Shadow Slave

The dark sea was gone.

And all the horrors that dwelt in its cursed depths were gone with it, too.

The world was bathed in pure sunlight. The surface of the Labyrinth suddenly became vibrant and bright, with stark shadows hiding under the jagged pillars of the crimson coral. The furious white sun burned above the Crimson Spire, as if frozen in the middle of the sky.

Sunny even had to cover his eyes for a few seconds.

Laying on the ground, he allowed himself a few moments of rest. A short laugh escaped from his lips.

'I actually did it?'

Speak about the unlikely events...

Unfortunately, he couldn't really rest yet.

The battle wasn't over. The horde of Nightmare Creatures was not defeated yet.

…And somewhere in the Spire, the Crimson Terror itself was not defeated, either.

With a deep sigh, Sunny collected himself and rose to his feet. They were almost there. They almost escaped. Now, all that was left was to make one final push. Even if it was going to be the hardest one yet...

Looking at the tall mound of coral towering above him, he squinted against the light and began climbing it.

Was it always so bright?

As Sunny climbed, he summoned the runes and glanced at them.

Shadows: [Marble Saint].

'Thank gods.'

He knew that Saint was alright, but still wanted to check. The taciturn demon had been heavily damaged and was bound to spend a long time restoring herself, however, her existence was not in danger.

his eyes

Shadow Fragments: [999/1000].

'...Crap.'

to find out what was going to happen once he saturated the Shadow Core. It was bound to be

as Saint had? Or suddenly become incapacitated

cost

like I can do anything about

the coral pillar. Standing on it, Sunny looked

suddenly fell on his hand. Looking down, he saw a drop of blood rolling off his skin. A moment later, another fell on

and swiped it across his upper lip. It came away wet

nose bleed? What the

to think of it, why did he feel

hand in confusion, a violent ripple suddenly ran through

***

the Dreamer Army were at the precipice of turning the

minutes ago, they had been drowning in the rising flood of black water and the relentless onslaught of the horde, lost in the

storm was no more, and the dark sea had retreated. The sun shined brightly in the sky, drowning the battlefield in its light. Bathed in

humans in a frenzied rage, their claws and fangs reaping one life after

gift of sudden salvation, they steeled their hearts and fought with zeal, fervor, and murderous will. More and more Nightmare Creatures

why the cursed sea had retreated, but their faith in Changing Star now burned even brighter. She had promised to guide them out of this hell, and somehow, even the black water had capitulated to her

impossible anymore. They

alarmed frown appeared on her face. Dodging the claws of an attacking abomination, she thrust her sword into its maw,

for a

at the

***

her, Kai was

'What is happening?'

at a terrible speed, struggling against the crushing wind, dodging bolts of lightning and the cursed Spire Messengers, pushing the limits of both

Let alone react…

well. His whole body ached, and his vision was slowly turning