Shadow Slave

In the next few hours, Sunny did nothing but leisurely gaze at the vistas of the Labyrinth. While monotonous, they were still picturesque and breathtaking.

The Forgotten Shore was a harrowing, but beautiful place. The somber grey sky and the black earth created a perfect backdrop for the vibrant crimson sea of twisting coral blades. Here and there, strange landmarks broke the dullness of the landscape, igniting the flames of curiosity in Sunny's heart.

After all, he was nothing if not a passionate explorer.

Provided, most of his explorations ended with something dying at the end of his blade. But still…

Out there in the depths of the Labyrinth, Sunny saw many things that piqued his interest.

The skeletal remains of colossal monsters, with signs of ferocious battles written in the marks on their bones. Broken wrecks of giant vessels, with terrible breaches in their mighty hulls. Abyssal chasms that were full of darkness and emptiness, leading into the depths of this cursed land where true horrors dwelt. And things he couldn't even describe, let alone identify.

He even saw several vast ruins that must have been entire cities once. Now, only unclear shapes of magnificent buildings remained, overgrown with crimson coral and barely resembling anything made by a human hand.

He didn't know if they had existed before or simultaneously with the Dark City. Regardless, it seemed that no other human settlement on the Forgotten Shore had withstood the curse of darkness as the cursed city had.

They were all destroyed and devoured, first by the crimson coral, then by the ruthless flow of time. Now, no one was left to remember that these proud cities had ever existed.

The seven heroes that created the Starlight Legion were described as those born in all-consuming darkness. That suggested that humans had resisted the curse for a while, at least. Maybe the Dark City was built long after the darkness had devoured this land, as the last sanctuary and fortress for those who remained.

…A lot of good had that done, in the end.

His reverie was broken by Cassie, who suddenly turned south and frowned. Her quick movement drew everyone's attention.

Sunny instantly had a bad feeling.

Nephis turned to the blind girl and frowned.

"Cassie? Do you feel something?"

few moments and

I think

clouds. Nothing seemed to indicate that there was going to be a

the Forgotten Shore. Storms came out of nowhere

that she felt one approaching, then it was. Their oracle

'Damn...'

meant that the cursed sea would rise from the depths earlier than usual. It also meant that there would be rain and lightning, which would make

was really bad news when you were stuck on a moving

Nephis gritted her teeth.

"You heard her. Prepare…"

blind girl interrupted

is something

Star lingered for a moment,

are sensing another

scowled, then said in

can hear something strange. It's

stared at her for a few seconds, trying to understand the meaning behind her

first one to react. Suddenly pale, he spun around and summoned his bow. Before anyone could understand what was happening, something whistled in the air, and a dark

It had to have been in a long dive before being pierced by Kai's

looked somewhat like a giant locust. Its body was covered in black chitin and comparatively small, no bigger than that of an adult human. Its wide wings were thin and transparent. As it convulsed in death throes, the wings moved, threatening to push the members of the cohort off of the platform. Nephis dashed forward,

already grabbing another arrow. There was an expression of panic on his

Sunny blinked.

he panicking? The monster is

though hearing his thoughts, Kai glanced at the members of the

These fiends hunt in

already summoning the Midnight

'...dead!'