Shadow Slave

Sunny remained silent for a few moments, staring at the map. Then, a hollow chuckle resounded from the depths of his black helmet, sounding a little sinister in the darkness that shrouded the silent hall of the temple.

"Fighting a war in Godgrave... what a brazen act of madness. Ah, but I did not expect anything less from the Great Clans."

The Fire Keepers glanced at each other, sensing a hint of contempt in his cold voice. Eventually, one of them said said stiffly:

"...We are representing one of the Great Clans too, you know. Lord Shadow."

Sunny simply turned his head, staring at him. The Fire Keeper trembled under his gaze, looking away from the impenetrable darkness nestling in the visor of the onyx helmet. It was as if there was no person inside the fearsome black armor at all.

Nephis, however, only seemed curious. She looked at him and asked, her voice even:

"You have a relationship with the Great Clans?"

Well, of course she was curious. Logically speaking, a Saint like Sunny could not have appeared without brushing sides with at least one of the great Legacy clans. It was much more likely that he had served either Valor, Song, or Night directly in the past. He was independent now, and seemed to harbor resentment toward the Great Clans... anyone would be curious to know the reason.

Sunny shrugged.

"A relationship? I guess. Although it might be called a one-sided relationship by some."

He turned his gaze back to the map and made the shadows move. The mountains crumbled, the sea of darkness vanished, and the black skeleton grew larger, reaching the size of an average human. Everything else disappeared, leaving only Godgrave and its vicinity in sight.

"So, how will the war start?"

Nephis remained silent for a moment, then turned to the map, as well.

"Clan Song is already building a road to the Right Hand. They will use it to scale the skeleton and establish a fortress on its right shoulder. Valor is also moving its forces, aiming for the Left Hand. They will be delayed a little by the need to build a bridge."

The left arm of the colossal corpse was broken, a vast distance separating the ulna and radius from the humerus. There was a significant difference in height, as well, so construction of the bridge would take some time.

Nephis continued:

the left shoulder of the giant, and its ribcage will become a warzone, Of course, fighting under the open sky... is dangerous. But the Hollows are not something the soldiers of either of the clans can handle. At least not in the initial stage

Sunny tilted his head.

"The initial stage?"

the black skeleton

and positional warfare. Godgrave is a Death Zone, so claiming it won't be easy. But its fall is inevitable, because that is

Nephis paused for moment.

firstly, because it has more experience in waging war against the Dream Realm. Secondly, because several Saints

frowned behind the visor of his helmet. Saint Tyris commanded wind and storm clouds... her Aspect would indeed be invaluable in Godgrave, where the veil of clouds stood

would undoubtedly make her a

knowing the answer, he nevertheless

the initial

glanced at him

is taken for both armies to locate and conquer a Citadel. The second stage will be about conquering more of them. And the last stage will be about pushing the devastated enemy off

consolidation and an inevitable invasion into

war was coming... however, perhaps it was their first

for a

you understand why conquering that first Citadel is

Sunny's mood suddenly plummeted.

"I do."

to exert their full power in a vast area around the

strongholds were conquered, the wider the Domains would spread, eventually swallowing all of

just Awakened, Ascended, and Saints spilling blood

well clash directly, splitting the

felt a hint of dread and

shadows drowning the great hall moved slightly. She shook

maintaining the neutrality of your temple will be hard. Possessing a Citadel at the very start of the war is too great of an advantage. No matter what else my elders might desire, they'll be most passionate

Sunny laughed.