Shadow Slave

A sea of white flame was spreading across the devastated underground level, hungrily devouring everything it could touch. Darkness, the red glare of the emergency lamps, and the searing white radiance mixed together, creating a hectic atmosphere of chaos and mayhem. Dust and smoke suffused the scorching air.

Soon, the fire suppression systems came online, drowning the burning corridors in water and film-forming foam. The flames slowed down, but did not retreat. Instead, clouds of boiling steam flooded the underground level, reducing the already abysmal visibility even further.

The alarms continued to scream, summoning the security forces of the Academy to the site of the explosion.

And at the center of it all…

A radiant figure slowly rose from the white flames, wreathed in blinding light. The flame ghost — or whatever the being was — seemed beautiful and pure, as if untouched by the imperfections of the world. It possessed the graceful silhouette of a slender young woman, but also seemed… completely, utterly inhuman.

As fire swirled around the figure without causing it any harm, the radiant creature slowly looked around, as if disoriented. Then, it took an unsteady step forward.

At that point, more of the automated systems of the hospital complex finally activated. A cracked alloy plate shot down from the ceiling, and a compact security turret deployed itself from a hidden nest.

Despite the low visibility and the damaged status of many of the cameras and sensors installed in the ravaged room, it received enough telemetry to identify the presence of a dangerous and unidentified being. It only took the turret a split second to take aim.

The radiant figure sharply turned its head a stared at the twin barrels, confused.

A moment later, the turret roared, spitting a stream of hundreds of high-caliber rounds at the intruder. Each was powerful enough to pierce an armored vehicle clean through.

None of them managed to wound the fire-wreathed apparition, however.

The white flames suddenly surged, wrapping around the radiant being like an armor. The tungsten bullets fruitlessly ricochetted off the creature's naked skin, melting as they hit the walls. The being swayed, and then threw a hand up.

In the next moment, a sliver of fire separated from the blaze, streaked through the air, and hit the turret. Another explosion rattled the complex. The turret was obliterated in an instant, and the section of the ceiling around it completely disappeared, revealing the torn lattice of reinforced alloy above.

Different security measures were already deploying, however.

More importantly, the Awakened charged with defending the hospital had already arrived.

Two teams of experienced warriors appeared from both sides of the level, closing in on the epicenter of the explosion with speed. Every member was clad in heavily enchanted armor and wielded powerful Memory weapons.

Before the radiant figure could react, a silver javelin hit it in the back, biting deep before melting and disintegrating in a rain of sparks. A warrior in polished plate armor appeared nearby, delivering a crushing downward blow of his battle axe.

It did not matter.

A moment after the silver javelin disappeared, the deep wound on the creature's back closed itself. Instead of being cut by the enchanted battleaxe, it simply raised a hand and blocked the crescent blade with its forearm.

The sharp edge failed to break the being's skin.

Behind the visor of the helmet, the Awakened warrior who wielded the axe paled.

caught a glimpse of the creature's radiant face, and felt

his powerful Memory armor melted, and the flesh beneath it blackened. The warrior

left to deal with the invader, each an experienced,

apparition was just

could slow it down, let alone damage it. Faced against such an overwhelming adversary, not even the perfect synergy of the security team could play a

from being killed by the unstoppable monster. Their ability to resist,

were going

only took a dozen seconds. That was not nearly enough time for

the desperate Awakened thought, before a

***

to jump to the underground level of the hospital complex almost as soon as the ground trembled, and

the dull steel armor and a couple of other Memories finished manifesting themselves, he tried to take in the sight of the devastated interior and

'Gods…'

tale. It seemed as if a series of explosions had rolled through this hallway, cracking the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. There were fires burning all around, despite the streams of

…White. White fire.

state of the Awakened security team and the

looks of it, the officers were not going

I'll handle

Not daring to disobey the authority in his order, the Awakened did not make him ask twice. Grabbing their wounded, they hastily disengaged from the combat and

the same time,

heart was beating like

'Can't be… can't…'

and the damage done to the ventilation system, there was not a lot of oxygen left in the air. It

and rose from the ground. Instead of touching the incandescent flesh of the radiant being and turning to ash, they swiftly formed a sphere around it and then solidified, turning into a large

was durable enough to

the surface of the shadow cage, which then exploded

Sunny's eyes widened.

That was an Ascended

Lantern to

moment, everything

became visible again, surrounded by a blinding glow. That

was already near the

attack it

But he did not.

hand shot forward, aimed at his throat. Sunny allowed it to grab his forearm, instead. A terrible pressure and heat descended on his arm, slowly turning the steel of the Undying Chain bright orange.

he still did not

and looked