Shadow Slave

As two immortals fought in the sky above the Ivory City, more and more of it became engulfed in fire. Driven mad by grief, pain, and the terrible weight of his endless life, the noble dragon had lost the last of his sanity. In his frenzy to destroy the elusive, hateful enemy, he brought down a deluge of immolating flame upon the beautiful city.

The loss of life was tremendous. The suffering of dying people was indescribable. The heat was unbearable.

Thousands died in the fire, and thousands more were being burned to ash with every minute. Panic and horror drowned the whole city, turning its citizens into a mindless mob. They tried to run, trampling countless people to death… only to be swallowed by the flame in the next second.

The buildings of white stone were melting like candles, and graceful aerial bridges that connected the island were crumbling into the abyss. Suffering, death, and destruction reigned supreme.

…And above all of it, the Ivory Tower stood, sublime and heartlessly indifferent.

Sunny traversed the dying city, witnessing the apocalyptic sight of its terrible demise. As he moved through the burning alleyways and streets, it seemed as though the whole world coming to the end. He was surrounded by smoke, fire, and an echoing cacophony of human screams, assaulted from all sides by the ghastly smell of burning flesh and the pervasive feeling of desperate, primal fear.

The Lord of Light was the god of creation… but he was also the god of destruction. Today, this aspect of his descended upon the doomed city in all its harrowing glory.

Sunny himself was one mistake away from being destroyed.

He was running through the burning nightmare, sticking to shadows where he could and using smoke to hide his presence from the panicking mob. With his powerful claws and talons, it was not hard for him to scale buildings or propel himself off their walls to stay above the crowd. Reaching the edge of an island, he could use a bridge, an aqueduct, or a heavenly chain to reach the next one.

Sunny was fast and powerful enough to save himself from the fires that were swiftly spreading through the Ivory City, devouring flesh and stone with equal hunger. However, nothing was going to save him if Sevirax unleashed a river of flame on his head… not even the Mantle of the Underworld was going to survive a direct clash against the dragon's flame for more than a second.

All he could rely on were his intuition and quick reaction.

Reaching the edge of a large building's roof, Sunny prepared to leap over the street below… but then staggered back and dove into the shadows, appearing a dozen meters away.

from above, erasing the building he was aiming for from existence, and taking the whole street with it. The roof he was

the annihilating fire, forcing him to change

side, jumped down, and glanced

still

the sun. The aura of terrifying might that emanated from Sevirax

of Twilight was holding his

had succumbed to madness and abandoned all reason, he had turned into a mindless beast. A great one, but a beast nevertheless. Despite being at a tremendous disadvantage, the sorcerer was using his cunning and devious

into his flesh. Even though each wound was small and inconsequential, they brought the beast a lot of pain. From time

also always careful to position himself between Sevirax and the Ivory City, forcing the crazed

and desperation grew, and the less reason remained in his damaged mind, making it easier for the ruthless sorcerer to fight him. The countless

well. Although he was able to dodge most of the flame, each time, a small part of him was irrevocably destroyed. The light that constituted

not tell who was going to win this terrible battle. He had to be prepared

Ivory Tower. Sunny was getting closer to it, too. He had already traversed half a dozen islands, somehow managing to suffer only a couple

climbed onto the last island before the one he was aiming for, a terrible roar suddenly thundered from above, making the whole world

pressed his hands against his

made

The great dragon Sevirax…

Was falling.

large chunk of flesh was missing from his neck. A river of sizzling blood was flowing from the terrible wound, and one of his mighty wings seemed to be broken. Unable to support his weight in the air, the dragon

then slowly stood

bastard… he actually did

Noctis... had won?