Shadow Slave

Sunny looked down on himself, evaluating his own state.

The wound in his chest was gone. However, it wasn't as though he was unscathed… his body, or at least this manifestation of it, seemed battered and beaten. However, it was also full of ferocious strength and vigor, as well as feeling light, as if a tremendous weight had been lifted off his shoulders just a few moments ago.

He didn't know how exactly this battle of the souls was supposed to work, but suspected that his current form was a representation of his spirit. He had endured a lot in these recent weeks, enough suffering and fear to crush someone with a lesser will… Sunny, however, had survived far worse, so his strength was not diminished by much.

He was still clad in the bleak steel of the Undying Chain, and holding his weapons. Three shadows lay at his feet, and he could feel the presence of the Soul Serpent nearby. His enemy, meanwhile, was alone and unarmed.

This was Sunny's soul, after all. Here, he was bound to have the ultimate advantage.

'Let's see who will destroy whom, you bastard.'

With a smirk, Sunny commanded the shadows to rise and wrap themselves around his body. Instantly, his strength, speed, and resilience were enhanced manifold…

In the next moment, however, his expression froze.

Mordret looked at him, then smiled. As he did, six shadows descended upon him like a dark mantle, making the pressure that the Prince of Nothing exerted feel almost suffocating.

"...You didn't think that it would be that easy, did you?"

A split second later, he was beside Sunny, his fist crashing into the breastplate of the Undying Chain. As pain exploded through his body, Sunny flew back and fell onto the still water, sliding across it into the darkness.

'What?'

Before he could even rise, Mordret was already upon him, his foot slamming into Sunny's ribs. Sunny yelped as he was thrown into the air, then felt another blow landing on his chest, pushing all air out of his lungs and sending him plummeting back down.

Knowing that he had to escape somehow, Sunny dove into the shadows and emerged from the darkness behind the Prince of Nothing, the blade of the Cruel Sight shooting forward.

However, it pierced nothing but air.

Mordret had turned into a shadow himself, and disappeared without a trace, his laughter echoing across the surface of the silent sea.

"Weak! Too weak…"

Something struck Sunny in the back, sending another explosion of pain rolling through the very core of his being. He groaned and tried to slash with the Midnight Shard, but the enemy was already gone. A moment later, he was kicked in the abdomen, then ruthlessly slammed across the face.

fist felt like a sledgehammer… no, like a

Sunny fell to

what

was not set in stone. There was a way

powerful… how was he supposed to

than that, Mordret seemed to be

Lost from

of Nothing laughed again, then struck Sunny in the side of his head,

this, but that trick is not going to

the next blow, Sunny turned into a shadow again. This time, however, he wasn't in a hurry to attack and remained

he could form a single thought, however, another shadow lunged at him from the darkness, and suddenly, he was in the throes of indescribable agony, his very soul damaged and cracked. With a stifled shriek, Sunny escaped the shadows and assumed his human form again, only

to be paralyzed. All he could do was try to block the next blow, only

'Goddamit!'

He deflected one strike, almost managing to cut Mordret's forearm open, but the mirror fiend was just too fast, strong, and

Sunny fought, it was all useless. No matter what strategy he tried to implement, Mordret saw right through it. Fighting against the Prince of Nothing was like fighting against death itself — he was terrifying,

There was no escape…

give up. At this point, he wasn't

teeth, endured the pain,

of the Undying Chain was bent and deformed, pressing into his temple and obstructing his vision. He dismissed it

looked infinitely better than Sunny. Grabbing him by the throat, the banished prince inhaled deeply, and then asked

just surrender? I

through the red haze and grinned, his teeth painted

bad… cuz… I'm actually

head and tried to sink

Sunny in the face, sending

that one... really, really

to a rest just beyond the rows of silent shadows. He tried to

of the tranquil waters where Sunny had dropped

fiend remained unperturbed. He lowered his fingers into the water and caught the reflection of the fearsome Memory

think that the Spell would make it anew and

the Cruel Sight for a moment, then turned to Sunny, a dark look in

don't enjoy torturing people. Ah, unless they deserve to be tortured, of

knees, and glanced at the approaching prince with a grim expression. One of his hands reached toward the hilt of the Midnight Shard, which lay