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.

bizarre and powerful Aspect that allowed him to deal either

the Night Temple in the eyes… which was good, since both Sunny and Cassie could naturally counter it — Sunny by fighting with his eyes closed, Cassie by simply being

of everything else, Mordret was a fighter of incredible

was Sunny supposed to

sighed, then walked past the corpses

was sealed, and no one except for Saint Cormac would be able to open it. However… Sunny

but to no avail. The heavy doors didn't budge even when Saint joined him.

of the gates, hoping to see the same type of primitive

"Curse it."

gates a good kick, then turned around

out of here until the

would happen in a week,

they even be able to

blind girl frowned,

"Where to, then?"

for a

place… why not try and accomplish the task

check on the

the ivory knife was

behind, the two of them headed deeper into the stone bowels

***

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 a vast, convoluted maze of black stone. They also had to remain cautious and move

emptiness of the deserted Citadel 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

remnants of the struggle that had been going on inside the Night Temple while they were slowly dying inside the cage — rotting corpses of the Lost, signs of bloodshed and destruction, as well as things that were too strange and vile to be explained by any kind of

were traveling through the workshop of a

that passed, Sunny

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 unwilling accomplice, Mordret only managed to escape

released an unspeakable evil upon

On one hand, he didn't really care about the world… but on the other hand, Sunny didn't like to

conflicted, he sent the shadow ahead, made sure that everything was