Shadow Slave

The ground shook, and some parts of the crater's slope collapsed. Sunny, who was standing on the edge of its mound, lost his balance and rolled down, dirt and pieces of debris raining on him from above.

'Ouch.'

Coming to a halt much further down the slope than he had been before, he could not see the Dream Gate and the King of Swords anymore. What he could see, however...

Was a towering pillar of white flame rising from the torn depths of the wide crater.

It moved and twisted, as if alive. As though a giant made from pure flame was stretching its shoulders after being trapped underground for a long time. For a moment, Sunny was entranced, thinking that he could make out the shape of a winged being woven from dancing flame, hidden in the depths of the incandescent pillar.

Then, the whirlwind of flame collapsed on itself, and slowly formed into a humanoid figure.

The radiant being looked like a beautiful, pure spirit of immaculate light, her graceful body contrasted against the dark soil of the deep crater. With wide wings spread behind her like a blinding mantle, she slowly glided down. The moment her feet touched the ground, it started to melt.

Slowly, the brilliance of her skin grew dimmer, and was then extinguished. Without the blinding light, Sunny could finally see who had just escaped the ruins.

Of course, he had already guessed who it was.

It was Nephis.

She looked just like the last time he had seen her... but also different.

Not only because the white metal of the Starlight Legion armor was torn and scorched, breached in half a dozen places...

And not only because her presence seemed to illuminate the world, so much stronger and tantalizing than it had been before.

And not even because she had grown even more beautiful after undergoing the rebirth of Transcendence.

No... it was because Nephis had wings.

A pair of white wings extended from her back, looking too majestic and pure to be a part of this mortal world.

Sunny stared, enthralled.

'...Partial transformation?'

three — the winged form, the brilliant spirit of light whose radiant body seemed

after catching a glimpse of Neph's striking

Sunny doubted that a Divine Aspect would be limited to enhancing one's might and granting one the ability to

a few

I can

For now...

had to do something

Namely, explain himself.

after leaving his partner to face the last challenge of a dreadful

I had to step out to break fate really

looking forward to that conversation at

up and spent a moment evaluating his

he wasn't apprehensive about his looks at the moment. Becoming Transcendent had improved his body once again, after all. So... he was certain that he was now reasonably

did not really

looked like right now. Because Sunny was completely covered in dirt, dust, and soot. His face was almost entirely hidden beneath a

'Ah... curses...'

hastily rubbed his face, but only

'Goddammit.'

however, because that

and looked at him, her eyes shining with radiant white

hesitated and

had more than one reason to

with Nephis and the consequences of the choice he had

was also the reason he had made

to the Nightmare Spell was gone, and his [Fated]

What about Shadow Bond?

would say, Nephis spoke

"Stop."

couple more steps and froze,

had broken her promise once again and given him an

not felt compelled to follow that

'It's... it's...'