Shadow Slave

Sunny remained in the Hall of Chains for a while, looking at the Seed of Nightmare and the shimmering darkness that suffused it.

Then, he walked outside. Full of thought, Sunny passed between the jaws of the dead dragon and slowly headed toward the lake. There, he sat on the stone bench and stared at the water with a dark expression on his face. The wind lightly caressed his face and his pale skin, soothing the few remaining burns that he had received in the Sky Below.

Saint stood silently by his side, her graceful onyx figure reflecting in the clear waters of the lake.

A heavy sigh escaped from his lips.

'...I am almost home.'

More than a month ago, he had ventured on an expedition to explore the Shipwreck Island and search for clues about the whereabouts of the treasure left behind by mysterious Noctis. He had only planned to be gone for a week.

He had found the treasure, but also fought and defeated two devils: one Fallen, and one Ascended, receiving two powerful Memories in the process. After that, he gazed at the tapestry of Fate through the eyes of a divine mask, and plunged into an endless abyss.

He spent several weeks plummeting through a sea of nothingness, only to be met by an ocean of flames in its depths. On the other side of the fire was a black tower built by an ancient demon, and in it was a severed hand of a deity, consumed by a terrible rot. There, Sunny swallowed a phalanx bone of Weaver, and received the second part of their lineage.

After that, he used divine flames to open a portal between the dark void and the sunlit heavens, and found the seven chains that a god had once used to bind Desire, the daemon of Hope.

And somewhere along the way, he met a lost soul who called himself Mordred, the Prince of Nothing… a disembodied voice that came out of nowhere, and helped him along the way.

Now, Sunny just had to do one last thing… either plunge into a deadly Nightmare, or off the edge of the Ivory Island, to be met with the obliterating fury of the Crushing.

With a heavy sigh, he turned around and stared at the white bones of the great beast that had wrapped its mighty body around the base of Hope's beautiful tower once, thousands of years ago, before succumbing to death.

"...Let's get this show on the road, I guess."

***

Some time later, Sunny was leaning on the wall of the Ivory Tower. He was in a tight spot between the tail of the dead dragon and the white surface of the great pagoda, with Saint standing near him, her weapons dismissed.

With a crooked smile, Sunny wrapped the two shadows around his body and circulated shadow essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, preparing for what was about to come.

Then, he looked at the taciturn stone demon and raised his eyebrows.

"What are you waiting for? Push!"

Saint gave him an indifferent look, then took a step forward, placed her hand on the surface of the massive bone in front of her, and pushed with all her demonic strength. Her feet sunk into the soil by a few centimeters, but the ancient bone did not move.

…Until Sunny joined his Shadow, that was.

Pressing his shoulder against the adamantine white surface, he poured shadow essence into his muscles, and pushed, too. Although it felt as though the strain was going to kill him, the bone finally gave.

of the massive vertebrae comprising the dead dragon's

Keep

alone. What was he, crazy? Well, maybe he was a little. But being suicidal was not a part of

he was going to throw a piece of the dead dragon's tail off the edge of the Ivory Island and ride it all the way down to the ground, hoping that

couldn't, then

your back

benefit, since producing loud noises seemed to

it had been

the massive vertebra past the gazebo containing the inactive portal, then

and tried to catch his breath. Then, he cautiously

That… was a mistake.

below was simply a breathtaking sight, now that he had

"Uh…"

it was too late to

...Wasn't it?

course, was hollow at the center. There was just enough space there to fit his body, and that was the reason

a long time, trying to

I should just enter the Seed. What's the big deal, anyway? It's... it's

way back.

held his breath for a moment, and then screamed

"Saint! Push it over!"

at the surface of the ancient

gave it a devastating

Island, giving Sunny a serious rattle, he yelped,

the Crushing in his physical form… he just needed a large enough shadow to hide in.

…If it endured.

the bubble of safety surrounding the heavenly island, and suddenly… an inconceivable pressure struck it from all sides like a hammer of a wrathful

was even stranger, as well as spinning like crazy, with the wind roaring deafeningly all around. Luckily, he couldn't get sick as a shadow… otherwise, his already empty stomach

Don't break, you

dead dragon was cracking and slowly breaking apart…

the Crushing was deadly enough to pulverize the flesh of a Saint — a bona fide demi-god — into a bloody paste. Maybe even a big, red cloud. But the adamantine dragonbone was only

started, though, it became

away, letting in a chaotic flood of light. Cursing, he

'Crap!'

there were more holes and cracks in the bone than he

it

last second, Sunny slid onto the biggest remaining slab of the ancient vertebra, and then went into a crazy dance, shifting from one side of it to another as the fragment spun and exposed different

from it, and then, the fragment itself cracked,

'Argh!'