Shadow Slave

1506 Heart of Twilight

The Crown of Twilight was more than a Supreme Memory. It was also the symbol of power that Daeron, the Serpent King, had wielded, as well as the key to the enchantment array enveloping his city.

Therefore, the person wearing it was immune to the influence of frozen time… in a way.

'Curse it all…'

There was a cost to remaining unaffected by the frozen time. Looking around, Sunny felt his essence being devoured at a frightening rate — the Crown was using it to protect him. Usually, his reserves would have been drained in a matter of seconds, turning him into another prisoner of Twilight… but, luckily, the Crown was also helping him replenish the spent essence.

He was still losing more than he was gaining, but at least the rate of attrition was not too great. Sunny would not have been able to traverse the entire city, but now that he was most of the way to the palace, he stood a good chance.

As long as he did not waste any time.

'I should hurry.'

Their exit from Soul Stealer's mirror realm must have been a violent one, because Sunny was not on the square anymore. Instead, he found himself somehow thrown a few hundred meters away from his previous position, at the edge of the inner district they had been aiming for.

He was protected by the Crown, but his shadows were not. Therefore, Sunny had kept them tightly wrapped around his body in advance, just in case disaster struck. Now that it had, he did not dare send them to search for his companions.

Mordret had to have sent everyone into the real Twilight. Here in the true version of the lost city, Soul Stealer was just as powerless as the rest of the frozen abominations… but the rest of the cohort had become frozen in time, as well. So had the Prince of Nothing himself.

It was all up to Sunny.

when I

dashed forward. He ran as fast as he could, barely dodging the motionless figures of the warriors of Twilight, who all

the city had withstood a devastating bombardment — many buildings had been entirely shattered, and numerous people had perished under the rubble. Blood was flowing like a river, frozen in time like the rest

best he could, but it was hard to maintain that speed on the crowded streets. On

was tossed back, as if hitting an indestructible wall. The people and objects frozen in

'Argh, damn it…'

too many people for him to run, and too many destroyed buildings to try moving across the rooftops. Using Shadow Step

finally pushed his way through the crowd of frozen

of him, separated from the buildings by a vast, ravaged

to its magnificent grandeur and unique architecture. Raising his gaze, he looked at the grandiose dome

'W—what the hell…'

of the midnight sky, appearing entirely black in the dim twilight of the early dawn. Its vast wings were open, obscuring the heavens. Its sinister eyes burned like distant, cold stars,

It was a dragon.

wide open, frozen in the middle of a deafening roar. Porcelain fangs glistened in the dismal darkness, each resembling a sharp

tyrant of the night sky was beautiful… no, it should have been. But, instead, it somehow appeared dreadful and utterly hideous. A vile,

were rushing toward the palace. They assaulted him like a sea, only to be broken, mutilated, and thrown back. Blood and mangled bodies were falling down like rain, frozen in the air

a moment, enthralled by

'The Dread Lord…'

partially destroyed, its dome on the verge of collapsing. It was unclear if the

gritted his teeth and rushed

is… something eerie about this

hideous dragon made for an ominous and startling sight, but the warriors of Twilight were equally haunting. The way they threw themselves into the maws of death without a hint of doubt or agitation made Sunny feel uneasy. There were mundane humans among them, as well… surely, they realized that nothing they could do would

really know no