Shadow Slave

“Where did he... go?”

Effie’s tone changed halfway through the sentence as she realized the pointlessness of her question.

The answer was obvious.

“Into the bastard’s personal Mirror Realm,” Sunny gritted his teeth.

Of course...

He had known about Mordret’s Ascended Ability for a long time. It allowed the Prince of Nothing to establish a physical space in the realm of reflections and store objects in it... as well as his morbid collection of vessels.

But that was not all he could place into his minor Domain.

He could pull people into the Mirror Realm, too.

Sunny had been drawn into it once himself, in Twilight. He remembered it vividly — the vast and somber expanse, a grey sky covered by stormy clouds, white mist swirling around his feet, and a radiant sphere shining like a pale sun above, its rays falling like silver pillars through the veil of clouds.

Mordret’s Mirror Realm was a reflection of his Soul Sea... at least it had been when he was a Master. Now that he was a Saint, his personal Mirror Realm would have evolved into a minor Domain and come to resemble that of Soul Stealer, most likely.

He glanced at Mordret with a hint of dark resentment in his eyes. Mordret chuckled. ”Yes, indeed. Back when I needed to hide him, all those years back, I was merely Awakened. I did not have such a convenient power yet... but I do now. Is there a better place to hide my Flaw than my own Soul Sea? Where would he ever be safer? Nowhere... as long as I keep him imprisoned in my soul, I will always be able to keep an eye on him. So, I had to retrieve him from the Palace of Imagination before the Dreamspawn did it for me.”

He sighed.

“Of course, various obstacles got in the way. I did not expect Morgan to be here and poison the pathetic worm’s illusion with her bloodlust. I did not expect such an elaborate illusion to exist, either... this place had been quite different when I visited last, you see. Most of all, I did not expect to be stripped of my Aspect and be hunted down by the Castellan like a rat. That was quite a troublesome development, to say the least.” A pale smile appeared on Mordret’s lips. “Ah, but I endured and persevered. You suspected me of being the Nihilist, Sunless, but of course, I did not kill those people. Which is not to say... that I didn’t kill other people.”

He laughed.

”It’s just I would never be so careless as to leave bodies lying around. I planned to dispose of them using the drainage collectors at first, but what would you know? There was no need. My victims, unlike those of the Nihilist, simply disappeared like mist.”

Mordret inhaled deeply and glanced at the harrowing vista of the drowned city with regret.

”Such a waste... ah, but no matter. I managed to survive the pursuit of the Castellan and even recover some of my power — not enough to unlock my Ascended Ability, sadly, and not nearly enough to take the axis of this entire world and get out alive. With all my spare attires destroyed, I needed someone who possessed a role in this bizarre world to do it for me — to get me close to my Flaw, at the right moment. You have my gratitude for that, Sunless.”

He shrugged.

“Oh, and for bringing me all these mercenaries on a silver platter. With their lives and that of Madoc, I finally managed to regain access to my Mirror Realm. So... this is where we say goodbye, I guess.”

Sunny smiled crookedly.

“What a polite farewell. Something tells me that this is not how you were planning to part with us, though... you were probably planning to kill us first before leaving to turn the tables and hunt down the Castellan like a rat, instead. However, you failed to anticipate one thing, didn’t you?”

He glanced at Mordret with a chilling darkness nestling in his eyes.

“You failed to anticipate Saint.”

Saint moved slightly at that moment, looking at Mordret with cold, frightening indifference.

His smile faltered for a split second.

”Why, yes. I loathe to admit it, but I really did not anticipate that your gorgeous companion would turn out to be one of Nether’s children. What an ill-fated coincidence... or possibly a fortuitous one, who’s to say? Ah, but you are wrong, Sunless.” ṝ𝙖Nօ𝐁Εᶊ

He raised a hand and rubbed his temple, a strange grimace appearing on his face for a brief moment.

“I never intended to kill you. Morgan, sure. Raised by Wolves, as well, to eliminate the risk of her regaining a measure of control over the Palace of Imagination before I escaped it. But even though I would love nothing more than to see you pay for the death of my father... pay terribly... I need you alive.”

A pale smile bloomed on his lips.

“After all, I need you and Changing Star to last as long as possible against the Dreamspawn. The guiding light and the shadow of humanity... you are meant to be my meat shield, you know. What an honor.” Laughing, he took a step back.

”So live long, Sunless. Live long and struggle desperately. Oh, and by the way...”

Mordret made a dramatic pause, looking at him with a smile.

‘That damn miscreant...’

In the short moment Sunny spent feverishly considering what to do next, Morgan suddenly stepped forward.

Her gloves were long gone, and her delicate, pale fingers were spread slightly, glistening with the drops of rain like ten razor-sharp knives.

“What? Can’t come up with something else to say to stall more?”

Casting a brief look at Sunny, she said in an even tone:

”Take Athena and go find the Castellan, Lord of Shadows. Dr. Saint and I will hold him back.”

Sunny gave her a long look.

Morgan was mundane, and Mordret seemed to have regained the power of an Ascended. Challenging him would be absolutely deadly for her, even with Saint fighting by her side. But that wasn’t even the main problem. “How are you going to hold him back? His Dormant Ability allows him to jump between reflections. He can slip away anytime he wants.”

Morgan smiled darkly.

“He might have regained some power, but he did not regain all of his power. Actually, although he is hiding it, he is barely holding it together... because of the rain.”

Sunny’s eyes widened a little.

The rain...

Mordret could sense reflections and travel between them. And currently, there were millions of tiny mirrors around them — every drop of rain reflected the world as it fell from the sky, and all those reflections multiplied as they contained each other, creating an endless labyrinth of mirrors. Mordret’s mind was constantly assaulted by that boundless abyss of reflections, and even if he attempted to hide it, it must have put an immense stain on him.

More importantly...

Morgan spoke again:

”He can indeed escape into reflections, but first, he needs to find the right one. That is why he wasted time giving us a winded speech, and that is why he has not escaped yet. So... go. Hurry!”

Sunny glanced at her, then at Mordret. Mordret smiled.

“Ah, my dear sister makes some sense. But, you see...”

However, he could not finish the sentence. Because at that moment, Sunny spun around and grabbed Effie, shouting:

”Saint!”

And a split second later, Saint vanished from where she stood and slammed into Mordret, sending them both crashing into the parapet. Morgan rushed forward, as well. Sunny did not see it, though, because he was already running toward the stairs.