Shadow Slave

Sunny and the black steed plummeted down in a cloud of shattered stone. Far below them, the courtyard of the boundary fortress lay, shrouded in darkness. It was growing closer and closer, approaching with terrifying speed.

Neither paid it any attention, however.

The stallion bit down on Sunny's shoulder with all his might, his sharp fangs scraping against the stonelike metal of the Mantle of the Underworld. The fearsome onyx armor was an Ascended Memory of the sixth Tier, a whole Rank above the diabolical Shadow, so the courser was not supposed to be able to damage it.

However, to Sunny's shock and dismay, the metal plates actually groaned and bent, crushing his flesh. He roared with pain and anger, then thrust his four hands forward, ripping the Terror's chest with his claws.

Drops of blood fell down like rain.

Intertwined, the two of them hit the cobblestones of the desolate courtyard. However, instead of being broken by the fall, both simply submerged into the veil of shadows drowning it, as if the ancient stones had turned into a lake of liquid darkness.

For a moment, Sunny found himself floating in the tenebrous embrace of deep, unfathomable shadows. Usually, turning into a ghostly shade would have meant escaping to safety…

But today, his enemy was a similar creature himself.

A vast and terrifying presence lunged at him from the darkness, full of fury and boundless, chilling killing intent. The black steed had pursued him even into the shadows.

However, this time, Sunny was ready.

He had never fought anyone, or anything, as a shadow. But he had been attacked in this form twice, first by the Mirror Beast, and then by its insidious creator… Mordret of Valor, the Prince of Nothing. Both were able to steal his own ability, and use it against him.

What did it mean?

could not damage mundane shadows, as Shadow Blade Kurt had been able to, he was capable of destroying other shadow

was shapeless and formless… but that also meant that he could assume any shape and any form. It was just a matter of his will, mind,

moved to meet it, turning into a long, narrow blade made of darkness. They clashed, tearing each other's souls apart. Sunny's whole being was instantly drowned by terrible suffering… but he also felt a silent scream of agony escaping from the rippling shadow

back into the corporeal world, Sunny rolling away on the cold stones, the tenebrous steed sliding on them as his hooves struck sparks into

I'm gonna kill you,

outstretching one hand to summon the Cruel

grabbed the horns of the infernal stallion, and the Mantle of the Underworld suddenly grew as heavy

the courser

come very close to snapping. If not for Bone Weave, he would have undoubtedly

wall of the

out the stars. The damned Terror carried him through the cloud, emerging from the other side of it a split second later, and then threw Sunny to the ground, trying to impale him with

grass, tearing the soil apart. One

least,

the last moment, the black horse snapped its head sideways and bit down on the blade of the Moonlight Shard with his fangs, then jerked his neck and sent

'Damnation!'

on his feet, sliding back a dozen meters as the soles of his armored boots tore the ground. A moment later, he grasped the shaft of the Cruel Sight from the air and raised the somber spear, ready

steed had somehow disappeared and was nowhere in

pupils narrowed, and then Sunny spun, sensing

suddenly shone with pure light, tearing the darkness apart. The nightmarish courser was forced back into the corporeal form, and instantly came under attack. The tip