Shadow Slave

The Crimson Spire, which had been a symbol of both oppression and salvation for the Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore, was no more. Sunny had witnessed the beginning of its destruction, all those years ago, but was sent away by Nephis before the cyclopean structure collapsed.

Looking at the mountain of shattered black stone that towered above the sea of dust like a titanic gravestone, he wondered how she had escaped the cataclysmic collapse. It must have been hard, to escape that disaster…

It must have been even harder still to survive the long journey across the desolate Forgotten Shore, traverse the Nightmare Desert, enter the Underworld, and conquer the Second Nightmare. He had always known how hard it would have been for a mere Sleeper… but only after spending close to two years in solitude did Sunny realize how taxing it must have been on Nephis' mind.

Escaping the collapsing Spire had probably been the easiest of her ordeals.

…Sunny gazed upon the vast ruin from the sky, then plummeted down and turned into a human. Walking across the dust, he fell into a solemn mood.

Soon, something crunched under the boot of the Onyx Mantle. He hesitated for a moment, then kneeled and brushed the dust away.

Below it, a monstrous skull was revealed.

Sunny stared at it for a while, then rose and looked around. He could discern more bones on the ground around him, all covered by a thick layer of dust.

A quiet sigh escaped from his lips.

«It's here…»

He was on the edges of the battlefield where the Dreamer Army had fought against the horde of Nightmare Creatures.

There, in the distance, stood the broken remains of the siege engines that Kai had commanded. Not too far away, Effie had held the line against the flood of abominations, her soldiers dying one by one, until nobody was left. Behind that place was the spot where the Dreamer Army had made its last stand, the rising water already reaching their knees.

Sunny knew exactly how many Sleepers had come to siege the Crimson Spire. He also knew how many of them had survived.

So, it wasn't difficult to calculate how many human skulls lay here, buried in the ashen dust.

He remained silent for a while, and then said quietly:

«…Your nightmare is over.»

Sighing deeply, he continued on his way to the bridge that led to the island where the Spire had once stood.

The bridge itself had long collapsed, destroyed by the falling debris. Once upon a time, Sunny had used the Dark Wing and Saint's strength to breach the wide divide… today, however, he simply disappeared from the spot and appeared on the other side a moment later. All it took was a single step.

Clad in an onyx armor, with his raven-black hair dancing in the wind, Sunny walked across the rubble and then froze in place, a subtle expression of astonishment appearing on his alabaster face.

His eyes widened slightly.

«Well… this is a surprise.»

Out of there, in front of him… a stone colossus was kneeling on the ground, unmoving.

the ancient stone, the small cracks

the Forgotten Shore for thousands of years, the

giant hammer that had once struck down the harrowing depth dweller lay in the rubble to the side, forgotten and abandoned. The colossus was still and motionless, its

he walked around the gargantuan

while, there was

space where the gates of the Crimson Spire had once been. The Lord, the Priestess, the Hunter, the

— the Builder's head gently in the statue's hands — was held

colossus did not show any sign of life, having found what

lingered for a bit, then shifted his gaze, looking within the stone giant. His

«What are you, really?»

strange sound

how

a living

It had no soul.

soul shards were hidden in its stone

…Soul shards, not cores.

golem created by the Builder and brought to a semblance of life by sorcery. Sunny had no doubt that if he broke the statue apart, he would find a complicated weave of countless runes engraved into its hollow core and the expansive web of essence

intricate than even the Echoes

Saint had treated it

stone by the Demon of Choice, then brought back to life by a treacherous shadow. The wandering colossus, the Forsaken Knight of the ruined cathedral… they were

heroes of the Forgotten Shore — the Stranger — must have been one of the Stone Saints, and had brought a small number of his soldiers with him to this dark land. The Builder must have

giant was the

shimmering dimly, one step away from being extinguished. Perhaps the colossus had been absorbing power from the artificial sun, and was left without a source of essence after the Crimson

be wandering the vast expanse

last glance at it and turned away with

glad you found what you were looking

then started climbing

gone… ah, why does it make me feel sad? It's like… I barely recognize

reason he had come to the ruins of the Crimson Spire

of a vast well. Sunny climbed down, being extremely careful not to fall — he did not trust the stability of the rubble and tested each foothold before lowering himself

vast pool of black water. Its surface was perfectly still and flat, like that of a harrowing mirror made from pure darkness. Although the water was opaque and Sunny could see how far down it went, he felt as though

The Dark Sea.

though it was straining to spill over the edges of the pool and break free. However, the invisible powers that

seal he had activated still held,

Sunny peered into the depths of the Dark Sea and let out a stifled

It did not change.

he could see

somewhere deep,

to have sensed the presence of seven abyssal

suspicion had

Shore was indeed a living