Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1909

1909 /2448

Nephis walked over to the edge of the water, looked at it for a few moments, and then sat on the ground.

Her voice sounded a little raspy, but mostly just as it always did:

"He has regained consciousness and is binding the Gateway now. Revel's imprint is strong, so it will take some time... ten minutes, at least. Maybe half an hour."

She sighed.

"Some of us will have to return to the waking world after that, to bring back the initial reinforcements. You know what happens next."

Sunny did know.

Once the Gateway was bound by a Saint of the Sword Army, Anvil's Domain would manifest in the Hollows. The King of Swords would probably arrive at the ruined Citadel himself, and the war would finally spill beneath the surface of the ancient bones.

The subjugation of the Hollows was bound to be an affair both spectacular and harrowing. Considering how powerful the predators of the ancient jungle were, the king would have to lead the conquest personally... at least for a while.

By the time the immediate area around the lake was conquered by the Sword Army, both sides would have prominently established themselves in Godgrave. The first stage of the war would be complete, and the two armies would start clashing in large—scale battles, clamoring for control.

Control over the surface, control over the Hollows, control over the paths to the remaining two Citadels.

Everything that had happened before was merely a prelude, and the true bloodshed would begin now.

Well... there were ten more minutes before that happened, at least.

Nephis sighed and looked down at her blackened, shredded armor. Then, she dismissed it and summoned a soft white tunic instead.

Her voice sounded a little gloomy:

"You know... I think I am going to give up on wearing armor altogether. What is the point, if it only ends up being destroyed? Or worse, a burden. Especially these suits of full plate that Knights ofValor prefer — in the last battle, the left elbow joint was bent almost immediately. I had to struggle every time I needed to bend my arm."

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"I think it will be great... less burden, more mobility, wider field of view. Not to mention the heat — everyone still cooking inside a steel armor will be green with envy, looking at my well—ventilated self."

Sunny gave her a long stare, not at all happy at the thought of people staring at Neph's... well—ventilated... body.

And unhappy for another reason, too.

"If it wasn't for your armor, it would have been your arm being cut instead of an elbow joint being bent."

Nephis shrugged nonchalantly.

"I can heal my arm. I can't repair a broken piece of armor."

He frowned.

"Only, this time, you couldn't."

She did not respond, looking at the water with a hint of wistfulness in her gaze. After a while, Sunny sighed. The facade of arrogant coldness the Lord of Shadows usually wore slipped a little, and he said in a more humane tone:

"It must have been hard, fighting against an overwhelming enemy without your powers. I had my Shadows with me, at least. You were alone."

Nephis lingered for a few moments, then slowly shook her head.

"...Actually, it was nice."

Her gaze grew distant.

"I almost forgot what it felt like — to hold a sword without the promise of pain. I loved swordsmanship once, you know? That is because... I don't have many memories of my father, and in those that I do, he is teaching me how to hold a sword. So, even after he was gone, training made me feel a connection to him." She looked at the water.

"But I don't love it anymore. Wielding a sword has become simply something that I do, because it is one of the tools at my disposal... the sharpest of them, perhaps. In fact, I don't know if there's anything left that I love."

Sunny remained silent, but his face fell a little behind the mask.