Shadow Slave

There were many settlements in the Underworld, but only one city — the city where Nether, the Demon of Destiny, had reigned. Sunny saw its magnificent spires when he touched the String of Fate that connected him to Shadow Weave.

He also saw glimpses of the ruthless battle between the four Supremes — the battle where Broken Sword, Neph’s father, had been fatally wounded by his former companions.

Broken Sword fled into the darkness of the Underworld. None of the Sovereigns had seen him die, so Sunny was tempted to harbor a far-fetched, improbable hope — a hope that somewhere out there, Broken Sword was still alive.

But he couldn’t be. The Spell itself announced his death, and judging by what Sunny saw when he touched the String of Fate, the wounds dealt to Broken Sword had indeed been fatal. His soul, body, and mind... all of it had been shattered.

And yet, Broken Sword still seemed to have reached the fallen city of the Demon of Destiny, somehow.

Which meant that now, Sunny and Nephis had to reach it as well.

However, they couldn’t proceed in the same way they had been advancing before. Up until now, Sunny and Nephis had been moving openly, relying on their strength to push back and repel the many perils of the Underworld — now, they had to do the opposite.

If their strength was not enough, they had to remember the old days of being weak and defenseless. They had to hide from the powerful abominations instead of slaying them and rely on stealth instead of strength.

Even if those times had long passed, Sunny still vividly remembered being on the bottom of the food chain. The Forgotten Shore, the Chained Isles, even Antarctica — he had survived long enough to become Supreme by being cautious and listening to his fear.

’We need to sneak into the heart of the Underworld like little rats...’

The problem was that even moving stealthily wasn’t easy in the Underworld. Usually, Sunny would have hidden in the shadows, but there were no shadows here — only the endless darkness. Nephis could shine her light into the darkness, chasing it away and creating a place for shadows to appear, but being the only source of light in this lightless realm was like painting a target on herself.

So, Sunny’s gaze turned to Saint.

He considered something for a long while, then sighed.

“Let’s try it this way...”

***

After resting for a short while in the ruins, they prepared to continue heading north. However, this time, the manner in which they advanced would have to be entirely different.

That was because, this time, neither Sunny nor Nephis would be lighting the way. Nephis had completely abandoned the notion of using her Aspect to push the darkness back. At the moment, she was only calling on her powers to heal the subjects of her Domain on countless battlefields of the Dream Realm and the waking world, with none of her light shining in the Underworld.

With Neph’s light gone, Sunny was once again rendered powerless. He did not reshape himself into the Jade Titan, though, choosing to remain human.

He was better off than Nephis, at least. Even if his powers were entirely suppressed, he could still see what was happening in the darkness and feel its currents through Saint — Nephis, meanwhile, had become entirely blind.

For someone who was used to being vigilant and staying alert, always observing their surroundings to be aware of any potential threat, that was a profoundly uncomfortable state. Nephis pursed her lips, exhaled slowly, and then steeled herself.

Sunny approached her and quietly took her hand. At the same time, he dismissed the shades of the Stone Saints, allowing them to return into the lightless abyss of his soul. He guided Nephis to where Saint stood on the shore of the river, carefully choosing a path to prevent her from stumbling.

Once they were near Saint, he asked:

”Are you ready?”

Nephis lingered for a moment, then shrugged.

”I don’t think that matters.”

With that, she turned into a torrent of flame and fused with Sunny’s human form, seeping under his skin and filling him with an indescribable feeling of power.

A moment later, Sunny inhaled deeply and turned into a shadow, wrapping himself around Saint.

Now left alone on the shore, Saint closed her jewel-like eyes, hiding the brilliant white radiance that shone from their depths. She allowed the true darkness to wash over her, perceiving its currents with her mystical senses.

And then, Saint turned into a torrent of darkness herself.

The torrent rushed north, following the path of the river.

That was how they continued the perilous journey through the Underworld.

Without any light, the horrors that dwelled in its dark expanse were not lured to the daring invaders. Saint did not disturb the abominations, either — every time one of them sensed a hostile presence, she hid or circled around the dangerous area. Considering her affinity to elemental darkness, she could conceal herself quite thoroughly, and with Cassie watching over them from far away, they were alerted when an enemy was nearby far in advance... In most cases.

Of course, no method of stealth was perfect. Especially here in the Underworld, there were many abominations who possessed extraordinary senses — when encountering those, Saint did her best to flee. If even her speed was not enough, though, she assumed her material form and engaged in battle.

Saint had always been strong and exceptionally skilled, and now that she was surrounded by the boundless expanse of elemental darkness, her power had reached its peak. And, of course, she was augmented by the potent fusion of Sunny’s shadows and Neph’s flame — so, her lethality had become truly chilling.

In fact, she seemed to be growing stronger as days passed.

Channeling both true darkness and nothingness, Saint meticulously weakened and killed many terrifying Nightmare Creatures. If she faced an abomination who was too powerful and insidious, she wounded them instead, targeting their joints and limbs with ruthless precision. Once the abominations were slowed down, she retreated and escaped instead of pressing the fight.

In that manner, they traveled deeper and deeper into the Underworld.