Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2011

Chapter 2011 Transcendent Battlefield

Sunny felt his limbs grow heavy, and his mind grow numb. Suddenly, he felt worn down and exhausted. Every burden that he carried, enduring the oppressive weight both willingly and silently, was suddenly so much more grievous and tiresome.

This war went on for so long… and even before the war, he had never known a moment of peace. Having grown accustomed to torment and turmoil, Sunny had easily deceived himself into forgetting how dreadful the world truly was. But now, he felt it in his every bone all of a sudden.

At the same time… A peculiar feeling bloomed in his mind.

A feeling of witnessing something infinitely beautiful, inviting, and wonderful. Something so wondrous, so amazing, and so… precious. It was as if a resplendent light had shone in the broken darkness of his mind, illuminating it gently and bringing tears to his eyes. Enthralled by the beautiful radiance, Sunny found it hard and devoid of meaning to concentrate on anything, let alone move. And yet, he did move. Somewhere far away, Master Sunless was sitting in the darkness, weaving strings of shadow essence with six nimble hands. Looking up from his meditation, he frowned a little… and then drove the long needle through his hand, piercing it without a hint of hesitation. A wave of sharp pain washed over his consciousness, making the enthralling light waver and dim a little. Sunny's mental resistance was already strong enough, and the additional push of feeling pain pushed him the rest of the way.

Shaking off the hex, the Lord of Shadows moved, too.

The towering onyx colossus turned his torso. In the next moment, Silent Stalker's arrow tore through the breastplate of his armor, pierced his body, and exploded from his back in a torrent of dissolving shadows. If he had been a split second late, that arrow would have pierced his very soul instead of simply damaging the Shell. 'What a nice arrow…'

For a moment, Sunny felt aggrieved at having to live in a world where weapons were always more powerful than armor, and destruction was always easier to perpetrate than building something up. No, but why was everyone trying to drive an arrow through his heart these days? Staggering back, Sunny raised his maimed arm to prevent Lonesome Howl from tearing his throat open, activated Shadow Manifestation, and poured a little essence into the Extraordinary Rock, which lay nestled in the neck of the Shadow Colossus. He barely survived the twin attack of the two winged Saints — which nearly tore off the head of his Shell — and then looked at his enemies silently.

In the next moment…

A low, deafening, chilling laughter resounded from behind the Weaver's Mask. If Saint Jest had heard it, he would have been proud.

***

Somewhere not too far away, Rain dragged Tamar to the where the battered warriors of the Seventh Legion had made a temporary camp the day before. Everywhere she looked, pale-faced warriors were resting on the ground, too rattled and exhausted to move. The wounded were treated hurriedly in the field hospital, and she noticed Fleur tending to a man who was missing his leg. Ray was nearby, holding the soldier down.

The two of them were thankfully alive. The battle was not over, but many of the soldiers had chosen to dismiss their armor, finally finding reprieve from the terrible heat. Some were staring down or covering their faces, trying to hide from the constant, harsh radiance of the overcast sky. Most of them, however, were looking back to where they came, terrified and enthralled by the titanic battle that was taking place behind them. Rain helped Tamar sit down and turned to look back, as well. His heart skipped a beat. Both of them had heard the deafening thunder and felt the ground shaking while retreating. But it was only now that she witnessed the awesome devastation that had been unleashed by the clashing Saints. It was…

As if the world was ending. Rain and Tamar watched the calamity silently.

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