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 that

it turned out, it was possible to experience a panic attack from the sense of relief. That feeling was so powerful that it debilitated Sunny completely, making him unable to think, move, or control himself. He remained on his knees for a few moments, and

«It's so calm…»

soon, he curled into a

—— —— ——

and concerned by how long his

was not for the faint of heart… in fact, it was pure madness. If Sunny had known how long and

all, even though crossing the Hollow

was also quite fruitful, tempering

as well. In fact, he

needed to rest, so he let it sleep. However,

hut, the avatar carried his body inside and put it on the makeshift bed — which was nothing more than an elevated platform formed

Fiend, and Nightmare guarded the hut, each augmented by one of the shadows. The avatar, meanwhile,

for a while, then

to the food with

different types of monster meat for

was quite hungry, so

he lingered for a few moments, and then asked

we run

The avatar shrugged.

«You know we did.»

out another

«What about coffee?»

looked at him with

left. Let's save it

knew all the answers. But, still… it

but none of them were the talkative sort… in fact, the only one

the rest of the Shadows,

darkness took them in its welcoming embrace, and the ashen dust rose into

—— —— ——

It was strange.

vividly remembered the long journey back to the Dark City that he and the members of the cohort had made after visiting the Hollow Mountains. Back then, it had been an endless battle for survival — the Crimson

Creatures were gone,