Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1954

Sunny found himself standing at the top of a tall mound, with a desolate expanse of dark hills stretching in front of him in all directions. There was no grass, no trees, no moss or flowers. No sign of life at all, just stillness and silence.

It was a stark contrast to the dreadful reaches of Godgrave, where everything was consumed by the sprawling vermilion jungle that teemed with hungry, restless, abominable life.

The ground was covered in a soft layer of fine black dust, but felt more solid than a sand dune would.

What made him gasp was not the desolate landscape, however, but everything else he perceived.

...There was light.

He had expected the Shadow Realm to be a land of eternal darkness, entirely lightless and covered by a veil of shadows. However, instead, its dark expanse was illuminated by a beautiful silver radiance, as if resting under a starlit sky... it was just that there were no stars.

Looking up, Sunny saw a black sky. At least he assumed that it was a sky — there was no way to tell. There were no stars and no moon, just a seemingly endless expanse of darkness.

However, there were clouds.

Far in the distance, a vast storm front was moving across the dark plain. That was what Sunny wanted to call it, in any case — in truth, the clouds weren't really clouds, and the storm wasn't really a storm.

The clouds weren't formed from water vapor, but from ethereal light particles, instead. Shining with silver radiance, they moved and swirled, as if carried by ghostly winds. The empyrean currents were like beautiful rivers of starlight that illuminated the desolate land, making the immense, ancient shadows populating it flow and dance.

It was a breathtaking sight.

But, more than that... even from a distance, Sunny could feel the terrifying violence of the radiant storm. It was both daunting and chilling, making him want to dive deeper into the embrace of shadows to hide himself.

It was a storm of light.

'No...'

Not light.

Looking closer, Sunny shivered slightly.

Those sparks of silver light... he recognized them for what they were.

It was soul essence.

The storm raging above the dark plain was a storm of essence.

He didn't quite know what to make of it.

At the same time as his eyes were enthralled by the sight of the beautiful, terrible soul storm, Sunny's other senses were flooding his mind with intense sensations, as well.

There was his shadow sense, of course.

As it flowed in all directions, Sunny felt... at home.

He was surrounded by nothing but shadows, all of them indescribably ancient and unfathomably deep. Their dark depths were so vast that he almost felt lost, and so immense that he almost felt cowed by their scale. Their tranquil, slumbering indifference made him feel calm and at peace.

The shadows were his source element, after all.

Here in the Shadow Realm, Sunny felt more spirit essence than ever pour into his soul, soothing and satiating it. It was to a degree that the rate at which he replenished shadow essence had become swift enough for at least one more avatar to be maintained indefinitely, without causing any loss.

'...That's good.'

Sunny strived to maintain a careful balance between expending and replenishing his essence. Maintaining two avatars at all times — the Lord of Shadows and Rain's companion — was what he could do without constantly draining his reserves. So, knowing that he would be able to send one additional incarnation out to explore the Shadow Realm without crossing the line was welcome news.

'Now, then... should I take a look around?'

There did not seem to be immediate danger around him, but Sunny still remained in the form of an incorporeal shadow for now. He could not see any structures or sense any movement nearby, either.

But he felt uneasy, for some reason.

Actually, it was completely reasonable for him to feel ill at ease. The Shadow Realm was supposed to be the land of death, after all. If everything that died ended up here, then...

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