Shadow Slave

In the form of the radiant spirit, Nephis was much more powerful than her human incarnation. Her speed and might increased vastly, and her fire powers grew much more potent... especially when the beautiful vessel of light was augmented seven times over by her Aspect.

Not only that, but mundane attacks could not hurt her at all - most weapons would simply turn to ash before reaching her, and those that did break through the immolating heat would find no flesh to harm behind it.

Only fire.

So, what hurt her the most was her Flaw, the [Pristine Soul]... and in that form, the danger it posed was much more dire than the suffering she experienced when using her lesser Abilities. The incandescent white void of her soul was so pure and searing that it threatened to consume her, burning away her very self. Perhaps forever.

At least that was what Nephis feared. She rarely used the power of her Aspect in combat, relying on nothing but her martial prowess if there was a choice, and she used her Transformation Ability even less frequently.

Of course, she was not invulnerable even in that brilliant form. There were many beings and weapons there that could harm this fiery vessel of hers, but the damage they dealt would be instantly healed at the cost of her essence. The form of the spirit of light was a manifestation of her Incandescent soul, and so, one would have to extinguish her soul completely to destroy it.

Which was not Impossible, especially when facing enemies of higher Ranks.

The ancient stone wraiths she was fighting were among such enemies.

[You have slain a Great Beast, Asura of Condemnation.]

[Your soul shines brighter].

[You have slain a Great Beast, Asura of Condemnation.]

[Your soul shines brighter.]

[You have slain a Great Beast...]

of the seven Nightmare Creatures in quick succession, but after that, the situation worsened. The abominable golems witnessed her

no importance. The strange diamond weapons they wielded carried their killing will, and

collapse from a single blow, but the damage would be considerable. Even for a Great Beast, destroying a Transcendent Titan would not be easy - but

the menacing golems, biding her

had not waited for

out of the darkness on the border of the burning clearing, his great odachi plummeting onto one of the asuras a

were two of them facing four

of Shadows glanced at each other briefly, her radiant, graceful silhouette contrasted starkly against his towering, tenebrous

exploded with

'I wonder...'

was concerned for a split second. Her partial transformation was less destructive than the full one, but it still generated terrible heat. The stone armor of the ancient golems withstood it easily, but what about the Lord of Shadows? Very few people were strong enough to fight side by side with her when she went all

didn't have to

That fearsome armor, it seemed... was of a better quality than her own, or at least possessed a very high resistance to

have any trouble plunging into the middle of the burning clearing, seemingly unperturbed by the

movements were just as swift, ferocious, and sharp

‘That's a relief, then.'

Her spirits were uplifted.

the four asuras, the surrounding

to fight the abominations with bare hands. She was swift

before, either. Using her sublime grasp of the essence of combat, she delivered a constant stream of shallow attacks to her enemies. The stone armor on their wrists, ankles, and joints was gradually

easier target. Not only was his dark body broad and towering, but he was also slower than her, his terrifying odachi demanding a

of the asuras managed to land

just as sublime as hers, but it was also... strange. Sometimes, his movements did not seem too swift - compared to her, at least - but at

was as if the Lord of Shadows was sometimes in two places

took Nephis a few moments to understand