Shadow Slave

1500 Perfect Trap

'What?!'

The members of the cohort all stared at Mordret, their expressions grim. Noticing their reaction, he smiled.

"I was rather surprised to learn about the identities of these Six Plagues, but it seems that you are already familiar with them. Good. It will spare me the explanations."

At that moment, Jet, who had been keeping quiet until then, finally spoke:

"Soul Stealer is here, in Twilight?"

Mordret remained silent for a few moments. Eventually, he sighed.

"He is. I've been playing hide and seek with him for... gods, I don't even know how long. Time is a funny concept here in Twilight, really. And let me tell you, there is no worse company than a demented Nightmare Creature version of yourself."

He remained silent for a moment, then added matter-of-factly:

"He's not the only one, either. The Dread Lord is here, too."

Sunny flinched, experienced a visceral reaction to those words.

'Damnation!'

Suddenly, he felt vulnerable and exposed, surrounded by terrible danger. None of them had felt safe while approaching Twilight, but still... the sense of pure dread he felt at the mention of the ruler of Verge was almost palpable.

It was not that Sunny was afraid of the Dread Lord — he knew that the cohort would have to clash with the leader of the Plagues eventually. But facing him already was simply too unexpected, too sudden...

'What the hell is happening?!'

Twilight was supposed to be their last stop before the final battle… not the final battle itself! How could the tyrant of Verge already be here, within reach?

How could they already be in his grasp?

Nephis gripped the hilt of her sword, clearly thinking the same.

Mordret, meanwhile, shook his head.

"Oh, please forgive me. I should have mentioned first that you don't have to worry about the Dread Lord. He can't harm us. In fact, Soul Stealer can't harm us either, unless we enter his territory. They are just as trapped as I am. And your friend, Nightingale, is."

let out a

what is

gave him an

I was just getting to it… ah, but I've been waiting for this

of them with a pleasant

here, in Twilight, countless years ago. The forces of Defilement… that is what it's called, right?... wanted to destroy the city, while

He sighed theatrically.

that was possible because the Defiled Legion was led by the Dread Lord, as well as my own Corrupted self. Mind you, everything I know was observed while exploring the mirrored version of Twilight. I haven't spoken to a soul since entering the Nightmare… so, my information might

silent for a

were breached, and the Dread Lord entered the city with the remaining Nightmare Creatures. The streets of Twilight are

was something strange about

tilted her head

a battlefield? Not

of Nothing nodded with

battle, you see… someone activated the enchantment array of the city. A truly powerful sorcery was awakened, its influence

Sunny groaned inwardly.

didn't she? That the defensive array of Twilight was similar to the vast enchantment of

He sighed.

the same day keep repeating itself in

gave him a

what gave you such an odd idea? That would

'Huh?'

back at

did the activation of the defensive

Nothing lingered for

put…

the cohort stared at him

"Froze… time?"

of time behaving in all

her? Sunny felt the

tone, Mordret

yes, it froze time. The moment the defensive array was activated, time inside Twilight completely stopped. And so, the battle raging on its

He shook his head.

citizens and warriors of Twilight are standing there like statues, frozen in strange poses. The Nightmare Creatures are the same. Even the Dread Lord, despite all his power and authority, was caught in the trap. Now, he's more of a monument to the ruler of Verge,

Mordret's face grew somber.

caught between two moments, forever. If one day the defensive array is deactivated, the battle will resume, and the Dread Lord will awaken. Don't think that you can kill him while he's vulnerable, too — the moment you step inside Twilight, the time