Shadow Slave

Sunny and the stygian courser continued their battle in the darkness of the Sky Below, then fell on the swaying surface of a heavenly chain. Turning into swift shadows, they clashed again and again as they glided across its length with terrible speed, ripping each other's souls to shreds.

Traversing many kilometers in a matter of a dozen heartbeats, they emerged from the shadows and shot upward, then crashed on the surface of the next island, wrecking and destroying anything that appeared in their way.

The courser rammed Sunny again and again, carrying him further and further away through the night, not giving Saint and the Soul Serpent any chance to catch up. The stallion used his devastating hooves, his adamantine horns, and his sharp fangs… anything he had to deliver as much pain and damage to the wicked, tenacious, hateful enemy of his.

But Sunny was consumed with the same murderous fury. He returned the favor with his weapons, his claws, and his own fangs and horns as well, forgetting everything except for the crazed desire to obliterate his foe.

They rolled across the unfamiliar island like a wave of destruction and flew high into the sky — Sunny with the help of the Dark Wing and the Heavenly Burden, the Terror with the help of nothing but the force of his hind legs and the terrifying range of his dashing jump.

His fangs caught the fragile fabric of the transparent cloak, tearing it apart, and then both of them plummeted down once more, landing on another chain and instantly submerging into shadows.

Just like that, they fought without stop, overwhelmed by the maddening desire to destroy the enemy. When they clashed in their corporeal forms, Sunny was always on the losing side, receiving more wounds and being thrown around like a tattered rag doll.

However, when they became shadows, he held the advantage. Despite the fact that the black steed was three whole Classes ahead of him, they were of the same Rank. And while the courser was a more ancient and powerful Shadow…

Sunny was a divine one.

Suffused with the flame of divinity, each of his attacks dealt more damage, and that damage was far more terrible, as well. His shadow form, while much smaller, was far more fathomless and resilient. Held together by the bond of a True Name, his soul was much harder to destroy.

They fought, and fought, and fought, flying through the night as their bodies became broken and bloodied, and their souls became tattered and torn.

And yet, neither was willing to give up. Neither was willing to let the enemy live.

Sunny had never experienced a battle that was so ferocious, swift, and devastating. Everything happened too fast, and hurt too much, for him to properly perceive and comprehend. At some point, he stopped trying to, giving in entirely to his intuition and battle instinct.

There was only one truth and one unbreakable law, after all.

He had to kill the enemy, and prevent the enemy from killing him.

Everything else was just noise.

…Finally, exhausted and covered in wounds, they reached a deserted island where nothing living dwelled or grew. Rolling on the ground, Sunny used two shadows to augment his mangled body, and the third one to serve as his second pair of eyes.

Deep in the battle trance of clarity, he was able to perceive the whole world as one interconnected picture, with each part of it existing within the same complicated pattern as all the rest. His mind was forged into a single sharp edge, all of his thought dedicated to the battle, clear, purposeful. and swift.

He saw the silhouette of the infernal black horse approach him from the darkness, bloody foam streaming from the stallion's mouth, unshaken will burning in the dreadful crimson eyes.

By now, the two of them knew each other better than they knew themselves. After all, they had spent countless nightmares hunting and killing each other, only to continue the battle in reality after the nightmares could not keep up anymore.

powerful and had experienced centuries of bloody battles, but

this

seemed to be at peace with such an

have preferred to stay

'Curse you…'

his weapons, and even his armor, standing motionlessly under the starlit sky, his nakedness covered only by

chest, then bared his fangs in

us end

hateful enemy for a few moments, and then lowered his head, starlight shining on the sharp

then, the courser charged forward, breaking the ground with the push

lunged forward, as

gamble left.

he and the tenebrous stallion knew each other so well, he was going to

by nature. How was he supposed to peer into the very essence

he was either going to

not use any weapons or armor, after all… only his hooves, his fangs, his horns, his unbreakable will, and his furious desire to

what Sunny had

torment, every excruciating loss he still remembered… and how

similar deserted island, centuries ago, where the Shadow Lord said his last goodbye to his faithful

that the stallion had dealt him, and every

Shadow Dance like he had used it on countless humans and creatures before — only this time, peering even deeper, wishing to understand

was as though Sunny himself became

it… the rage, the hatred, the dark resolve… but also, deep underneath

terrible fate it was, for a shadow to walk the

saw himself wandering across the ruins of the Kingdom of Hope, mournful and lost, and then returning to the now empty fortress that had once been his home… his master's home… only to see it be overtaken and desecrated by

rage, and gave in to this

at

steed was going to do to kill him, a split second before

locked his fists

blow descended from above, landing

there, his side rising and falling shakily, his hoarse breathing slowing down and

Sunny fell, too.

'Ah… hell…'

he

finally grown intolerable, as if

the dying horse, whose dreadful crimson eyes were slowly