Shadow Slave

”It stinks.”

Effie once again looked like she was going to be sick, this time from all the smoke that drifted from inside the Shipwreck Island, where the charred remains of the Blood-Nourished Root were smoldering after being slain... by her.

Sunny scoffed.

”Look who’s complaining.”

He was playing with a Transcendent soul shard, but the huntress was the one who ended up with the real prize - there was a strange spear in her hand. Its shaft was made of grey wood, but the spearhead glinted with a deep crimson color, as if it had been cast in blood.

Effie made a face.

”Well, yeah. It’s a good spear. The creature absorbed Solvane’s blood, right? So it’s like an inheritance from the greatest warrior of the sect. But, Sunny... what was the one question I asked you at the start of our trip?”

He frowned, trying to remember.

”Uh... whether the creature I needed to kill was edible?”

She pierced him with a bleak look.

”Exactly! And is it? No! What, am I supposed to gnaw on burned wood?”

Sunny laughed.

”Gods. Don’t worry, we’ll find something to feed you.”

She simply waved her hand.

”Ah, don’t bother. The smoke stench made me lose my appetite, anyway.”

They were currently getting ready to climb down to the remains of the Sun Prince. A familiar golden rope was tied to a large piece of stone that must have been a part of a towering docking mast once, and the four of them - Sunny, Effie, Nephis, and Cassie - were standing near the edge of the island.

The flying ship was anchored to one of the masts, and Kai had already flown down to connect the other end of the rope to the remains of the heavenly chain. The island itself was in a descent phase, so they did not have to be wary of the Crushing any time soon, either.

”I’m going, then.”

Sunny grabbed the rope and started climbing down.

Soon, they found themselves standing on the sole of one of the steel giant’s feet. It was wide like a platform, and almost horizontal, making for a perfect landing spot.

Sunny had once seen a nightmare where he was one of Solvane’s soldiers, fighting in a harrowing battle against the forces of the Ivory City. In that dream, he - and all of his comrades - had been mercilessly crushed beneath this sole. It was a bit strange, to be standing on top of it now.

’Life is weird like that, sometimes.’

The others looked at him expectantly.

”So, Sunny... are you going to tell us why we’re here?”

Kai’s usually composed voice was full of curiosity.

Sunny smiled.

”Ah, that. Yes... wait a second.”

A moment later, a scrawny creature suddenly rose from his shadow. The little fiend opened his eyes wide and stared at the members of the cohort. His mouth hung open, revealing two rows of sharp, triangular teeth.

Nephis, Effie, Cassie, and Kai... they indeed made for an unforgettable sight. The former two were strikingly beautiful, while the latter two were simply beyond reason.

...Sunny wasn’t so bad himself, either.

His friends focused on the Ravenous Fiend in turn.

”Sunny... what is that?”

Nephis looked down and moved her leg slightly, avoiding Imp’s finger. The little bastard was so stunned that he tried to poke her, as if wanting to make sure that she was a real being and not a divine vision.

Sunny coughed.

”This ugly thing is a new Shadow of mine. I call him Imp.”

Effie suddenly exploded in laughter.

”Oh... oh, this is too good! So the little gremlin has a mini version of himself now?”

Sunny glared at her.

”Funny you should say that, beanpole, because Imp is actually more of a mini version of you! It’s always hungry, has no manners, and eats like a gluttonous barbarian!”

Both of them - Imp and Effie - looked at him with offended expressions.

He simply smiled.

”But, unlike Effie, this little guy actually profits from eating more than humanly possible. So... come one, trashling, chop-chop. You see this giant steel colossus? I want you to eat it whole.”

The members of the cohort looked at Sunny with wide eyes.

Imp, meanwhile, looked down, at the surface of the steel sole. For the first time ever, his ugly face actually paled.

Sunny frowned.

”What are you waiting for? Start eating! Oh, but climb down first. If you start from the leg, you’ll fall into the Sky Below. I did that once and survived, but a useless wretch like you will definitely die...”

The little fiend shivered, then threw a hateful glance at Sunny and obediently started climbing down. He acted with apparent reluctance, but his tiny eyes were secretly glinting with hungry avarice.

Sunny shook his head.

’This bastard... I bet he’ll finish the whole colossus in less than three days...’

That much had to be enough to push the Ravenous Fiend to the next step of his nascent steel body, and maybe even a little past that. Sunny was also thinking about trying to make the Shadow swallow a few pieces of the heavenly chains. He also remembered that there was a giant steel arm on the Iron Hand island - although the inhabitants of the Sanctuary would probably notice if it suddenly went missing.

At that moment, he realized that the members of the cohort were staring at him with strange expressions.

”...What?”

Kai hesitated for a few moments, then cleared his throat.

”Sunny, don’t you think it would be nice to tell us a bit about Imp? And why is it that you want him to... eat... the Sun Prince?”

Effie nodded.

”Yeah... and how did you end up with that Shadow, anyway? From what you told us before, creating them requires a steep price to be paid. So why this weak, tiny creature?”

Sunny glanced at them with a dull expression.

”...Yeah, alright, I’ll tell you. He needs to eat a lot of enchanted metal to get stronger. That tiny menace is a Transcendent Devil, by the way. In fact, he was the second most dangerous Nightmare Creature in the Antarctic Center. As for how he ended up becoming my Shadow - I killed that bastard, of course! Had him eaten alive by a bunch of carnivorous beetles. It’s actually a long story. Come... let’s climb back, make some dinner, and I’ll share this epic tale with you in detail...”