Shadow Slave

'Here we go…'

Sunny faced the stairwell and stood motionless, looking at the black rot through his trembling shadow. Sensing something, Saint turned around, too. The tip of her sword hesitantly rose into the air.

The next few moments were going to decide whether he was going to live or die... or maybe be condemned to a fate much worse than death.

One level lower, the harrowing corruption that had been spreading from the severed arm of a deity was moving. The black ulcerous flesh was rising and falling, as if in the throes of… death? Or transformation?

Sunny gritted his teeth, waited for a second…

And then breathed out with immeasurable relief.

'Dying… it's dying.'

It felt as though he had been sentenced to execution, only for a pardon to arrive at the last possible moment, when the rope was already pressing on his neck.

Indeed, the terrifying rot was withering. As thousands of years that passed since it was locked in the Obsidian Tower caught up with it, the devouring corruption appeared to be dying of starvation. The stone surface assimilated into it convulsed and wriggled, as if consumed by pain. The silver brazier was melting.

The growths of the bulbous black flesh were slowly receding, their color turning ashen. The process was slow, but at the edges of the patch of corruption, the rot was already turning into… into wisps of darkness, which then disappeared without a trace.

As tension left Sunny's body, he couldn't help but sway a little.

'Good… something has gone my way, at last.'

Before, he had been considering his options and finding no possible way to escape from the rot if it was to start spreading.

Memory could do would work, considering that even the original

told Sunny that the massive brazier where the rot had taken root had once been full of

couldn't destroy or stop the black rot, then what

actual deity had been

'Thank gods…'

deeply and tiredly closed his

after bit. All that was left behind were the damaged stone and the

He grimaced.

Why would they

sweat off his face, then turned around and walked

long, sharp needle and stared at it for

traces of divine blood absorbed by it, the cold metal had assumed a feint golden shine. Sunny looked at it for

end, he had to admit that he had no

didn't see any spellweave inside

needle inside. The skeins of diamond

time

reluctantly headed back toward the

and then try to approach

***

Sunny was sitting on the lowest step of the stairs leading to the great hall,

of it, to be

devouring corruption took its sweet time dying. Even the hunger of thousands of years could not destroy it so easily, it seemed. The black flesh writhed and pulsated,

sensing the presence of a living being nearby and lusting to absorb it… him. But the profane infestation

horrid corruption, melted and fell apart, then disappeared into wisps of pure darkness. Soon, it was clear that the