Shadow Slave

Sunny pushed his body through the last stretch of the narrow fissure and suddenly found himself in a vast open space. He took a step to the side, clinging to the porous surface of the ancient bone, and allowed Nephis to follow him onto a treacherous ledge.

She couldn't see because everything was still shrouded in impenetrable darkness, but below them... a whole hidden world was stretching as far as the eye could see, full of vibrant life.

They were currently inside the breastbone of the dead deity, which was comparable in size to a modest continent. Just like the rest of the bones, it was hollow, encompassing a realm of its own. The bone marrow that had once filled the vast expanse of the sternum's interior was long gone.

And in its place, a dreadful jungle had grown.

The humid air was filled with an indescribable mixture of strong scents. Below them, an impenetrable canopy of countless trees was swaying like a vermilion sea, most of them alien and monstrous, with vibrant red leaves. Primordial ferns towered like blooming towers, with vines and wild bushes rising between the craggy trunks like walls. Bloodred moss covered everything like a soft carpet.

Sunny could not really see colors in the darkness, but he knew enough to guess. Outside the Fragment of the Shadow Realm, the jungle shone with its own pale light, so he had seen its true appearance.

Here and there, colossal pillars of abominable flora rose to the dome of the sternum, attached to the cracks on its surface - those were the tendrils the jungle had extended to reach the sky. It used them to drink diffused sunlight when the clouds hid the sun, regrowing them every time they were incinerated.

...And, of course, there were all kinds of vile things dwelling under the canopy of the subterranean jungle.

Hordes of powerful abominations lived here Corrupted, Great, and even Cursed. Some of them were enormous and grotesque, some so small that it was hard to notice them with a naked eye. All had been baptized by the dire need to be born and grow on the surface, and only those lucky and vicious enough to reach maturity could descend into the Hollows and hope to survive here, away from the merciless gaze of the incinerating heavens.

The dark jungle was utterly deadly, and most deaths one could find here were utterly horrid.

That was the place where Sunny had brought Nephis after being apart from her for four long years,

'Not.., exactly romantic.’

He sighed secretly, then turned his head to look at her.

washed over them. There was a calm expression on her beautiful face, her slender body was relaxed, and the

flame dancing on her palm reflected

sharp emotion in those eyes, but then, it was gone, replaced

we from the

for

a Memory. There

alabaster skin ignited with a soft

white wings wove themselves from the light behind her. Nephis gripped the hilt of

flame burning in her hand was like

sighed, and then followed her down. As Sunny fell, his figure rippled and turned into a black

trees and the red moss growing on them. Her wings fluttered once, sending a powerful gust of wind into the depths of the forest, and then disappeared with a soft

her human form, and stared at

were in

'Beautiful... too damn beautiful.’

poor Sleeper must have felt, being rescued from the depths of despair, embraced, and healed by someone so breathtaking. A

being rescued by a sinister demon of

'Lucky bastard.’

mental note to keep Dreamer Ray away from the women in his life - gods knew Sunny had been burned for saving a Sleeper before! - Sunny

keeping silent for

Eventually, though, Nephis asked:

be so

proceed with caution, walking forward with wide strides. It was a far cry from how someone should have been acting in a Death Zone, and especially one as vicious and vile as the great

he did...

Sunny shook his head.