Shadow Slave

Sunny pulled Jet into the shadows, bringing them both to stand on the tall walls of the Dark Castle.

Below them, an endless river of darkness was flowing out of its gates, slowly consuming the wide open expanse of the magnificent plaza. That was his Shadow Legion — every shade he had collected over the years, except for a few left to guard his Citadel in the Burned Forest and the Sacred shades he could not summon on a whim.

Men and Nightmare Creatures, united in the tranquil embrace of his deathly authority — those who came from the Forgotten Shore, the Chained Isles, from the cold reaches of Antarctica, the endless tides of the Great River, the sweltering heat of Godgrave, the ash and cinders of the Burned Forest, and many places beyond those.

All of them had come to the Eternal City now, assembling into a vast battle formation in utter silence — hundreds of thousands of dead warriors, all ready to wage war on the immortal swarm.

Some flooded the plaza below, some manned the walls of the Dark Castle. The castle itself trembled as it stirred, casting a hungry gaze at the beautiful streets beyond.

But that was not all.

From the shadows to Sunny’s left, Saint rose in the fearsome glory of her black armor. From the shadows to his right, Slayer appeared like a ghost.

Far below, a towering figure forged from blackened steel and infernal flames stepped from the castle gates, the silver light of the distant spires reflecting dimly from the numerous jagged blades that littered its impenetrable carapace. A gargantuan serpent with onyx scales wrapped itself around one of the towers of the Dark Castle, letting out a chilling hiss that washed over the world as the war horn of Death.

A tenebrous steed with flames burning in its crimson eyes ascended the wall to stand beside its master, the ringing of its adamantine hooves echoing across the vast plaza. And, finally...

The shadows stirred and rose, coalescing into four dark figures.

When they appeared, the light of the silver spires seemed to dim, and the abyssal darkness pressing down on the Eternal City seemed to grow even darker.

A cold wind blew across the plaza, bringing with it the promise of murder and death. Those four had the same face as Sunny, each wielding the power of a Supreme being. That was the Lord of Shadows and his legion — an insidious and indestructible force capable of washing over entire realms and reducing them to rubble.

Now, that force had invaded the sunken city of the Demon of Repose.

Standing by his side, Jet sighed quietly.

”Wow.”

She remained motionless for a few moments, observing the plaza.

Where there had been only emptiness minutes ago now stood a fearsome castle. Beyond its walls, a vast army of silent shadows was ready for battle. The very atmosphere of the Eternal City had changed, announcing the arrival of a new, terrifying invader.

Jet studied Sunny carefully, then shook her head.

”So this is the power of a Sovereign...”

She had witnessed Nephis descend into battle, but not the Sovereign of Death. Beholding his Supreme power felt different, though — perhaps because the visible manifestation of Changing Star’s power, despite its unimaginable destructiveness, was personal in nature. This, however, illustrated the essence of what a Sovereign was far more demonstrably.

A being who wielded authority as a weapon, whose influence spread over the world and subjugated multitudes...

A ruler.

It was strange to think that she was acquainted with a creature like that. Sunny gave her a confused look.

“Oh, right. You haven’t really seen me get serious, have you?”

In Jet’s defense, no one had really seen the Lord of Shadow wield his Supreme power. The Shadow Legion had mostly been confined to the Burned Forest ever since Sunny became a Sovereign, and he was the only human there. Cassie must have witnessed how tyrannical his Domain was, but mostly, people had only glimpsed it during that last, fateful battle in Godgrave.

Sunny had just barely attained Supremacy back then, though, so it hardly counted as a conscious expression of his true strength.

Jet shook her head again.

“No. And, how do I put it... strangely enough, you don’t give an impression of someone who wields this kind of terrifying power. To be honest, it is hard to remember that you are a Sovereign when you’re around.”

Sunny grinned.

”Really? Why, thank you! That is by design.”

Jet raised an eyebrow, prompting him to shrug.

”Nobody said that a Sovereign has to emanate a solemn and unapproachable aura of suffocating dominance, you know? All that zeal and worship Nephis is subjected to... ugh, I find it weird. No, thank you. There’s a more practical reason why I prefer to act as a fun and easygoing demigod, as well.”

It was because he could not allow anyone to worship him, since doing so would bring the Forgotten God closer to awakening.

sunny sighed.

”Oh, and by the way. There is a reason why I summoned my castle and my army now... and it’s not just to make an awesome entrance.”

Jet smiled faintly.

”Let me guess — it’s because thousands of these corrupted immortals are already rushing at us.”

Sunny was surprised.

“How did you know?”

She looked at the Shadow Legion.

”Because that is a defensive formation, and the shadows on the walls of the castle are all taking positions as if expecting a siege.”

Sunny remained silent for a few moments, then grimaced.

“You are right. I can’t sense our surroundings very well, but I do feel them approaching — more or less every abomination that has been dwelling on this particular island of the Eternal City. The first ones will arrive in under a minute, I’d say.”

He glanced down at the cocoon of black chains, which was contained in the courtyard of the Dark Castle now.

”So, we have around a minute to decide how to win a battle against these things...”