Shadow Slave

There were thirteen humans desperately trying to escape the pursuit of the Great abomination.

Or rather, there had been.

Without anyone noticing the reason, one of the Masters stumbled and fell. No one had attacked her, and the pursuing corpses were still out of sight. The woman grabbed her neck and screamed.

A moment later, she rose with a strange smile on her lips.

Where a radiant soul core had been, there was now nothing but spreading darkness.

'Curse it all...'

Sunny commanded the sole shadow that had remained with him to wrap itself around his body, and ran.

Someone's hoarse shout reached his ears:

"S-split up!"

'No! You fools...'

The logic of that desperate call was simple and not without reason. There were seven vessels of the Gate Guardian - eight, now - and twelve surviving humans. If they escaped in different directions, some of them would have a chance to survive.

But it was pointless to apply logic to Great abominations. These beings existed outside any kind of human rationale, outside reason. Only by staying together and helping each other would the survivors have a chance to preserve their lives, no matter how small.

It was already too late to try and explain that to the frightened Masters, though.

While Morgan, Seishan, and the members of Neph's cohort chose to stay close to each other, the other five Ascended turned and ran in different directions.

Not a second later, a dark blur intercepted one of them, and a fountain of blood shot into the air.

Up ahead, Morgan looked back from the saddle of her steel mount and cursed. Then, she hesitated for a moment and jumped off its tall back. The Echo then galloped in the direction of the approaching corpses, lowering its horned head.

As a whirlwind of scarlet sparks rose around her, Seishan stopped and turned around. Her exquisitely beautiful face was cold and somber.

looked at each other, and then, Seishan slowly raised

'What are they doing?'

rest of them. Effie was maybe the fastest runner among the group of survivors, so she was

Sunny and Nephis

Neph's eyes shone with white radiance. She briefly touched Sunny's shoulder, and he felt the nurturing warmth of her flames pour into his soul and body. Instantly,

still not enough,

still moments away from reaching him... he knew that he had to use some of

and index fingers together in a perfect triangle. Then, a

hint of unknown awe brush

the whole

'What... what is this?'

as if something vast and terrifying silently moved past him, and then enveloped the

There were screams.

lunging at him suddenly slowed

didn't dare turn

raging around Morgan formed into scores of beautifully forged swords. The swords trembled slightly, hovering in the air, and then suddenly shot forward like an

themselves

there, standing on a white dune as she drew

cacophony of noise exploded, and the sand shifted. Several dunes collapsed, with a white cloud

They ran.

***a

"Hurry up!"

"Damn it all..."

"Stop! Look there..."

threw himself to the

and they were still running as fast as they could. His exhaustion had long transformed into something much more dire and primal. Sunny had not even known that an Ascended body could be that drained

nature of Blood

stop for a dreadful reason, he still welcomed the short moment of

though, Sunny had to push his battered body into

'Curses...'

escape all but one of the taken corpses. The last one still pursued them, never letting the