Shadow Slave

The piece of flotsam had survived untold years of drifting on the currents of the Great River, and was so sturdy enough that Sunny couldn't easily leave a scratch on it despite being an Ascended Tyrant. Nevertheless, in just an instant, it was utterly obliterated.

The thousands of manic runes carved into its surface were destroyed. All that remained were tiny splinters, and even those disappeared a split second later when the giant jaws snapped shut.

A massive serpentine head appeared from beneath the water, two monstrous eyes staring at Sunny with hunger and malevolent fury. Azure scales glistened in the sunlight, each one larger and thicker than the armor plates of a heavy military APC. The creature... was utterly enormous, ancient, and seemingly mad.

But Sunny was already in the air.

The height of his vertical jump was nothing to scoff at, so there was a lot of distance between him and the sharp narrow snout of the abomination. However, it did not matter, because the giant sea serpent continued to rise from the water, revealing its tower-like neck.

Its maw opened again like the gates of a dark abyss.

Another second later, it had already shot two dozen meters into the sky, threatening to swallow Sunny whole.

'Curse it... why does such a huge monster even want to eat a tiny morsel like me?!'

But then again, Nightmare Creatures were not really interested in human flesh. What they wanted were human souls... and as far as souls went, Sunny's was powerful and vast despite his modest size.

'Damn it!'

Sunny twisted in the air and kicked down. He was not trying to strike the sea serpent - instead, he used one of its fangs as a trampoline to catapult himself even further up. The timing of this desperate maneuver had to be incredibly precise, and the tiniest mistake meant death... but he was nothing if not quick. Especially when augmented by all five of his shadows.

And if the bastard lost a tooth as a result, well that would be even better.

However, the sea serpent's fang did not break from Sunny's powerful kick. In fact, it was almost the opposite - if not for Bone Weave, Sunny's leg might have snapped. The giant fang seemed utterly indestructible, like a monolith made of pristine crystal jade.

sky... and the creature followed. The serpent's long body continued to rise from the water, revealing its terrifying size and length. Just from the small part that could be seen, he judged that the abomination was at least a couple hundred

a true

'Gods...'

that he could escape high enough to save himself from the sea monster... or rather, the river monster. Even worse, he had nowhere to land. All around them, there was nothing

at the approaching maw

Memory he had summoned finally

not the Sin of Solace, nor

narrow needle forged out of black metal, with golden wire wrapped around one of

The Heavenly Burden.

drove the needle into his forearm, grimaced, and swiftly sent all his

fly, but it did make the things it pierced float upward. Usually, the speed with which one drifted into the sky was

frightening pace, slowly started to fall behind.

the Great River already seemed

do I feel like

more minutes, the giant jaws snapped shut once again, and the leviathan

the Great Rivers, looming above them like a tower of glistening azure scales. Streams of water flowed from the long ridge of its dorsal fin, with

serpent... was

clear

the long snout. The azure scales were covered by countless scars, some of them missing entirely to reveal pale, desiccated flesh. Pieces of rotten

at Sunny, and Sunny

'This... is not good.'

be a titan. Granted, dwellers of the depths were often larger than

all kinds of ways to kill someone like him

scales. He needed to understand what the creature's Rank and Class