Shadow Slave

The red cloud enveloped Gunlaug, seeping through the crack in his helmet. A second too late to react, the Bright Lord reeled away… but not before inhaling the pollen of the nightmarish flower.

Sunny didn't know when and how Nephis had gotten it, but he knew that he wasn't mistaken — this was the pollen of the Blood Flower, the grisly parasitic blossom that he himself had the misfortune of inhaling once, a long time ago.

The memory of the bloodthirsty red flowers growing through his lungs sent shivers through Sunny's entire body. Back then, the only reason for why he had not become a host for the insidious Nightmare Creature was because of the Blood Weave. Without it, he would have been devoured from the inside in mere minutes.

…And now, the Bright Lord was going to fall to the same fate.

'She… she really did it…'

The rest of the Sleepers gathered in the great hall did not know that Gunlaug was already as good as dead, however. Including the tyrant himself.

Bending over in a fit of violent coughing, he growled:

"What? What have you done to me, bitch?!"

Nephis was still where he had dropped her, kneeling on the floor. Her armor was shattered and torn, with rivers of blood streaming down the cracked white metal. The brilliant radiance of her skin had been extinguished, but there were incandescent flames burning under it.

The horrible wounds on her chest were slowly closing, and the lacerations on her face were already gone, leaving it just as perfect as it had been before. That face, however, was bloodied and pale, contorted in an expression of terrible agony.

In her eyes, however, there was dark malice.

A chorus of whispers rolled through the crowd when they witnessed the ghastly wounds healing themselves. Be it the members of the Host or the slum dwellers, all of them had two words on their lips:

"Immortal Flame!"

"Immortal Flame!"

someone shouted, their voice full of stunned

this is the

all of it, Changing Star moaned and slowly rose to her feet. Then, she struggled to look at the Bright Lord and said,

"I... I killed you."

golden mask, Sunny saw Gunlaug's blue eye first narrow, and then suddenly open wide. In

time, a suppressed scream escaped from his

'...It's about to start.'

a little, subtly

was blood dripping from beneath

a shaky laugh resounded in the throne room of the

did you really?

and merged with the strange armor. He

remained motionless. Then, his body convulsed, more blood spilling through the cracks in the visor of his golden helmet. A

their

raised his head

I can't… can't die like

cold and motionless. There was no triumph or gloating in her

was also

a moment and then said, her voice strangely

now. Your nightmare

disturbing, gurgling sound coming from somewhere deep

this is too good. Yours

turned away. Swaying, the

arduously made his way to the steps that led to the throne of white marble and climbed them, blood spilling from the cracks in his helmet, his

the dais and fell on his throne, looking down on the great hall of the ancient castle

inaudible words and leaned on the back of the throne, his body relaxing. Sunny was perhaps the only one who had

the beginning… I really