Shadow Slave

The desolate expanse of the Forgotten Shore lay in front of Sunny, shrouded in darkness.

The black sky was vast and empty. There were no stars, no moon, and no sun populating the lightless abyss, making it seem boundless. Faced with the hollow eternity of its unfathomable grandeur, Sunny couldn't help but feel indescribably small.

Below the black sky, a barren wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see. The Forgotten Shore had changed, becoming almost unrecognizable… the Terror of the Spire, Nameless Sun, was dead, and the endless sea of crimson coral that had been born from her was gone as well, replaced by ashen dust.

The darkness shrouding the desolate expanse was absolute. But it was merely the absence of light, not the true darkness that dwelled in the abyss of the Underworld. Therefore, Sunny's gaze could pierce its veil without restraint.

The Forgotten Shore… had become a land of shadows.

His bloodless lips twisted into a pale smile.

«I'm back.»

—— —— ——

It took him a few more days to descend from the Hollow Mountains and leave the dark slopes behind, finally setting foot on the Forgotten Shore again.

Surrounded by the sea of ashen dust and absolute silence, Sunny remained motionless for a while, gazing into the distance with a strange expression on his bruised face.

The lack of light, the lack of sound, the lack of life…

«How peaceful.»

It was a land of death.

He walked a few steps forward, and then staggered, falling to his knees. His hands drowned in the dust, and his breathing had become labored, hoarse whistles escaping from his mouth each time his chest rose and fell.

«Argh… aaahh…»

Sunny was suffocating.

It was not for the lack of air, but simply because both his mind and body were in turmoil. He was having a strange semblance of a panic attack, caused by the fact that there was no mist around him anymore.

There was no nothingness, and therefore, Sunny didn't have to struggle to remain existing anymore. He had grown so accustomed to that constant necessity, though, that its lack was like a powerful shock. Everything around him was so solid and immutable, so tactile and palpable… so something.

something. Wasn't

turned out, it was possible to experience a panic attack from the sense of relief. That feeling was so powerful that it debilitated Sunny

«It's so calm…»

he curled into a ball… and peacefully

—— —— ——

how long his original body

faint of heart… in fact, it was pure madness. If Sunny had

the Hollow Mountains had been a nightmarish affair, it had also been… fun, in a perverse

tempering his will and sharpening his

needed to become transcendent as well. In fact, he had been

so he let it sleep. However, sleeping in

Once the Shadow turned itself into a hut, the avatar carried his body inside and put it on the makeshift bed

of the shadows. The avatar, meanwhile, made a fire and went about preparing

table. He remained motionless for a while,

gestured to the food with

types of monster

hungry, so he

bite, he lingered for a few

run out

The avatar shrugged.

«You know we did.»

out

«What about coffee?»

at

Let's save it for a

himself these questions, of course, because he already knew all the answers. But, still… it was nicer to eat while enjoying a friendly conversation, even if

the talkative sort… in fact, the only one of who had ever spoken was Fiend, but

Nightmare, dismissed the rest of

took them in its welcoming embrace, and the ashen dust rose into the air, disturbed by the adamantine hooves

—— —— ——

It was strange.

City that he and the members of the cohort had made after visiting the Hollow Mountains. Back then, it had been an endless

the Nightmare Creatures were gone, annihilated