Shadow Slave

The Red Colosseum was in ruins. Its ancient walls had collapsed, and were now overgrown with verdant vines. The people who had once crowded the tribunes were all long dead. And yet... even the passage of countless years failed to wash away the stain of blood from the surface of the stone that had once been pristine white.

Sunny knew from Cassie that the Colosseum was in a sorry state. He also knew that the island had been infested by all kinds of Nightmare Creatures - probably the remains of Solvane's menagerie of monsters - before the Fire Keepers wiped them out.

The Fire Keepers had also cleared the floor of the arena in order to reveal the buried runes, and now, Cassie was slowly walking along the grooves, tracing their shapes with her steps.

Sunny himself was in a bleak mood. He studied the ruins, remembering the countless bloody battles that had been fought here. This was where he had killed the stone gargoyles... this was where he had killed the emerald skeleton... and this was where he had almost lost his life to the blade of one of the red zealots.

It had been thousands of years since his escape from the Colosseum... no, not quite. In truth, he had never been here at all. The bloody arena he knew was just a mirage conjured up by the Spell, while this... this was the real thing.

It didn't change its vile nature, though.

"Glory..."

Nephis turned at the sound of his whisper.

Her striking grey eyes were somber.

"Is this the arena where you were imprisoned?"

Sunny nodded.

"Yes... the cage they kept me in was right there, below that pile of rubble. Back then, I barely knew how to move the body that the Spell had given me. My, oh my. Coming to my senses inside that thing was quite a shock."

He looked at her, wondering what body

Neph had received in her own Nightmare. She must have been startled to find herself thrust into a non-human vessel, too. After all, there had been no Divine Aspect users before them.

And Divine Aspects, for all their benefits, did not come with an instruction manual.

Changing Star nodded slowly.

"I can imagine."

didn't say anything else, still keeping the details of her Nightmare to

Sunny sighed.

Red Sect there each time. And all the while, crowds of people were cheering me on from the stands...

was

in the Kingdom of Hope was mad, by that point, but the Warmongers were especially wicked. And they were indeed just as Sunny described them, equally happy to kill as they were to die. Their faith had been

the blood-stained stones and added after a short

followers of War God

enough to survive until the moment I could escape.

Nephis looked around silently.

must have been hard. To survive

would have been. But

was this guy with me, a local Awakened. A healer. Without

ruins for a few moments, then

end. At the edge of the island. The fool decided to find

remained silent for

better to die with courage than to die without it. Not that I would

looked at

arena, both abominations and humans. But, knowing you, I bet even more died by your sword

glanced north, in the direction of the Hollow

actually, I did not kill that

what, really? With your

Nephis smiled.

creature there, by far. Solving problems with a sword is... is a

at her with a

You must have learned a