad desire to rip his enemy apart.

    «Kill you... I'll kill you...»

    His fangs pressed down on the impregnable dragon scales, leaving deep grooves on their dark surface. His mighty body coiled tight around the Dread Lord, restraining and crushing him.

    «I'll kill you no matter what!»

    However, the harrowing dragon was full of ire and murderous will, as well. Even though his most dreadful power — the tyrannical authority of his voice — had proved to be futile when used against Sunny, he still had plenty of means to destroy the insolent slave.

    A furious roar shook the dim throne room.

    And, at the same time, an insidious whisper resounded in Sunny's clouded mind:

    [All that effort to escape... and yet here you are...]

    Sunny vaguely realized that the Dread Lord was confusing him with the Mad Prince and doubled his effort to tear open the vile worm's throat. At that moment, however, his enemy finally moved.

    Its tail whipped across the great hall once again, crushing countless Soul Stealer vessels. At the same time, he strained his wings against the coils of Sunny's giant armored body, causing cracks to appear on the surface of the Mantle.

    Much worse than that, the Dread Lord lowered his head and bit into Sunny's own neck. His porcelain fangs pierced the onyx armor plates and sank into the shadows, tearing them apart.

    It did not matter, though.

    Hidden deep within the onyx serpent, Sunny let out a mad laugh. More shadows flowed from the open gate of the Shadow Lantern, mending the wounds delivered to his shell by the odious dragon.

    He had plenty more hidden away, and his essence was nearly limitless here in Twilight. If the Dread Lord wished to win, he had his work cut out for him.

    «I'll bleed you dry, one drop at a time...»

    Finally, one of his fangs slid between two scales and cut into the tough hide beneath. Tasting blood... or maybe simply imagining tasting it with a tongue made of shadows... Sunny let out a triumphant growl.

    Continuing to maul the shell's neck, the Dread Lord threw his massive body down. Tangled together, the dragon and the serpent rolled across the ruined floor of the throne room, making the whole palace shudder. The marble tiles were pulverized into dust, and countless hollow vessels were turned into puddles of shattered bones and blood.

    «...Is Kai alive?»

    The thought flashed in Sunny's mind and disappeared. He did not care... he did not even really remember who Kai was. All he could feel was bloodlust and rage.

    Crushed under the weight of the Dread Lord, his serpentine body was coming undone. His neck was shredded, and his head was moments away from becoming separated from his body. Even though he was mending the damage, the hateful dragon was tearing through the shadows faster than Sunny could manifest them.

    But...

    But he tasted the dragon's blood.

    Sunny was full of dark glee.

    His coils moved, a ridge of spikes growing from his spine. His body was like a circular saw now, sending clouds of sparks flying from the points where it ground against the Dread Lord's scales. More blood flowed, falling to the shattered floor like drops of silver flame.

    Flame...

    Letting go of Sunny's neck, the dragon pierced him with a loathsome gaze and opened his maw.

    Hidden within the serpentine shell, Sunny gritted his teeth.

    But what came out of the Dread Lord's maw was not a torrent of flame... instead, it was an eerie, melodious, otherworldly sound. It almost sounded like a song.

    ...And, enveloped by that harrowing song, the giant body of the onyx serpent shattered. Terrible cracks appeared on its surface, the shadows melting into a tenebrous haze.

    A deafening sonic boom sent a hurricane of stone dust into the air, and Sunny was thrown away, his shell torn asunder. Freed from the crushing embrace of his coils, the Dread Lord rose, his eyes burning with demented hatred. His gaze landed on the torn remains of the onyx serpent, searching for the human body hidden within.

    As he was looking, though, a radiant arrow hit the side of his head. A fiery explosion bloomed, pushing the dragon's head aside.

    Hovering near the cracked dome of the palace, Kai gritted his teeth and drew the string of his bow again.

    The Dread Lord opened his maw, wanting to give the archer another command...

    But at that moment, Kai screamed:

    «Shut your mouth, you traitor!»

    And, although the authority of his voice was not nearly powerful enough to restrain the Defiled Saint, the Dread Lord's jaws did freeze for a moment.

    That moment was all Sunny needed.

    The two parts of his severed body slithered across the shattered floor like snakes and connected, almost instantly growing back together. His ravaged head rose, baring its fangs, and sank them into one of the harrowing dragon's wings.

