Shadow Slave

Far away, a incandescent star fell from the dark sky, and a colossal explosion of white flame enveloped the dreadful figure of the Queen. The two unified great armies shone with beautiful light, pushing the flood of Nightmare Creatures back for a few short moments.

The wounded were healed, and the morale of those who had almost lost hope was bolstered.

Sunny smiled.

Nephis had succeeded, as well.

A profound relief flooded his heart. As much as Sunny had steeled it to accept the possibility that numerous people would die as a result of their rebellion, consumed by the Nightmare Spell, he was incredibly relieved to know that the worst had not come to pass.

Their plan had worked. Both Sunny and Nephis had become Supreme.

In fact, the two of them seemed to have attained Supremacy at the same time.

Nephis was already helping the two unified armies.

So…

It was only proper for him to lend a hand, as well.

Sunny allowed one of his shadows to separate itself from his body and dart away. Now that he was supreme, each of his shadows was deep and vast likе an ocean…

A few seconds later, the shadow reached its destination.

And opened like a gate that led to the tranquil depths of his lightless soul.

’Come forth, my shadows…’

Sunny laughed.

”Look closely, King of Swords. Look and see why war can never triumph over death!”

As his words echoed in the darkness, a cold wind blew across the battlefield, as though death itself had let out a frigid breath. The shadows moved, and dark figures slowly rose from them like an inky-black sea.

There were a myriad of them… some were small, some were enormous. Some were weak, some were immensely powerful. Some were human, while most were monstrous.

The army of shadows had left the peaceful stillness of his soul and entered the real world, flowing across the surface of the ancient bone in eerie silence.

The shadow of Mountain King was among them. There was a legion of Nightmare Creatures of the Forgotten Shore, led by the appalling Spire Messenger and the Forsaken Knight of the ruined cathedral, and a few Sleepers of the Bright Castle as well, led by the shadows of Harus, Caster, and the lost companions of the first Bright Lord.

The shadow of the Soul Devouring Tree towered above the battlefield, its enormous branches swaying in the wind.

There was a legion of abominations from the Chained Isles, too, led by the shadows of the War Maidens and the twin shadows of Solvane. The Barrow Wraiths Sunny had once slain while defending Rain’s school from a Nightmare Gate were there, as well.

The largest legion by far was the Nightmare Creatures Sunny had slain in Antarctica — Fallen Titan Goliath was among them, as well as Winter Beast. There was also the Defiled Seeker of Truth, the Remnant of the Jade Queen, Sybil of the Fallen Grace… the shadows of Knight Amiran and Saint Dire Fang were there, too.

There were dreadful abominations of the Tomb of Ariel there, as well. The shadows of King Daeron and Wind Flower led them, standing side by side under the sky of the Dream Realm once again.

There were the shadows of various Nightmare Creatures he had killed while wandering the Dream Realm, forgotten by everyone.

Lastly, there was a vast legion of powerful Nightmare Creatures whom Sunny had slain here, in Godgrave. The six Saints of the Song Army he had killed were among them, too, led by the giant with the head of a jackal. 𝐫𝐀Ꞑ𝘖฿Ę𝓢

And at the head of the shadow army, serving as its general…

A taciturn knight in an intricate onyx armor sat atop a tenebrous steed, her graceful figure shrouded by a mantle of dread and darkness.

The only shadow that refused to answer Sunny’s call was the shadow of Condemnation, which remained quietly in his soul. The rest of them, however, stirred as Saint raised her black sword.

Sunny smiled viciously and looked at Anvil.

”Kill them all.”

Saint pointed her sword forward, and the sea of silent shadows surged. As it flowed forward in eerie silence,it separated into three forces.

One of the three forces came to the rescue of the human armies. Nephis had already bestowed the power of her radiant Domain upon the desperate soldiers, but now, countless shadows joined the fight, obliterating the Nightmare Creatures of the abominable jungle…

And with each creature they killed, a new shadow appeared on the surface of the dark lake within Sunny’s soul, escaping it moments later to join the battle on his side.

The second force descended upon the puppets of the Queen, aiming to annihilate them all.

The third force clashed with the remnants of the storm of flying swords, destroying them one after another.

Looking at it, Sunny could not help but shiver.

Even he was a little afraid of his newfound power.

His power… just seemed exponentially terrifying. It was like Death itself.

But maybe that was what it meant, to be a Sovereign. Especially a Sovereign carrying the power of a Divine Aspect.

…And he had no doubt that the Dream Realm hid many horrors that could put even his terrible power to shame. Horrors that could break him, let alone stop him.

As his shadow legions were reaping lives and destroying the forces of the King and the Queen, Sunny turned to Anvil with a pleased smile.

”Not bad for a rookie Sovereign, don’t you think?”

Anvil just stared at him coldly, a hint of unease in his grey eyes.

”Natural Supremacy? That is impossible. How did you…”

Sunny chuckled.

”Well, if you wish to know…”

He took a step forward.

”I traveled to the very edge of the Dream Realm, scaled the jagged peaks of the Hollow Mountains, descended to a land below the Underworld to seek counsel from the corpse of a forgotten godslayer, killed the shadow of a corrupted god, forged a blessed sword for an incorruptible soul, cheated Death by taking my own life, and survived.”

Then, he looked at Anvil with dark fury and added in a low voice:

”But mostly… I just really, really wanted to kill you. I guess you just pissed me off that badly,Anvil.”

Grasping the hilt of his odachi, Sunny pointed it at the King of Sword.

”So, prepare to die, bastard.”