Shadow Slave

Before the gates of the temple, a large hall stood, submerged in darkness. The air was permeated with the smell of rot, and at least a dozen of eviscerated bodies lay on the cold stones, staring into nothingness with their empty eyes.

Sunny had long become accustomed to such sights, so he wasn't too bothered by it. The implication, however, left him feeling cold.

'Damnation…'

He entered the hall, both Saint and the Serpent emerging silently from his shadows. Cassie followed, gripping the hilt of the Quiet Dancer so hard that her fingers turned white.

Sunny walked over to the nearest corpse, held his breath, and knelt beside it, studying its wounds. Then, with a grim expression, he moved over to the next one and did the same.

It took him some time to check on each of the slain Lost, and by the end, his eyes were full of darkness.

The blind girl remained silent for a few moments, then asked, her voice tense and trembling:

"...How did they die?"

He lingered for a second, then shook his head.

"Sword wounds."

Each of the fallen sentinels was killed with one precise, fatal strike. However, most of them were terribly mutilated and covered in multiple wounds — none of them lethal, but all aimed at inflicting the maximum amount of pain.

The killer, whoever it was, wanted his victims to suffer before they died.

Well… Sunny was pretty sure that he knew who the killer was.

Mordret. The man — or thing — that he had set free.

It seemed that the Prince of Nothing had a sadistic streak about him.

…But that wasn't the problem.

and powerful Aspect that allowed him to deal either mind or soul damage to other living beings. That made him

this Ability seemed to be looking the prisoner of the Night Temple in the eyes… which was good, since both Sunny and Cassie could naturally counter it —

had clearly died in a ferocious and bloody melee. That meant that, on top of everything else, Mordret was a fighter of incredible skill… skilled and powerful enough to not only kill a dozen experiences Awakened with a

to

then walked past the corpses and

was sealed, and no one except for Saint Cormac would be able

heavy doors didn't budge even when Saint joined him. None of the keys their jailers had carried were of any use,

the gates, hoping to see the same type of primitive weave he had seen in the door of the Ebony

"Curse it."

then turned around and walked back to Cassie in

aren't getting out of here

happen in a

they even be able

girl frowned, then asked with

"Where to, then?"

for a few

damned place… why not try and accomplish the task they had come here to complete,

go check

the ivory knife was

of the cruel massacre behind, the two of them headed deeper into the stone bowels of the Night

***

a long time to cross the outward ring and enter the central temple. The distance itself was not that considerable, but the bizarre interior of the cathedral was disorienting and sprawling, resembling

were slowly stretching their already tense nerves. Both Sunny and Cassie had not recovered from their ordeal completely, so they had to stop and rest a couple of times, drinking water and eating small amounts

also encountered more morbid remnants of the struggle that had been going on inside the Night Temple while they were slowly dying inside the cage — rotting corpses

was as though they were traveling through the

that passed, Sunny grew more

first time since this whole disaster started, he actually began to question the moral implications of what his actions had led to. Even if he had been an

Sunny accidentally released an unspeakable

to feel about that. On one hand, he didn't really care about the world… but on the other hand, Sunny didn't like to leave behind a mess without cleaning it up. It was

ahead, made sure that everything was fine, and finally led Cassie into the grand hall of the