    There, the scales were much thinner, and easier to pierce.

    More Soul Stealer vessels were already pouring into the throne room. These were not as weak as the previous ones — very few of them died from the fall, which meant that there were much more Awakened and Ascended among them.

    Kai let another arrow loose.

    The Dread Lord looked around in fury and let out an infuriated growl.

    Then, his wings moved, raising a hurricane.

    The bastard... was trying to fly away.

    Or so Sunny thought.

    Unwilling to let the enemy go, he tried to hold on to the dragon's wing, but it was of no use. He was thrown aside, crashing heavily on the ground. The walls of the throne room were falling now, unable to withstand the battle of two giant beasts.

    Soon, the whole palace was going to collapse.

    Surrounded by hurricane winds and dust, the Dread Lord was rising into the air. He was already reaching the broken dome, ready to break through it and cause the entire thing to crumble.

    Sunny looked up in fury.

    «No, no, no! You won't escape!»

    Coiling his massive body like a spring, he sent it flying into the air. His leap produced a shockwave that shattered the walls of the throne room and made the palace quake.

    His head collided with the Dread Lord, sending the dragon crashing through the remains of the dome. But then, gravity pulled him down.

    Sunny howled in fury.

    And, responding to his wrath...

    His tenebrous body flowed and shifted, changing form. Giant wings sprouted from his back and struck against the air, sending him flying up. Wreathed in darkness, a grotesque figure pursued the harrowing dragon into the sky.

    A moment later, the six chitinous legs of a giant, monstrous butterfly made of shadows struck the Dread Lord's scales.
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    1. Offline
      Pro100zver25
      + 20 ⋅ 0 -
      1514: Burning Rust.

      The dome of the Serpent King's palace entirely collapsed, falling under its own weight in a colossal cloud of dust. Two enormous, dark figures rose from the cloud, vaguely visible as they tangled together in a furious struggle.

      —— —— ——

      ...Down on the streets of the city, Nephis was making her way to the crumbling palace. She was fighting against the human flood, the radiance of her skin shining brightly in the dim twilight of the early dawn. Her incandescent sword had turned into a blur, followed by a trail of crimson haze.

      She had long lost count of how many enemies she cut down, how many bodies she sundered, and how much time had passed since the start of this nightmarish battle.

      No matter how many vessels of the Soul Stealer she destroyed, their number never decreased. Instead, it only grew. More and more of them flooded from all sides, rushing to pierce her flesh with their swords, their spears, their arrows, their nails and teeth. Their power had grown, as well. There were more Awakened warriors surrounding her now, and more Ascended.

      Their powers were like a constant hail that relentlessly assaulted her, lethal and unpredictable, growing more perilous with each step she took.

      But something else grew with it, as well.

      Her will.

      Slowly but surely... Nephis was shaking off the burden of doubt that had covered her heart like rust, at some point. Little by little, its weight had added up, until she became pressed into the ground by it without even noticing.

      Here, in the throes of this macabre slaughter, there was no place for doubt.

      There was only combat. Steps, lunges, and feints. The movements of her sword, the movements of her body. The measured ruthlessness of her mind, the cold lethality of her skill. The empty eyes of her enemies, the perilous sheen of their weapons, and the inevitable moments of their deaths.

      This was clarity. This was the stark world where only pain and will existed.

      She was always tormented by harrowing pain. Pain burned everything away, leaving only will.

      And Neph's will... Was to kill them all.

      She cut through countless humans, erasing them from existence with her sword. Their bodies come undone under its blade, forming a gruesome path. A river of blood flowed where she had passed, paving the way.

      ...Her blood was in that river, as well.

      Nephis moved with dreadful speed and chilling precision, rending the flesh of her enemies like a radiant, flawless, fatal machine. Lifeless corpses fell to her feet — men and women, young and old. All severed and mutilated, their bodies gaping with horrible wounds.

      But she wasn't unscathed, either.

      Just then, an Awakened warrior used a strange Aspect Ability and bypassed the steel wall of her defense. His cleaver landed on her shoulder, biting into the chainmail. Her armor held, and her bones held, as well.

      But the impact slowed her down, allowing an Ascended champion to ram a spear into her back.

      The chainmail broke. The white tunic beneath it was pierced. The spearhead plunged into her flesh.

