Shadow Slave

Two forces stood against each other, the desecrated expanse of the great hall separating them… for now. The tense silence was full of bloodlust and dark apprehension.

Sunny slowly made his way to the first row of the crowd, staring at the opposing mass of armored warriors with a complicated expression. From his point of view, followers of Changing Star had little chance of winning this battle.

They simply had no advantage against the Castle Guard — with the exception of the fact that there were more bodies they could throw at the sharp blades of the enemy. Even if everyone here was mundane human, that would not have helped them prevail against a better-armed and trained force.

The fact that every single human in the throne room was a Sleeper only made things worse. The potential difference in power between two Awakened was much more vast than that between two mundane fighters.

And yet, he didn't think that Nephis was going to lose — for that same reason.

The Guards might have been better equipped and more experienced than the slum dwellers, but they didn't have Changing Star on their side. They didn't have Effie, Caster, and Gemma. They didn't have Sunny.

They only had two truly fearsome champions: Seishan and Tessai himself.

At the end of the day, the outcome of this battle was going to be decided by those few who stood out from the sea of Sleepers, impressive as everyone still surviving in the Dark City might have been, like tall and unassailable cliffs. Among the Awakened, individual power was so much more important. And in terms of exceptional individuals, the Changing Star's side was far superior.

So yes, Sunny felt confident that Nephis was going to win.

But at what cost?

Out here on the Forgotten Shore, people had nowhere to retreat. So this battle was going to end only after one side was totally annihilated. And the closer to utter annihilation a faction would come, the more desperately its members would fight… like rats driven into a corner. When that happened, the bloodshed would only grow more terrible.

Was it only going to stop when just a handful of the strongest and most resilient was left alive?

As if reading his thoughts, Tessai suddenly chuckled and looked at the crowd of people gathered in the throne room with a bloodthirsty smile.

'Is… is that bastard actually looking forward to the slaughter?'

The morose giant then looked directly at Nephis and grinned:

"Changing Star. Ah, we meet again. But… wait. Who is that beside you? Is that Gemma, my old friend? What a pleasant surprise! How considerate of you, to bring him here. Now I won't have to search the whole Castle for that filthy cockroach…"

With that, he slowly rose from the throne, put his terrifying mace on his shoulder, and descended from the stairs, dark fires igniting in his eyes.

here to die, Changing

and looked at

I came here to

laughed. Stepping on the marble floor, he stopped

turned slightly blue because of the invisible icy barrier that encased it. The air in the

of the Handmaidens was reserved and elegant, but

exquisitely beautiful, cold, and inexorable. She was wearing a simple, but strangely regal dress, its velvet the color of red wine. There was an intricate silver necklace resting on her

not her grace and not her beauty, but her skin. It was grey

whose appearance had been changed by their Aspect. But in her case, that change was far more pronounced. It

the kind that put both longing and fear in a person's

summoned her weapon and stared coldly at the crowd of slum dwellers. Many of

a graceful war hammer appeared in her hand, one side of its

The morose giant laughed.

already? If memory serves, the last time we fought, you ran away like a cowardly dog. What makes you think that today is going

slightly and

Tessai shook his head.

look. I dreamed about wiping that arrogant look off your pretty face for a long time. Today, I am going to teach you how to beg, girl. So, what do you say? How about we finish this mess

at the slum dwellers opposing them with contempt and

bloodshed was about to

silver sword and answered Tessai, her

"...Let's."

a moment, time

his mouth, ready to give his

silently

her war hammer on the back of Tessai's

time, the Handmaidens who were standing behind the Guards attacked the unsuspecting men with long knives that appeared out of their sleeves. These knives were not Memories, and as such, did not take any time to weave themselves into reality or shine with ethereal light while doing

for their

time Tessai's soldiers realized what was happening, it was already too late.

eviscerated without even having a chance to raise their weapons. Their corpses lay on the floor, a look of horror and disbelief forever frozen

Tessai was still