Shadow Slave

The Fragment of the Shadow Realm was vast, its darkness drowning not only the surface of the dead god's sternum, but also swallowing a considerable stretch of the abominable jungle thriving in its hollow depths. The Dream Curse had lulled the Nightmare Creatures populating the area to sleep, so it was relatively safe.

Sunny and Nephis moved with sufficient speed, reaching the edges of the Fragment in a matter of hours. They could have been much faster, of course, but he used that time to teach her about the dangers of what lay beyond.

"The jungle is hidden from the gaze of the sky, but it is much more dangerous than the surface. The Nightmare Creatures of Godgrave are all born on the surface, yet only those who are strong enough to survive there descend into the Hollows. Here, they can exist indefinitely... in theory. In practice, they are all cannibals. The competition for water and nourishment is fierce, so the inhabitants of the jungle constantly fight and devour each other.”

Nightmare Creatures were known to battle among themselves - it was only in the presence of humans that they united to destroy the uncorrupted first. It was much worse in the Hollows, though, where every abomination was of a type that had to satisfy its hunger often. Life and death came swiftly, and only the most vicious ones lasted for a while.

His tone remained indifferent.

"Only the strongest and most fierce abominations get to descend into the jungle, and only the most ferocious of them get to survive here. It's a boiling pot of horror, where appalling monsters endlessly fight against each other, and only the most dreadful of them gets to live. As a result, the average power of a Nightmare Creature from the Hollows is truly daunting, and has been constantly growing for centuries."

Nephis sighed behind him.

"Doesn't it remind you of something?"

Sunny shrugged.

"It's a bit like a demented, accelerated version of evolution, I guess.”

She looked at a sleeping abomination nearby, a contemplative expression on her face.

"...I was thinking that they are just like us."

silent for

sure I

used her sword to slice apart a thick vine that barred her path. Her voice sounded a

enough get to return. Then, it tosses them into the Dream Realm, where they need to constantly fight for survival. To grow stronger, they need to consume Nightmare Creatures... or each other.

just that the pace of human advancement was magnitudes faster than that of the Nightmare Creatures here in the Hollows. What

Spell was cruel,

He shrugged.

are Cursed ones here, as well - I'll do my best to help us avoid

face twisted behind the

Most are venomous. Some lure their prey into a helpless state with mind attacks or illusions. Pretty much all of them are great masters of disguise, blending

vast swarms of tiny parasites. In that sense, having Nephis with him was a boon - her ability to control incinerating flames covered

had always made a good pair

He smiled quietly.

is just as predatory as

for a while, then

see that you've chosen a lovely place to live, Lord Shadow.

He chuckled.

Bastion, Lady Nephis? That place is

answer,

them receded. They were approaching the boundary

appearance of the subterranean

and Nephis stopped, looking at the wild expanse of vibrant forest in front

were towering pillars of light falling from above here and there - those were the cracks in the dome of