Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1761

Chapter 1761: Old Haunts

In the past, it had taken the Dreamer Army many days of an arduous march to reach the Crimson Spire from the Dark City. Now, however, Sunny could traverse that distance in less than a minute.

He was not in a hurry to leave, though.

Leaving the towering mountain of rubble behind, he crossed the broken bridge and returned to the ashen wasteland. He remained motionless for a while, then sighed and leaned down to brush the dust off the old bones.

...In the end, it took him almost a week to find the remains of every Sleeper that had perished in the battle for the Crimson Spire. There were four hundred of them, after all, and he had to be careful not to damage the brittle bonds. So, it took some time.

He placed them together on the ground, and then used the jagged slabs of black stone from the ruins of the gargantuan tower to construct a stone barrow above the mass grave.

It was a little fitting, to lay these young men and women to rest under the broken remains of the Crimson Spire, which they had laid down their lives to conquer.

Sunny also collected the remains of every Nightmare Creature that had fallen in the battle, and piled them onto each other to the side of the barrow. The mountain of hideous bones towered above the stone grave, dwarfing it entirely in size... a poignant testament to how fearsome the Dreamers of the Dark City had been, and how valiantly they had fought.

He stood in front of the barrow for some time, and then sighed.

"We were tough bastards, weren't we? You guys... rest easy now. The others are doing well. Most of them still follow Nephis, but they are Masters now. The remaining Handmaidens will Ascend before too long, as well - Seishan is taking care of them. Oh, Effie and Kai are already Saints. There are a few independents like myself out there, too. We... we all escaped."

Sunny didn't know why he was saying that. His words rang hollow... he wasn't a big fan of speaking to the dead, to begin with. What was the point?

Shaking his head, he approached the barrow and carved a few runes into the surface of the black stone.

The runes read:

[Here lie those

Who extinguished the sun Dreamers of the Dark City

Sleep well

Your nightmare is over.]

Stepping back from the slab of black stone with a heavy heart, Sunny remained silent for a while, then sighed and turned away.

Walking across the sea of ashen dust, he summoned Nightmare and jumped into the saddle.

His voice sounded rough when he urged the stallion forward and said:

"...Let's get out of here."

***

A young man with alabaster skin and raven-black hair rode through the darkness on a tenebrous steed, his fearsome armor crafted from polished onyx. In front of him, a great wall of dark stone rose into the lightless sky, obscuring the world.

Sunny had reached the Dark City.

He hunched in the saddle, looking up at the towering wall. The city, which had been populated by dreadful abominations, was now peaceful and silent. He could not sense any movement on its ancient streets.

After lingering for a while, Sunny stepped through the shadows and appeared on top of the wall. Gazing down, he saw a familiar landscape.

In the distance, the twisted and misshapen ruins of the Bright Castle were covered in soot. The Sleepers had set flame to the ancient fortress before leaving, destroying that which had withstood the cruelty of time.

He could recognize many other landmarks, as well. The toppled lighthouse, the half-collapsed library where he had once learned the truth of the Forgotten Shore, the plaza where Saint and her siblings had once fallen, the ruined cathedral…

Even all these years later, Sunny remembered every ruined street of the Dark City where he had hunted. The places where he had ambushed abominations, the places where he had been ambushed by them. There were countless pieces of rubble here that had been wetted by his blood, and even more that he had painted with the blood of his enemies.

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