Shadow Slave

Sunny was ready for battle.

Now... he wasn't Sunny anymore.

He was a mighty serpent, clad in an armor of onyx scales, with fangs as sharp as diamonds and enough fury to incinerate the world.

But that was not enough.

Following his wrathful roar, the Shell hiding below his scales turned into the adamantine Mantle. A fearsome obsidian armor encased his flexible body, light as a feather and crafted so intricately as not to restrict his movement in any way.

The water exploded into the air when he dove into the depths... the depths that belonged to him, and him alone.

"OLD SNAKE!"

The call escaped his monstrous maw, turned into a senseless roar.

...What he had done was simple, but also indescribably hard.

He had dove deeper into Shadow Dance than ever before, mirroring both the mind and the physique of a Nightmare Creature. He had not been sure that it would be possible until the last moment, but his meticulous preparation paid off.

It was do or die, nothing less.

He had spent countless hours observing the Azure Serpent and learning everything there was to learn about it. Then, he dissolved into the shadows, and manifested himself back into a tangible form. Finally, he summoned the dead shadow of the Black Turtle, which he had lured into the Lantern, to form a mighty shell around his fragile incarnation.

But, for the first time, the shape of his shell was not that of the shadow fiend. Instead, it was the shape of a monstrous river serpent... the shape of the mad beast whom he feared, admired, and wanted to kill.

Of course, this Shadow Shell could not compare to the real thing. He was only an Ascended, after all, while the Azure Serpent was a Great Beast. It was weaker, less resilient, and smaller - maybe a quarter of the size of the actual abomination.

However, it was suffused with the power of both shadows and soul flame, granting it power well beyond the limits of what an Ascended could possess.

by the Mantle,

was another challenging

fury consumed his mind, and he shot forward through the water like a black spear. He could feel it... the scent of blood spilling from the mangled

was older? So

be torn apart by

Azure Serpent had felt him,

a vast shadow rising from below to meet him. It was brimming with harrowing power and

he was

didn't know how

he knew was wrath and

serpent covered in beautiful azure scales and a smaller serpent encased in obsidian armor, wreathed in shadows and blinding white radiance - collided in the water,

he had not twisted his body at the

to remind

was

skilled. He possessed the honed battle sense of a masterful warrior and the powerful soul of a

both believe that he was a serpent with all his heart and know that he was something else. Losing himself in

he wanted to survive. His current form was immensely powerful - no less powerful than a Saint's Transcendent form would have been, perhaps. He could feel the barriers that had been preventing him from mastering the fourth step of Shadow Dance breaking. He could feel his boundless, bestial

front of the Azure Serpent, that strength was almost laughable. Despite the terrible wounds covering the body of the Great Beast, it was still infinitely more powerful

be devious, cunning, and sober if he wanted to kill

had to be deranged and overcome by

mad fury and sharpen

the maw of the ancient abomination, and sunk his fangs into an open wound on the Azure Serpent's neck. It was only for a moment, though - giving up on tearing out a chunk of flesh, he let go and darted upward a split

jaws snapped closed just a

depths. The Azure Serpent was much larger, more powerful, and terrifyingly domineering. The black serpent was smaller and more nimble, circling

the

the Mantle cracked and shattered. The shadows below rippled, the internal structure of the shell twisting and breaking apart. The violent currents created by the passing of the Azure Serpent's body were slowing him down, and his

shell was