Shadow Slave

Mordret was still getting used to the fact that it never got dark in Antarctica. Because of that, the concept of time here was vague and abstract. The landscape itself was not like anything else he had seen in the waking world, and with countless Nightmare Creatures flooding the continent, it was easy to imagine that they were actually in the Dream Realm.

A whole continent of people, pulled into hell.

'No... it's much too early for that...'

The sky was strange, the land was strange, and the beings populating that land were strange.

And yet, wasn't he the strangest one?

'Isn't it nice, to be with family?'

His uncle's wide back was right in front of him.

Saint Madoc was walking across the desolate plain, not at all concerned by the hordes of Nightmare Creatures moving in the distance. A small force of Awakened followed, with Mordret in the lead. They had left their vehicles behind to traverse the last stretch of wilderness on foot, knowing that remaining unseen was more important than remaining safe.

The warriors of Valor were subdued, but full of unshaken resolve. Even surrounded by unspeakable danger, none of them showed the smallest sign of fear. They were ready to face any kind of threat, no matter how dire, and fight any kind of enemy.

Be it abominations or humans.

Mordret, meanwhile, was simply staring at his uncle's back.

How easy would it be to put a sword right through it?

He suppressed a sigh.

Sadly, not easy at all. Not even because of the priceless enchanted armor Whispering Blade was clad in, but simply because Whispering Blade was Whispering Blade.

If any of Mordret's family members were easy to kill, he would not be stuck wearing the cumbersome vessel of Squire Warren for so long.

'There'll come a day...'

forward

of an abandoned fortress, a Nightmare Gate tore reality apart like a dark scar. The whispers of the Call grew louder and louder as they approached it, and the

Gates. They had started with those

It was the Gate that Knight Shtad had ventured into, and the area of

dangerous before because of its proximity to Song's territory, and it grew only more dire now because the hunting grounds of the Corrupted

been abandoned, and why Saint Madoc was

Warren and his people - three cohorts of distinguished Awakened warriors - were meant to be the first wave of reinforcements sent to help the Knight secure his prize. Due to the importance of that mission, Whispering Blade was

course, Mordret had long taken the place of Squire Warren,

rift of the Gate in silence, seemingly

"Are you ready, Squire?"

the Dream Realm would be in the greatest danger. Mordret pretended

"Always, my lord."

revolting

with approval and offered him

The world grew bleak.

Then, it disappeared.

in a vast,

light flooded

heat assaulted

of scorching

his vision. He felt deeply uncomfortable, because there were very few reflective surfaces in the

him was

bathing the tall dunes in a flood of immolating heat. The sands of the desert were flawlessly white, and the azure sky above him was deep and boundless like an ancient ocean, with

sand, scattered across the desert like the

horrors hid in the stark

then shifted slightly, hearing sand rustle

later, however, it was suddenly dismantled, falling apart in

as it

of the Nightmare Creature and

"Stay on guard."