Shadow Slave

Sunny studied the tranquil surface of the crimson lake, unnerved. He had died in its waters a few times, and each of those deaths was both torturous and gruesome. But now that he knew what had caused him to die, he felt even more wary of the red water than before.

Indeed... the entire blood lake was, in a sense, a Nightmare Creature. However, it was not a single living being.

Instead, there were mindless, microscopic, insatiable creatures living in the bloody water, too tiny to see and too numerous to count. Each drop of the bloody water contained millions of them. Sunny had fought and killed many abominations, from titanic behemoths to insect-like vermin that hunted in giant swarms. However, he had never faced Nightmare Creatures that were no different from flesh-eating bacteria.

The whole lake had become a colony for these tiny horrors. Sunny did not know whether they had come from inside the giant corpse, or if the winged being simply was one of their victims. Perhaps it was both. What he did know was that the abomination's blood provided nearly endless nourishment for the tiny devourers, allowing them to propagate at astonishing speed and infect the entire lake.

Thus becoming the lake.

...No wonder he had died screaming in its crimson waters.

Sunny took a deep breath, dismounted, and gave Effie a grim look.

"Stay away from the water."

The huntress climbed off the Covetous Coffer and sighed.

"Yeah. I gathered that much... but, Sunny. How are you going to kill a lake? Short of somehow evaporating the entire thing, I don't see a way."

He hesitated.

Indeed, how was anyone supposed to kill a lake?

head, then headed

out

stuck to the shadows. Tense, they made their way to the shore - Effie stayed back, but

stench of blood

and summoned a Memory. White sparks swirled around his hand, and soon, a beautiful

this Memory often. The last time he had, it was

who knew it would come

tilted it and watched as a stream of black liquid fell into the crimson water. The poison flowed

of the palace herself presented them with a cup of the sweetest nectar. No matter how much of the sweet nectar they drank, the cup remained full.

of the sinister Memory surfaced in

no doubt that more of it had flowed out of the Bitter Cusp than the jade chalice was supposed to contain. There was no explanation

Memories. Mundane logic almost never applied to

an explanation, though. All he needed was for the blood lake to drink as much of

Subtle ripples spread over the lake's surface, and shallow waves licked its shore. Forcing himself to stay still, Sunny

"Step back."

He did not move a centimeter, though, no matter how

Its crimson waters seemed to be tinted a subtly darker shade now, and rippled silently. Although there was no wind, the waves

a deep

that only about half an hour had passed, but it felt like an eternity. Finally, the stream of poison grew thinner, then thinner still. Then, it

Cusp

"Well. That's done."

distance

so thoroughly... what are