Shadow Slave

Elyas hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Sunny with a sad smile.

"It's… it's alright, Demon. Thank you... thank you for getting us this far. But now, it is my turn. This is our chance. This is what we've been fighting for all this time, is it not? The tales my mother told me were all true… I'll free us both! You'll see. The Lord of Light will guide my hand…"

With that, he reached out and took the wooden knife from Solvane hand, his fingers wrapping tightly around its hilt.

The priestess smiled radiantly and took a step back. He beautiful eyes shone with joy, and he voice resounded in the darkness of the dying night, full of longing and hope:

"Be brave, boy. The gods are watching!"

Sunny struggled desperately against the crushing force that pressed him into the ground, but it was of no use. A stifled roar escaped from his mouth…

A few steps away, Elyas straightened, calmly looked the Transcendent beauty in the eyes, and then assumed a battle stance. He knew what he was doing, after all… the youth was as talented of a fighter as Sunny had been at his age, or maybe even better.

Two months of constant battles in the arena gave him plenty of experience. More than most would have acquired in a lifetime, and certainly no less than what Sunny had on the Forgotten Shore.

'No! That is not enough!'

But what if... what if Elyas really had a chance? Sunny had achieved many impossible things himself, as well, and seen others do the same.

Even in the direst of situations, there was always hope... that was a lesson he had learned against all odds in the hell of the Forgotten Shore, and later in the stone mausoleum of the Night Temple.

…Without wasting any time on doubt and hesitation, Elyas sent his soul essence flowing in a raging flood, and shot forward, moving with grace and speed that few Awakened could ever hope to achieve. His hand flew through the air, swift enough to appear as an almost imperceptible blur.

The strike was swift and cunning... however, it was just a feint. His true intention was to attack from below, and it was hidden almost perfectly. There was no sign of the fact that the young man was preparing to change the direction of the blow. He had learned well from watching Sunny fight...

Sunny could see

His eyes narrowed.

before the wooden knife reached the Transcendent's flesh, Elyas suddenly stumbled, then slowed down. Taking a few unsteady steps forward, he swayed,

across his chest, and then

and lowered her hand, a single drop of crimson falling from her delicate fingers. Her lips trembled, and then, a barely

"...Not today."

face was turned to him, his light-blue eyes still open. However, those eyes, which had been bright and lively once, were now dull and empty, reflecting the boundless darkness of the night sky. Elyas's

was

stand up, but all he achieved was damaging his mangled body even further. Without paying any attention to that pain, he continued fighting against the invisible chains

kill her! I'll rip her to

remained motionless for a while, and then silently bent down to pick up the wooden knife from the

at Sunny with a

willing to

a hateful grin. He wanted to... oh, how he

could not. Fighting Solvane meant

shook his

The beautiful priestess sighed.

expect different from the servant of

hand suddenly flashed, and terrible pain exploded

deja vu, he saw a graceful arm protruding from his chest, the breastplate of the Undying Chain shattered into

easily tearing the still-beating heart out in the process. She glanced at it with disappointment, and then sent the body of the four-armed demon tumbling over the

before plummeting into the abyss was her graceful, beautiful figure standing

Sunny fell into

quickly disappearing into