Shadow Slave

”No, no! You are telling it wrong, blind fool! You weren’t even there, so what do you know? But I! I saw it all! I was standing atop the wall when the three heroes faced the dreadful beast of the Underworld, the ghastly spawn of appalling Corruption, the great and grotesque Nightmare Creature, devourer of human souls... the Giant Red Skull Centipede!”

The streets of the city were lively today.

In the early morning, when Shadow and Noctis stopped to enjoy one last cup of tea before leaving the city to resume their journey, they had no choice but to hear people retelling the story of the recent battle.

Despite being praised as a valiant hero, Noctis wore a sullen expression. Cursing quietly, he threw a resentful glance at Shadow, then raised his cup and used the wide sleeves of his colorful robe to hide his face.

Shadow smiled faintly.

The soldier, meanwhile, continued his story.

”Hear, hear! There I was, standing atop the wall and drawing the string of my bow when the ground shook, and a ghostly chill permeated the air. The soldiers of Lady Irian’s army below the wall all scattered and fell, their horses foaming at the mouth and going mad from terror. At that moment, all of us felt the icy breath of Death, and our limbs grew weak and feeble. Only three courageous heroes endured it — our wise ruler, Arelen the Altar Sage, the brave and radiant Lady Irian, the Blade of Dawn, and young Noctis, Child of the Moon... the Beast of Twilight!”

Shadow looked at Noctis and said in a low tone:

“Did you hear? He’s talking about you, Child of the Moon!”

Noctis lowered his head and groaned.

“What was that? I didn’t hear anything!”

Shadow chuckled.

The soldier slammed his cup, sending drops of tea flying into the air, and glanced around with wide eyes.

”And there, in the distance, was the Great Creature of Corruption — the ancient horror who crawls below the world, the corpse eater, the guardian of the Abyss. The Giant Red Skull Centipede! Surely, you must have heard of the infamous calamities it had caused throughout the ages!”

A few of the listeners nodded hesitantly, their faces pale.

“Right... right. Giant Red Skull Centipede? Of course, I heard of it! I am not some ignorant fool, after all. Isn’t it... uh... isn’t it that thing Heart God once cast into the abyss after it gnawed on the insides of the Heart Tree’s fruit?”

“No, you’re thinking of the Spirit Worm, Abundance! The Giant Red Skull Centipede is a different worm; it’s the corpse worm that devoured the flesh of Beast God’s first avatar!”

“That’s right! Not only that, but I also heard that it was the bane of First Humans. White Abyss herself had once battled the Giant Red Skull Centipede, but the creature’s profane carapace could not be burned even by her flames!”

“Goodness... such a terrifying Nightmare Creature...”

”To think that it actually burrowed under our city. Gods, I am still trembling!”

The soldier glanced at his listeners with scorn.

”Indeed! That is how dreadful that Nightmare Creature was. I saw it with my own two eyes — as long as a mountain chain, its head reaching the heavens... no, not simply reaching the heavens! It was so enormous that clouds were like its crown, surrounding the scarlet skull and spilling out of its terrifying eye sockets. It had a myriad of bloody maws! Ten myriads of dreadful legs! When it moved, it was as if the rivers of the Underworld spilled from the depths of earth, consuming the world like a tide of darkness!”

He took a deep breath.

“All of us were ready to leave for the Shadow Realm... except for the three heroes. Undaunted by the ghastly visage of the ancient curse, they rushed across the plain to meet it. Ah, the sight of them! The majesty of the Altar Sage, the breathtaking radiance of the Blade of Dawn, the thoughtless brashness of the Beast of Twilight...”

Noctis turned his head and hissed through gritted teeth.

“Did he just call me a thoughtless bastard?!”

Shadow gestured for him to calm down.

“He did not. And keep your voice down.”

They were sitting in a corner, far from the gathered crowd. However, drawing attention would still be troublesome.

From Shadow’s pocket, Snuggle squeaked quietly:

”Even if he did, so what?!”

Noctis hid his face, while the soldier continued:

“When the three heroes clashed with the monstrous Nightmare Creature... the sky quaked! The ground shattered! The winds screamed in agony, and the fierce thunder of that terrifying clash echoed across all mortal realms, reaching even the blessed reaches of the six Divine abodes. Lady Irian struck first, her spear shining like a ray of sunlight... but, alas! Oh, woe! The creature’s carapace, forged from adamantine darkness, was too tough to be pierced! With not even a scratch left on it...”

The tale continued in the same manner.

“And that was when our wise lord assumed his Transcendent form, his wings reaching toward the heavens. His talons sank into the cracks between the plates of the Nightmare Creature’s armor, and his beak fell upon the scarlet skull as a hammer falls on an anvil, like an owl snatching a snake from tall grass...”

”The Nightmare Creature bellowed then, its voice scattering all hope! Not even valiant Lady Irian could withstand the ghastly power of that call, falling to one knee and spitting a mouthful of blood. Each drop was like a precious ruby, and her porcelain face turned to pure alabaster, making it even more tantalizing...”

“And it was then! When all hope seemed to be lost! That the Crimson Beast of Twilight rushed forward like a torrent of pale moonlight, like a ghostly wolf woven out of bravery and bloodlust, his vicious fangs sinking into the black carapace of the ancient horror. He tore at the creature with his claws, shredding its neck in his jaws, completely fearless!”

