Shadow Slave

‘Damnation!’

Behind Sunny, the Palace collapsed inward with a deafening scream of ripping metal. Its proud spires and towering walls crumpled as if they were made from paper, and its foundation actually detached from the ground in a mess of jagged edges, slowly rising into the air.

The entire huge structure seemed to levitate. In reality, of course, it wasn’t taking flight — it was simply being drawn to a central point. The expanse of the palace above the void chamber was being drawn downward, while everything below it was being drawn upward. The unimaginable mass of metal was contracting under inconceivable pressure, deforming and losing shape as it slowly grew smaller.

The invisible dome protecting the Eternal was in the initial stages of collapsing, as well, and the Flesh of Kanakht was just a few steps away from reaching the shore of the Palace Island.

But that was not what had Sunny’s attention at the moment.

Instead, it was the Cursed Wanderer, who had chosen to abandon his wraith army and dash toward the lumbering Great Titan instead of continuing his assault.

‘That damn wretch!”

Belatedly, Sunny realized that just like he and his companions had already accomplished most of their goals, the sinister apparition had already accomplished his. Since they could simply retreat, so could he.... it was just that Nightmare Creatures were not usually ones to resist the scent of human souls, so Sunny had not considered this turn of events seriously.

But the Cursed Wanderer had already gotten his main praise — the remains of the Heart of Kanakht, which were preserved in Jet. Now that Jet was in his grasp, obliterating the Shadow Legion was merely a bonus.

And it seemed like the great wraith chose to continue expanding his collection of the fragments of Kanakht first, then slaughter the humans second.

‘Curse him!’

It was a reasonable choice... the problem was that Sunny could hardly pursue the apparition at the moment.

Slayer was wounded and far behind the Cursed Wanderer, so even if she ignored her wounds and pursued, she would not be able to catch up with him in time. Saint was even further away, while Serpent and Fiend were entangled with a vast swarm of wraiths. Neither Naeve nor the shadow of Daeron were swift enough, and even the Puppeteer was not going to reach the sinister apparition in time. Sunny could only go himself, but if he did, the Shadow Legion would lose its hard-won advantage and fall into a dire state again.

The Flesh of Kanakht was like a mountain now, having drawn close enough for its titanic body to be beheld in all its abhorrent glory. The boiling waters of the lake barely reached its knees, and as it took the next step, the entire Palace Island trembled.

By now, it could touch the shore by simply leaning down and outstretching a hand. And that was where the Cursed Wanderer was rushing, to the span of the lake shore directly in front of the Great Titan. He was raising his ethereal cutlass, as if prepared to sink it into the Titan’s flesh. His cold, sea-colored eyes were glowing with an ominous light.

Sunny attempted to manifest shadows to bar the sinister apparition’s path, but his adversary was too far, seconds away from reaching the shore.

‘Crap.’

Sunny steeled himself for things going from bad to worse...

But then, something strange happened.

The ethereal glow of the viridian cutlass suddenly grew dimmer.

And then, it grew dimmer still.

‘Come to think of it...’

Sunny suddenly realized that it had not emanated a wave of viridian radiance, and therefore had not summoned a new swarm of wraiths, in a while.

‘Huh?’

The Cursed Wanderer had felt that something was wrong, as well. Without ever slowing down, he spun and threw the ghostly cutlass, which cut through the raging currents of rain like a flash of viridian lightning. The spinning blade soared high, aimed at the heart of the Flesh of Kanakht. Sunny did know what would have happened if the two parts of Kanakht collided... and he never got the chance to find out.

Because the ethereal cutlass never reached the Titan.

Almost immediately after it left its master’s hand, a net of thin cracks spread across its viridian blade.

And then, to Sunny’s shock — and the Cursed Wanderer’s shock, as well...

It shattered.

Even the Flesh of Kanakht seemed stunned by the sudden destruction, halting for a moment as it reached the shallows of the lake.

However, there was no mistake. The ghostly cutlass wielded by the sinister apparition broke apart as it flew, its shards falling down as they slowly dissolved into ethereal light.

The Soul of Kanakht...

Had been destroyed.

Sunny perceived its destruction viscerally, sensing its faint, but distressing shadow dissipate without a trace.

‘H-how?’

He struggled to believe his own senses.

The mist swirled as it swallowed the last glimmers of the eldritch horror. Then...

The mist coalesced into a familiar form.

Jet stood there, in front of the Cursed Wanderer, wielding a fearsome scythe. She was still in her wraith form, looking dreadfully similar to Undying Slaughter, by whose hand Sunny had died gruesomely many times.

There was something... different about her. Jet had not grown taller, but her presence had become far more overwhelming, making it seem like she did. It was as if she towered above the Cursed Wanderer now, looking down at him with her icy blue eyes. The Cursed Wanderer glanced at her, as well. Then, the harrowing scythe fell down, passing through his ghostly body from shoulder to hip.

He remained motionless for a few seconds, frozen in place.

But a moment later, a gust of dreadful wind blew and dispelled him like mist.

..Just like that, the Cursed Wanderer was destroyed, as well.

He was vanquished in the very heart of the Eternal City, which he had searched for for thousands of years, slain by a far more harrowing wraith.

Jet lowered her scythe and glanced up, as if wanting to inhale deeply.

At that moment, Cassie’s voice resounded in Sunny’’s head.

[See... I told you she’ll be fine.]