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.

was something. Wasn't that

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 then sprawled in the

«It's so calm…»

soon, he curled into a ball… and peacefully fell

—— —— ——

both surprised and concerned by how long his original body remained asleep, but judged that

a lot of it. Spending a year and a half in the Hollow Mountains was not for the faint of heart… in fact, it was pure

into the nothingness. After all, even though crossing the Hollow Mountains had been a nightmarish affair, it had also been… fun,

fruitful, tempering his

Transcendent now, and so, his skills needed to become transcendent as well. In fact, he had been

to rest, so he let it sleep. However, sleeping in the dust was not

and summoned the Marvelous Mimic. Once the Shadow turned itself into a hut, the avatar carried his body inside and put it on the makeshift bed — which was nothing more than an elevated platform

the hut, each augmented by one of the shadows.

up, there was a real feast waiting for him on the table. He remained motionless for a while, then sighed and sat up,

to the

have ten different types of monster meat for

so

for a few moments, and then asked

run out of

The avatar shrugged.

«You know we did.»

let out

«What about coffee?»

looked at

save it for a special

ask 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 he was talking to

them were the talkative sort… in fact, the only one of

of the Shadows, as well as the avatar, and headed

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

—— —— ——

It was strange.

the Hollow Mountains. Back then, it had been an endless battle for survival — the Crimson Labyrinth had been teeming with all kinds of vile Nightmare Creatures, and all

now, the Nightmare Creatures were gone, annihilated by the