Shadow Slave

The Lord of Shadows broke through the canopy and disappeared in the jungle, landing noiselessly in the ruins. Nephis folded her wings and fell toward the sea of red leaves to follow him.

A moment later, she landed in a small clearing. The vermilion moss softened her landing, but she could feel the solidness of stone under her feet. There were crumbling structures all around her, most swallowed entirely by the vines and creeper plants. Some of the plants glowed beautifully, dispelling the deep darkness - the ruin of the ancient city was suffused with light, shadows, and ethereal twilight.

The glowing plants emanated heat, as well, so the humid air under the impenetrable canopy of rust-red leaves was suffocating and sweltering. Nephis inhaled deeply, her alabaster skin glistening with moisture.

'It's hot...'

The ground shook as the great pillars of vines crashed into the jungle, wreathed in flame, and sent clouds of burning debris flying in all directions. Ash fell down like snow.

A few fiery meteors landed in the ruin, as well, starting small fires here and there.

Nephis dismissed her wings and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the jungle, Far away, there was a cacophony of indescribable sounds - the Nightmare Creatures populating this vibrant hell were on the move, Incited to frenzy by the destruction of the sky bridges.

But here in the ruins, everything was relatively quiet. The Jungle rustled and whispered with a thousand voices, but its tone was no different from how it had been before.

Which was... bad.

It meant that Nightmare Creatures did not dare come here and challenge the masters of this place.

She opened her eyes and glanced at the Lord of Shadows, who seemed to possess an Attribute or an Ability that allowed him to sense many things from afar.

It was impossible to tell his expression, of course, because the mysterious man never revealed his face. His figure, however, was just as cold and aloof as ever. He didn't seem concerned, and, strangely enough, that calmed Nephis as well.

"How close are we to the Sleepers?"

His tone was indifferent, competing with her own as far as inexpressiveness went:

"A few kilometers."

silently

sound this

and deadpan.

She coughed.

so when other children learned how to use their voices and faces to express nuanced emotions in the company of their relatives and peers, she had not. Who was she supposed to express her feelings to if no one

knew how to do all these things now, of course she had to, as a public figure. But her default state

She frowned.

‘Well, anyway...'

about the

suddenly appeared in it, its serpentine still as dark as a moonless night. There were no swirling sparks that

in

Nephis nodded,

time to

vines and moved forward. The Lord of Shadows followed behind her, his steps not

into pits of viscous digestive fluid. Vile critters fell from

her helmet. When thick vines moved to imprison her, she

the branches above, she sliced them apart. When clouds of pollen, spores, and poison tried to envelop them, she

'What a terrible place.’

of Shadow simply walked behind her, not doing anything. He seemed perfectly content to use her as a pathfinder, only giving directions when

to summon

He answered succinctly:

Do I

Nephis gritted her teeth.

Was he worried that her Fire Keepers would come under harm without them, or that his Citadel would be harmed by the Fire

that just the two of them would be enough to escape these ruins alive. Nephis felt a little pleased by his vote of confidence, but also a

For some reason.

has a lot