Shadow Slave

In early April, Antarctica was enveloped by eternal twilight. The sun seemed to have frozen in place as it plunged behind the horizon, painting a persistent line of vibrant scarlet in the cold purple sky. Stuck between night and day, the Southern Quadrant was slowly slipping into the embrace of pure darkness that would last for many months.

The behavior of the moon was strange and erratic, as well. It remained in the sky for several weeks, then disappeared without a trace for long stretches of time. The radiant tapestry of Aurora Australis sometimes appeared to keep it company. Sunny had heard that the Southern Lights were breathtakingly beautiful, but he was yet to witness them himself.

In any case, he did not care about heavenly miracles right now. All he cared about was whether his soldiers would be able to see the enemy clearly. Even though the long night had not descended yet, it was already hard enough to discern important details in the dim twilight. For that reason, Kim was currently channeling his vision to the rest of the cohort.

The difference it made could be easily seen.

Unencumbered by the absence of bright light and without the need to rely on luminescent Memories, the melee vanguard moved as confidently as they would have in the middle of the day.

Quentin stepped forward and leaned into his shield, meeting the charging abomination without giving any ground. His sword flashed forward, dealing a deep wound to the beast. Already, the edges of the cut started to rot, and the damage was even worse inside, since the blade bit deep.

The combat healer flung the convulsing body of the Nightmare Creature aside and slashed at another one without any hint of hesitation.

To his right, Dorn brought his heavy sledgehammer down, turning the head of a snarling abomination into bloody pulp. To his right, Belle's sword shimmered through the air, decapitating another.

The road was narrow enough to prevent the swarm from surrounding them, and the slope of the mountain had turned into a killing field because of the bloodthirsty shadow spikes. The enemy could not flank the vanguard, so all the abominations could do was charge forward and up, half-a-dozen at a time.

As the pressure of the mass of Nightmare Creatures mounted, the three fighters turned into an impregnable bastion. Quentin drew most attention and withstood an attack after attack, which granted Belle and Dorn a modicum of freedom. They used it well, visiting unabashed slaughter upon the tide of eyeless beasts.

swordsman danced between them, phasing through his enemies and slicing their bodies apart as if they were made from

off wounded enemies or preventing

blood were soon running down the surface of the

not everything went well for the

were just too many Nightmare Creatures for them to fight. Each of the abominations was powerful and deadly, as well. Already, a few heavy hits landed on

integrity, but how long would he be

and Dorn were better off than him, but not by much. For now, one managed to avoid being torn apart due to his

there were also the Fallen

of the lesser creatures into the canyon to clear a path for itself. The Fallen lunged forward, opening its maw to bite

however, a black arrow silently slid into its throat. The abomination twitched and fell down, sliding forward on the

was already drawing his

was calmly sending slug after slug

with a clear view of the battlefield, as well as

we might

he was reluctant to use them unless necessary. This clash was an important step for the cohort… up until now, they had only trained

that, the situation

the crest of the hill, the

jagged spikes growing from their spines suddenly grew hazy, producing a strange vibration that covered the surrounded area like a dome. Sunny heard a

'Curses!'

and where was down, where was left and where was right. Everything around him turned