Shadow Slave

'Challengers just like us... each and every one of them.'

Sunny remained silent for a while, a complicated expression on his face. He was remembering the very beginning of the Nightmare, and the strange words the Spell had spoken...

[Thirteen million, seven hundred thousand, and seventy-seven brave ones... welcome to the Nightmare!]

Back then, he had been understandably stunned and confused. There was no explanation for that number, considering that there were not even a million Awakened in the waking world. The start of the Nightmare had been abnormal in more than one way, though, and so he tentatively attributed these words to an error made by the Spell.

However, Sunny had never been truly convinced that the Spell was even capable of being mistaken. So, what if it had been correct?

He slowly exhaled.

"They are."

Cassie turned her head slightly, confused.

"How can it be?"

Sunny lingered for a few moments, then shrugged.

"I'm not sure. But I know for a fact that the people of Twilight were challengers. It is because... we've met King Daeron, Nephis and I."

It was written in the description of the Crown of Twilight - "thus, the valiant king became a guide who guarded his people in their nightmares". That had been Daeron's entire plan, to enter the Tomb of Ariel so that a phantom of him would be conjured by the Spell to guide his people when they challenged the Nightmare.

It had already seemed strange when Sunny first read the runes. However, back then, he had not met Ananke yet... and therefore, had not learned that there were no Nightmares in the ancient past of the Dream Realm.

So where had the Serpent King and his people come from?

the

trembled a

other, and then briefly described their long journey into the past. With each sentence Sunny

Nightmare Creatures, furious storms of broken time, ghost ships that appeared out of nowhere just when they were needed... it was very much like

Sunny was the

repaired the ship as best we could and set sail in search of Fallen Grace. There were many battles on the way, but as you can see, we are both in

for a moment, and then added

was as terrible as the Azure Serpent had been, though. As Daeron

Cassie frowned.

sybils. I also heard that they were tremendously powerful and even laid siege to Verge, at one point, which ended in disaster. Many of the Twilight people were Outsiders, maybe even all of them. But... challengers? Where could they

his chair, thinking. Eventually,

the last remnants of the Dream Realm humans, from the time of extinction after the Doom War had ended. Seeds of Nightmares should have first appeared sometime between when the sybils entered the Tomb and when

of the Crown of Twilight said? "There was a king who ruled over a dying

Nephis sighed.

indeed challengers, they would have entered the Nightmare by taking someone's

for a few

that concerns me much more, though. Cassie, you said that Twilight was not destroyed, but lost... devoured by time. None of us knows what it means, exactly, but we do know that the Serpent King at least managed to escape. He was a demented beast when we met him, his soul consumed by Corruption. So... will we find millions of powerful Nightmare Creatures when we reach Twilight? Is that lost

As he considered her dreadful words,

dead. Lastly... there is also a possibility that we will find millions of powerful Awakened warriors,

He blinked.

'She's... right.'

turn out to be a dire threat, but it could also be hiding an

no point in guessing,

Sunny sighed.

And we do need to get there - we can't leave Kai behind. We also need Mordret and his power to

looked at Nephis,