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.

sledgehammer… no, like a

Sunny fell to

what

had imagined things going. The damned mirror fiend clearly had to weaken his prey before attacking… so, his victory was not set in stone. There

just too powerful… how was he

Mordret seemed to be able to mirror all of his

from Light,

again, then struck Sunny in the

say this, but that trick is not going to

next blow, Sunny turned into a shadow again. This time, however, he

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

gulped for air, but his lungs seemed to be paralyzed. All he could do was try to block the next blow, only

'Goddamit!'

but his enemy simply followed. He deflected one strike, almost managing to cut Mordret's forearm open, but the mirror fiend was just too fast, strong,

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, inevitable,

There was no escape…

going to give up. At this point, he wasn't even sure

his teeth, endured

was bent and deformed, pressing into his temple and obstructing his vision. He dismissed it and

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

enough? Why don't you just surrender? I

looked at him through the red haze and

bad… cuz… I'm actually having the time of my

tried to sink his teeth

Prince of Nothing sighed, then hit Sunny in the face, sending him

that one...

just beyond the rows of silent shadows. He tried to stand

his head dejectedly, and then walked over to the Cruel Sight, which lay on the surface of the tranquil waters where Sunny had dropped it. He bent down to pick

into the water and caught the reflection of the fearsome

that the Spell would make it anew

studied the Cruel Sight for a moment, then

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

finally managed to rise to his 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 some distance