Shadow Slave

The waterfall of poisonous snakes that had replaced Ananke’s hair slithered and hissed, their scales glinting like dark jewels, while her eyes blazed with an amber glow. Grasping her harpoon, she threw one last look at Nephis and Sunny, smiled, and rushed to join the battle against the Wolf and the stolen shades.

A vast nebula of silver strings trailed in the air behind her, twisting as each thread of essence silk shot toward the enemy legion. Each infinitely thin string was sharper than a razor, slicing the warriors of the Vile Spawn apart when Ananke moved the fingers of her free hand to draw it taut.

At the same time, a colossal moth descended upon them in a hurricane of ethereal threads of silken darkness, sowing death and destruction among the silent shadows.

With Ananke and the Puppeteer joining Saint and Slayer, the Shadow Legion was going to turn the tide of battle and eradicate the enemy… Sunny’s own damn shades… soon — especially because of how deadly she was when fighting them.

Sunny and Nephis, meanwhile…

Were meant to confront the Vile Thieving Bird.

For now, though, they were biding their time — his dreadful wound was slowly being healed by the soothing warmth of her flame, while her pain was being soothed by the cold sorcery of the cursed chain he had forged.

They were not going to wait until the loathsome Thieving Bird destroyed the Deathless Spirit, and were instead intending to attack as soon as Sunny was healed. ‘Soon…

Surrounded by mayhem and carnage, deafened by the thunderous clamor of the calamitous battle, Sunny and Nephis watched two fallen gods fight.

The Archon seemed as implacable as ever, but his movements seemed strained. His boundless Will, which had been able to reshape Ariel’s Hell according to his whims, was like a caged beast now — fierce and ferocious, but powerless against the indestructible bars of its cage.

That cage was the Will of the Cursed Terror he was facing — an ancient, demented creature who had returned to the world of the living after escaping a Nightmare created by the Spell.

The Thieving Bird was simply retreating, for now, cawing and shrieking as it miraculously avoided the devastating onslaught of the Archon. And at the same time, its dreadful eyes smoldered with an increasingly dark and terrifying malice.

With each moment, the gold encasing the vast expanse of the enormous skeleton was dwindling. His staff was already bare and dim, having lost its radiant crest. His skull was now devoid of adornments, with only the crown still shining in the sunlight like a golden beacon.

Sunny’s ribs had been mended, and his lungs were not bubbling with bloody foam anymore. His heart was beating steadily, as well — now, only his muscles needed to be repaired for him to be able to enter the battle in top shape.

Of course, he had no doubt that his body would become a wreck again by the end of the fight…

Sadly, the Vile Thieving Bird did not give him time to recover.

Long before Sunny was fully healed, the last piece of gold disappeared from the skeleton of the Wandering Archon. The Vile Thieving Bird jumped back, creating distance between itself and the Deathless Spirit, and then raised its head, throwing something into the air.

Catching the golden crown with its beak, the Cursed Terror cawed in satisfaction, and then aimed the dark gaze of its terrifying eyes at the Archon.

Suddenly, Sunny felt a cold chill run down his spine.

In the next moment, the world was suddenly enveloped by a terrifying maelstrom of black feathers, the brilliant light of the stolen suns drowning in their frenzied whirlwind. The fluttering ivory shroud of the Archon grew indistinct, his colossal figure almost impossible to distinguish in the descending darkness. And yet, Sunny still saw the dreadful silhouette of the Thieving Bird colliding with the towering god of Ariel’s Hell, its talons piercing his chest.

Grasping the Archon’s ribs with its talons, the Thieving Bird perched on them and batted his arms away with its boundless, mighty wings.

Then, it thrust its beak into one of the Archon’s empty eye sockets.

From afar, it looked like a crow was pecking at a dead man’s eye.

Of course, the Vile Thieving Bird was not a crow… and the Wandering Archon had no eyes.

And yet, when the ghastly Cursed Terror moved its head back, it was as if something dark and slithering was grasped in its beak. The Thieving Bird raised its head and swallowed the ethereal, writhing thing it had stolen from the depths of the Deathless Spirit’s being.

In the next moment, the Wandering Archon grew strangely still.

His arms fell, and his shoulders sagged.

His skull rolled back lifelessly…

And then, the enormous skeleton simply crumbled, making the Stone Titan’s heart quake.

He became nothing but a towering mountain of black bones buried under an ivory shroud.

[Your Memory has been destroyed.]

The Deathless Spirit might not have found death… but he had found annihilation at the hands of a vile thief, in the end.

That was how the curse of Shadow God had been broken.

Looking at the mountains of blackened bones, Sunny could not help to feel his heart turn cold.

‘D—damn…’

There was no more time.

He glanced briefly at Nephis, and then forced out a smile.

“Hey… I think it’s time. For us to go all out.”

She met his gaze calmly and nodded.

A pale smile illuminated her face, as well.

“Why do you sound nervous? It’s just a Cursed Terror.”

Sunny stared at her for a moment, and then let out a chuckle.

“Indeed.”

He turned to the Vile Thieving Bird and gritted his teeth.

“Let’s go!”

As they both lunged forward, a familiar coldness of Weaver’s Mask obscured his face.

Sunny turned into a torrent of shadows, while Nephis shone like a luminous star and rose into the sky.

The Vile Thieving Bird raised its head and stared at her luminous form.

Then, it froze for a moment and abruptly turned to look at Sunny. Something moved in its demented eyes… as if it recognized the scent of his blood.

And then, its eyes blazed with a dangerous glint.