Shadow Slave

Sunny had managed to survive longer than an hour. He had avoided clashing with Undying Slaughter, and even rescued Jet... And yet, he was not very reassured.

As the cohort left the Chain Breaker behind and ventured into the swirling mist once again, he was not confident that they would survive at all. In fact, he dreaded Wind Flower even more.

"How many times do you think you can die before sanity abandons you completely?"

The Sin of Solace, who was walking alongside him, was not helping at all.

The sword wraith laughed.

"Considering how thick your skull is... I'd wager a few dozen times more. Yes, after that, you'll probably turn into a drooling fool. Gods. I wonder if I'll still be stuck with you after you've become a vegetable..."

Trying to ignore the infuriating apparition, Sunny kept his eyes on the fog.

'In your dreams.'

He only had to take one look at Nightmare to know that a few dozen deaths would not break him. The Sin of Solace was simply gloating.

A few years of torturous deaths, though...

'We need to escape this horrible place as soon as possible.'

The cohort was advancing up the beach in a similar formation to the previous revolutions, but now, Jet was walking behind Sunny and Nephis. Cassie had summoned her Echoes, as well, who were now moving in front of Nightmare.

Together, they represented a formidable battle force... and yet, Sunny did not know if their power was enough to survive the suffocating fog of Wind Flower.

'I'm starting to understand why there are so few Saints around...'

they chose a direction opposite of where the stone steps - and Undying Slaughter - were. Instead of moving directly toward the cliffs, they followed along

and guarded the landing until the other members of the cohort climbed up. By the time everyone did, the second

swirling between the ancient trunks. Being in the mist had felt suffocating from the very start... but now that Sunny knew that a dreadful wraith

of the sybil glided forward, the hem of her red dress

radiance of the Guiding Light into the murky depths of the forest. The fog swallowed everything behind, muffling the sounds and flowing slowly between the ancient trees. A few minutes passed in

to keep track of time in this misty limbo, but eventually, Sunny judged that

"Stop."

exhaustion - enough so, at least, to regain access to her Dormant Ability. Now that

Cassie watched the fog as Nephis placed her hands on Soul Reaper's back. They shone with soft white light, and soon, Jet's face cleared. She took a deep

softly and took a step back. If Sunny did not know better, he would

"Let's continue."

again when Cassie suddenly turned her head. The blind girl

is approaching! Get

'Curses!'

Solace in one hand and the Cruel Sight - in its short sword form - in another. Nephis swiftly drew her longsword and dismissed its scabbard. Jet raised her glaive into

circle. The Quiet Dancer floated up and hovered above Cassie's shoulder, its tip pointing into the depths

still for a

the attack would come from. He couldn't see anything... couldn't hear anything. Even his shadow

"Above us!"

'Damna...'

finish the thought, something

'...tion!'

carcass of an enormous black leopard, its bones protruding from the rotting flesh. Its tale was abnormally long, segmented, and ended in a revolting circular maw that brimmed with needle-like teeth. The creature's own yellow canines, though, were much more terrifying - each was as long as a greatsword and covered

was so large that its shadow covered the entire cohort. Much worse... the moment Sunny saw it, he felt an

was a Great

towering shadow tentacles rose from the ground and entangled its front limbs, slowing the creature down. The beast's skeletal jaws snapped