Shadow Slave

Sunny walked deeper into the jungle, allowing his shadow sense to permeate the rustling darkness. Originally, this place was like a nearly impenetrable barrier, with thick vines and dense undergrowth barring one's path. Not only was the flora plentiful and terribly dense, but it was also predatory and lethally dangerous - even for a Saint.

But now, the abominable plants were still and docile. There were paths cut through the jungle, as well, even if no one except for Sunny himself would have noticed them. As such, he managed to maintain considerable speed, getting further away from the Nameless Temple with each minute. Theyhad to hurry to maximize the chances of finding the two Sleepers alive.

As the two of them traversed the jungle, they encountered more sleeping Nightmare Creatures. There were hundreds of them, if not thousands, many of the Great Rank. Walking among the slumbering horde of abominations must have been a tense experience for Nephis, considering that the power sleeping under the Nameless Temple was truly dreadful. Perhaps even a Sovereign would have been given pause after witnessing it..

Sunny was calm, though.

All of these Nightmare Creatures were in the thrall of the Dream Curse, lost in Nightmare's lesser dream domain. Their souls were locked in a maze of nightmares, unable to escape... for the most part.

Exceptions happened, albeit rarely.

The Dream Curse was silent and insidious. It had slowly infected every abomination in a wide area around the Nameless Temple, and because of how subtle the spreading plague was, very few of them had noticed anything amiss before it was too late. Lulled to sleep, they became trapped in nightmares.

Those who had been able to resist the Dream Curse were disposed of by Sunny, a Great Demon being the last of the abominations he hunted down. The rest were now at Nightmare's mercy. If they died in his domain, their souls would feed the Shadow, pushing the tenebrous stallion closer to Supremacy. But if they continued to live, their dreams would strengthen his legion of horrors.

Of course, there was a possibility that an especially ferocious abomination could destroy all of his nightmares, like Sunny had done in the Kingdom of Hope... but the chances of something like that happening were low. Not only were Nightmare Creatures less resolute than Sunny had been, but the current Nightmare was also much more powerful than he had been all that time ago. The weaker of his horrors were being destroyed, but the stronger ones slowly took their place.

As for the dark destrier himself, he was currently busy with a very important and sensitive task.

After a while, Nephis suddenly spoke:

"Would you mind sharing how you put all these abominations to sleep?"

Sunny smiled behind the visor of his helmet, suddenly remembering their first meeting on the Forgotten Shore.

He kept silent for a few moment, then answered neutrally:

"I would not, if you shared something as well."

Nephis simply nodded.

"That seems fair."

Sunny contemplated the answer, then spoke simply:

jungle to slumber, but it couldn't be helped. My Citadel would have never been safe if there was a constant source of danger underneath it. Now, I only have to worry about

out

am... a bit envious. My luck with

giving all the Echoes she

a unique advantage - unlike Echoes, his Shadows could grow and evolve

would not have been anywhere near as

for a few moments,

to

considered his words

master of combat, Lady Nephis. A warrior who understands battle better than anyone else. So, as a master... if you had no other choice, how would you

faintly.Nephis smiled

assume that it is a hypothetical question." She lingered for a

all the usual tricks apply. Leveraging your advantages while making sure that the adversary

silent for a moment and said, he voice devoid of any particular

the day, the best way

Sunny chuckled.

'Interesting...'

- infiltrating a Great Clan to take down its ruler. And yet, she was disparaging such an approach, saying that the best way to kill a Supreme was to first become

doubts about

No, that was impossible... she would never be allowed to challenge the Fourth Nightmare, let alone return

his quiet laughter, and in the ensuing silence, Nephis

How

for a

really... I would probably wait until the two of them clashed, watch one die and the other become

her head slightly. When she spoke, her voice sounded a little

in

smiled behind the onyx

those I

they were

her

remained silent for a

Eventually, Sunny said:

"I have another question."