Eventually, the soldier ran out of breath. As his listeners leaned forward, he gulped down his tea and let out a long sigh.

“And that was how the three mortal heroes slew a monster as old as the gods themselves! The Altar Sage held its skull in place, the Beast of Twilight tore apart its neck, and the Blade of Dawn delivered the decisive blow, severing the skull from the Nightmare Creature’s endless body. The Giant Red Skull Centipede writhed then, hills and forests perishing in the violence of its death throes. By luck, the warriors of Lady Irian’s army had retreated to the city wall by then — if not, all of them would have perished, as well.”

He shuddered.

”And once the Nightmare Creature lost its life, its body turned into a tide of darkness, flowing back into the depths of earth — not even the ghastly skull remained. All that remained were two enormous soul shards. Our lord took one, while Lady Irian took the other — young Noctis, meanwhile, being a humble and modest youth, simply bowed to his elders, saying that protecting humans from the horrors of Corruption was already a worthy reward.”

A lone tear rolled down the soldier’s weathered face.

“Such virtue!”

The soldier’s tale was quite engaging. In fact, similar stories were being told all around the city at the moment — wandering rhapsodes were already writing songs about the battle, each competing in who could exaggerate it more.

Noctis, however, gnashed his teeth.

”Says who?! I wanted a soul shard, too! They just snatched them first!”

Shadow glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You want one? There’s plenty more where those two came from. I can donate a couple more.”

The soul shards had come from the depths of his soul, where he had stored them centuries ago. All kinds of creatures had visited his kingdom over the ages, and after killing them, Shadow had little use for their soul shards — so he had quite a few by now. Noctis stared at him for a moment, then shook his head.

”You took all the fun out of it, so what’s the point?”

The soldier was still talking, but there was no point in listening anymore — not that there had been.

In truth, the three Transcendents had barely managed to destroy the Giant Red Skull Centipeded, Prototype One. Shadow had even considered giving in a little, but luckily, Noctis stepped up at that moment and helped them bring the construct down. All three heroes were severely wounded during the battle, though, having barely survived — that was fortunate, at least. After dealing with the Great Monster, Arelen and Irian were in no mood to fight each other. So, in a peculiar turn of events, the besieging army ended up camping under the city wall, with some soldiers even entering the city to purchase supplies and receive medical attention.

The war was over... for now, at least.

Noctis sighed.

“You could have warned me, you know! I was so proud of myself... until Snuggle informed me that the supposed Great Monster was not a Creature of Corruption at all, and instead a puppet you created out of boredom.”

He shivered and gave Shadow an uneasy look.

“By the way, Shadow... forgive me for saying this. But you’re a sick bastard. That thing you made was so abhorrent! What kind of troubled mind can even come up with something like this?!”

Shadow contemplated the answer for a moment.

“I’m pretty healthy, I think?”

Noctis let out a disbelieving laugh, then shook his head and shivered once more.

“By the moon... if this is what he makes when he’s bored, I’m scared to imagine what he’ll do if something actually angers him.”

He remained silent for a short while, then asked.

”I still don’t get it, though. After the battle, both Irian and Arelen were severely weakened. Wasn’t it a perfect moment to stab each other in the back? But they suddenly seem nice and friendly again. In fact, it’s like nothing happened — as if they weren’t at each other’s throats just a few days ago.”

Shadow shrugged.

”That’s to be expected. You really don’t understand why? It’s very simple.”

He poured himself more tea.

“Ambition, aspiration... powerlust, greed... loyalty to one’s subject and the desire to leave your mark upon the world, to conquer the heavens. All of those are powerful motivations, but there is one thing that trumps them all. Do you know what it is?”

Noctis slowly shook his head.

In response, Shadow just smiled faintly.

“It’s fear. Irian and Arelen have forgotten fear, but I reminded them. I showed them that, in this world, there is no safety. There is no assurance. Even if you spend your entire life cleansing your lands of abominations, one day, a horror that you cannot defeat alone can just pop up from underground and swallow your city whole.”

He sighed and then added, feeling a strange melancholy:

“After all, no one survives in this world alone.”

Shadow chuckled.

”So, in a sense... even if all else fails to bring peace, fear can.”

Noctis stared at him silently for a while, then asked in a subdued tone:

“So you think that there will really be peace in this land now?”

Shadow lingered a little, then slowly shook his head.

”There will be... for a while. But in the end, war will come to replace it again.”

He finished his tea and rose, ready to leave the tavern — and the city — behind him.

“In the end, Arelen was right. This land will only know true peace when there’s only one power left to rule it.”

With that, he turned around and headed away.

Noctis grimaced, then followed him.

”I think you’re wrong, though.”

He smiled.

“There are six gods, after all, and they don’t often quarrel. There are even other deities —a throng of Spirits, even the daemons. And the heavens are not consumed by war, are they?”

The Shadow glanced ahead, his expression a little wistful.

”Yeah. The heavens are at peace.”

They were, for now.

Soon, the three of them left through the open gates of the city, passed the encampment of Irian’s army, and headed away.

The city slowly disappeared from view. The road ahead was long.

Their journey was only just beginning, after all...