      Snarling, Nephis sent the Awakened flying with a kick and twisted, her sword cutting through the shaft of the spear and the Ascended's head. The bloodied spearhead dissolved into a rain of sparks, and the radiance suffusing Neph's skin dimmed a little.

      Instead of blood, white flame flowed from the wound on her back, mending the torn muscles and broken skin.

      A moment later, the wound was gone. Only the pain remained.

      Nephis gritted her teeth, the same flame burning in her eyes.

      «Come, all of you!»

      She plunged into the frenzied mob, calling upon the fires of her soul.

      Soon, a hurricane of incinerating flames spread through the human river, devouring all who could not resist it. Those who could were cut down by the spirit of light dancing in the midst of the blinding inferno, her sword merciless and unrestrained.

      The distant palace drew nearer.

      Nephis had unleashed the flames to burn her enemies, but she couldn't maintain the blaze around herself constantly. Her reserves of essence, no matter how deep, would run out too fast that way. In the end, she released the control of the flame, leaving a burning street in her wake.

      The hungry fire spread, devouring the broken buildings.

      The endless, relentless assault of the hollow-eyed vessels continued, unchanged.

      More and more enemies broke through her defenses, leaving terrible marks on her body.

      Her bones were broken. Her flesh was cut. Her armor became shattered and torn, full of holes... until it crumbled completely, disappearing into a whirlwind of sparks and leaving only a tattered tunic to cover her radiant body.

      A sharp sword slithered its way to her chest, piercing her heart.

      Nephis swayed slightly and stared at the man who was holding the sword, a white inferno burning in her eyes.

      Then, she reached with her hand and grabbed his throat, crushing it in an incinerating grasp.

      The sword slid out of her chest, followed by a gust of flame.

      At the same time, a battle axe landed on her shoulder, cutting deep, and a beak of a war hammer struck her head.

      But no blood poured out of the fatal wounds. Only fire.

      Nephis moved, severing the bodies of everyone around her. She did not fall, did not stagger. She did not even slow down.

      If anything, it seemed as though she had become even faster, even brighter, even deadlier. Washed by the white flame, the harrowinf wounds disappeared in the beautiful radiance.

      Nephis was not going to die yet.

      No... perhaps, she was only getting started...

      Losing all restraint and not caring about the pain and the damage dealt to her body anymore, she lunged at her enemies, forcing them to reel back.

      «I...»

      Her sword tore through their bodies, leaving only death and scattering ash in its wake.

      «Will show you...»

      Terrible blows rained on her body, but all the gruesome damage they dealt was washed away by the white radiance.

      «The horror...»

      All around her, the streets of Twilight were being devoured by the spreading blaze.

      «Of the Immortal Flame.»

      Nephis was like an undying, insatiable monster of flame that had taken the form of a slender young woman. Now that she had discarded her doubt and her fear, the true horror of her Aspect was finally unleashed.

      No matter how her enemies cut and pierced her radiant body, nothing seemed capable of bringing her down. Her own sword, however, was like an incandescent omen of destruction and ruin, inevitable and inescapable, cutting down everything that stood in its way.

      Countless lives were melting in front of her merciless blade.

      Her mind was like a white void. Pain had become will. Thought had become flame.

      Doubt had become ash.

      Nephis cut a road of blood and scorched bodies through the human flood, refusing to go down. Why would she? These swords, these spears, these arrows, these nails and teeth... she would withstand them all. Using her Dormant Ability did not diminish her essence, and so, she would continue to kill, and maim, and burn until Soul Stealer came in person to put a stop to her.

      As long as there was fire, she would light herself on fire. She would endure its harrowing blessing. She would persist.

      For now.

      Of course, even the undying were not invulnerable. No one was. Nephis was going to make a fatal mistake, eventually. Fatigue and mental strain would accumulate, draining her strength away. Then, she would be caught and pinned down, or obliterated entirely.

      But until that happened...

      She would continue to burn.

      Burn brightly in the dim twilight of the endless dawn.
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      1. Offline
        Rei-absolute
        + 5 ⋅ 0 -
        My hero
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      2. Offline
        BlankDjinn
        + 2 ⋅ 0 -
        The chosen one!
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  3. Offline
    Buchka
    + 2 ⋅ 0 -
    They were born right before my eyes!
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