Shadow Slave

The Night Garden glided across the rippling surface of the Palace Lake, rushing toward the Dream Gate.

The detestable immortals were trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth and destruction born from the clash between the sorceries of Desire and Repose; the wraiths were burdened by the Crushing and had not reached the lake yet. Nothing seemed able to threaten the living ship before it escaped to safety.

Until a dark form suddenly escaped from the dark ruins in the east, where the third contender was still hidden in the darkness, and soared into the sky. Sunny turned just in time to see it fly above the decimated city. His eyes widened slightly.

”That...”

The dark form was not an abomination. Instead, it was a piece of a stone wall spanning more than a hundred meters across that someone had tossed into the air. Spinning aimlessly, it flew across the districts of the Eternal City, rising higher and higher.

Needless to say, one needed monstrous strength to send such an enormous projectile flying a great distance — in normal circumstances. Under the tyrannical strength of the Crushing, though, that strength had to be simply unfathomable. Much more disturbingly, the piece of the wall had not turned to dust as it rose higher into the air. The only explanation Sunny could come up with was that the fragment of a building had somehow been infused with the Will to at least partially deny the power of the Crushing.

It had been aimed quite well, too.

Traveling dozens of kilometers, the giant projectile reached the crest of its trajectory and plummeted down toward the deck of the Night Garden. Before it could strike, however, Nephis pointed at it with her palm. A blinding white ray shot from it and pierced the enormous piece of debris, plunging into the lake a split second later. The makeshift projectile exploded into a cloud of stone dust and rubble. The lake boiled, as well.

Sunny looked east.

It seemed that the third contender was still some distance away... and it wasn’t happy about being late to the party.

‘Troubling.’

He frowned, unleashing the Shadow Legion onto the shores of the Palace Island. That was where the silent shades were going to take their last stand, repelling the Dutchman and his army of sinister wraiths. The only things standing between the two dead armies now were the lake, the radiant Dream Gate, and the Night Garden.

Saved from the giant projectile, the living ship breached the remaining distance to the Dream Gate and plunged into its radiant vastness, slowly disappearing from view. It was as if it dissolved into the light... and Sunny was glad that it did.

He could not help but let out a relieved sigh.

Sunny was happy to see the Night Garden escape. He hoped that the living ship could finish repairing itself somewhere far away, in safety — he hoped that nothing would disturb its peaceful sleep. Now that the civilians were gone, he did not need to feel so anxious, either.

Standing by his side, Jet scratched her head.

“You know, they say that a captain never abandons her ship. No one talks about the ship abandoning its captain, though, do they?”

Nightwalker chuckled.

”Didn’t you send your ship away yourself, young lady?”

Instead of answering, Jet let out a satisfied sigh.

”Ah. It feels so nice to be called young again. Being the oldest is such a chore...”

Below them, the battered Shadow Legion was assembling into a formation. Many of the shades were gone, but plenty still remained — in fact, the losses were far below Sunny’s expectations since he had abandoned the plan of conquering the Eternal City district by district and simply rushed to the Palace instead.

The Puppeteer returned to its perch atop the Dark Castle. Slayer commanded the defenders on the walls. Saint led the silent warriors on the ground.

The Ivory Island hung above the highest spire of the Palace, and the Chain Breaker was descending from the dark heights. Soon enough, it reached the battlements above the gates of the Dark Castle, where Sunny and his companions stood. Nephis jumped off its bow, landing near them and illuminating the space around her with her radiant light.

She glanced at Sunny and smiled faintly. “Fancy meeting you here, Lord of Shadows.” Sunny could not help but smile, too.

“The pleasure is mine. Welcome to the Dark Castle, Lady Changing Star.’

The last time Nephis had visited the Marvelous Mimic, it had still been a cozy brick cottage. So, Sunny was a little pleased to show her his new abode... even if it had to be briefly.

They looked at each other, their eyes igniting with a heated intensity. Before Sunny could take a step forward and betray his negative stance on public displays of affection, though, Jet patted him on the shoulder.

“Alright, lovebirds. Settle down. We have an undying army to kill and an indestructible city to destroy, so there is no time to waste.” The Chain Breaker moored itself to the towers of the Dark Castle, and Cassie joined them on the battlements, flying over by holding to the hilt of the Quiet Dancer. She bowed quietly, greeting Naeve and Nightwalker, and stood beside Nephis. Nightwalker gave the two of them a curious glance, then pointed to the blind seer.

”Is no one going to introduce me to this stunning beauty?”

His aloof tone was as obnoxious as ever. No... even more so!

Sunny had to take a deep breath.

“The stunning beauty is called Cassia, Song of the Fallen. The last old goat who tried to bother her ended up banished to a remote Citadel in a Death Zone.”

The bright youth gave him a sidelong glance.

“That’s an interesting bit of information you decided to share... without being asked...”

Cassie bowed her head.

”It is an honor to meet you, Saint Nightwalker.”

Just then, the mist Nephis had burned away rose from the rubble once again, pouring into the lake. The first of the wraiths reached its shore and froze there, looking across the dark expanse at the rows of silent shades on the other side.

The sinister silhouette of the Dutchman advanced slowly through the canal, nearing the open waters of the lake.

Sunny frowned.

’I guess there really is no time for a touching reunion.’

He sighed.

“What a pity...”