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."

anything else, still keeping the

Sunny sighed.

first few days were rough... and every day that followed was rough, too. I had to fight my way to the center of the arena and face the zealots of the Red Sect there each time. And all the while, crowds of people were cheering me on from the

who was

Warmongers were especially wicked. And they were indeed just as Sunny described

the blood-stained stones and

not a coincidence that the followers of War God

well, anyway. I got better as time went on, enough to survive until the moment I could escape. And I

Nephis looked around silently.

must have been hard. To survive alone." He

been. But

me, a local Awakened. A healer. Without him, I would

for a few moments, then gestured

was where Solvane killed him, in the end. At the edge of the island. The fool decided to find courage in the worst moment

for a while, then

than to die

at

humans. But, knowing you, I bet even more

direction of the Hollow Mountains,

I did not kill that many." Sunny raised an

really? With

Nephis smiled.

I was the weakest creature there, by

looked at her with a strange

must have