Shadow Slave

It was growing near, the moment Sunny feared.

He did not really care if Valor won or lost. All he cared about was making sure that there were enough Awakened left alive in the aftermath of the battle to continue defending the siege capitals across Antarctica until the winter solstice.

But for that, he needed Clan Song to be defeated in a swift and decisive fashion. Which didn't seem to be possible anymore... in fact, from what he saw, the most probable result of the battle was the one he had wanted to avoid at all costs- mutual destruction.

The forces of Song were going to win, but the closer they came to victory, the more furiously the warriors of Valor would fight. In the end, it was going to be a massacre.

...Unless Morgan had something planned.

But what could it be?

'Damn it, damn it...'

Sunny could think of only one way to quickly break the tide of the battle - eliminate Beastmaster. But the alluring Saint was hidden from his sight, and so, he couldn't even attempt to attack her.

In the absence of the real target, there was a secondary goal he wanted to achieve. It was not something that his calculating mind had deemed the most beneficial in the current situation, but simply something he desired.

Sunny did not want to see Saint Tyris die.

So, he was intending to help her. Maybe that would force Beasmaster to keep suppressing Sky Tide without switching to other targets, as well...Currently, Sunny was in the very thick of the furious melee between the two armies. There were swords flashing and blood spilling on all sides, the terrible cacophony of the battle assaulting his ears at the same time as the vile ugliness of it all assaulted his eyes. Numerous Aspects were turning the somber Antarctic plain into a feverish nightmare, and the overcast sky was on the verge of unleashing a heavy rain.

In front of him, an Ascended of Clan Song easily cut down a valiant Awakened of Clan Valor. He had noticed her a long time ago as she moved across the battlefield, leaving a trail of blood and death in her wake. The woman's Aspect seemed to do with manipulating blood - a stream of it spiraled around her like a scarlet ribbon, sometimes shooting forward to pierce the heavy armor of her enemies as if it was paper.

Their eyes met for a moment, and then, the Ascended lunged into an attack.

Sunny was faster.

He easily dodged the scarlet ribbon, dashed forward, and deflected her sword. A split second later, the blade of the Sin of Solace passed through the woman's neck.

[You have slain an Ascended human...]

'Waste...'

In the same motion, Sunny battered an abomination's claw to the side, thus saving the life of an Awakened soldier, and grabbed the creature by the neck. It shattered in his grip, and before the pale soldier could react, he was already moving past.

[You have slain a Fallen...]

Not a moment later, the Awakened was killed by an enchanted arrow that slid into the visor of his helmet.

'Waste...'

There were the remains of a cohort of Song warriors trying to bar his way - three of them, all covered in blood and with wild looks on their faces.

Shadows rose from the ground, grabbing at their ankles. The Sin of Solace flashed three times, and three heads rolled down.

'Such a damned waste!'

Sunny cut through the battlefield, moving with terrible speed. He killed anyone who could slow him, and evaded everyone else. Nevertheless, the shadow he had sent forward was much faster - it reached Saint Tyris long before he could.

Sunny used Shadow Step to appear near Sky Tide instantly, and not a moment too soon. She was completely surrounded by enemies, cutting them down with her sword. Even though Tyris had been denied her Transcendent form, and even though she was continuously withstanding a ruinous mental assault, she was still a Saint - her physical prowess, skill, and judgment were beyond the realm of ordinary humans.

However, even she had a limit.

Sunny deflected a sword aimed at her back and used the rebound force to spin and deliver a crushing kick to the abdomen of the attacking Master.

Usually, it would have been stupid to show his back to the enemy, but right now, they were surrounded from all sides - no matter how Sunny turned, he would be exposed.

Additionally, such logic only applied to humans who did not have eyes at the back of their heads. He, however, had shadow sense, and could look upon the world through his shadows as well.

Sunny did not have blind spots, and he also did not have common weaknesses.

He could even fight with his eyes closed, if he wished to, while his skin was hard enough to resist most attacks below a certain level.

...Which didn't mean that he was invincible, of course.

In fact, as soon as he reached Saint Tyris, he was overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of dread. Sunny did not know the reason for it, but it was as though... as though something inconceivably vast and powerful was looking at him, full of inhuman indifference.

No, not indifference... emptiness.

'What... what is this feeling?'

Sunny was distracted for a split second, which gave the enemies an opportunity to launch an attack on him.

From below, the ground suddenly shifted and rose, wrapping around his legs - just like the shadows he had used a dozen seconds ago to immobilize the three Awakened.

At the same time, a javelin made of turbulent wind shot at his head.

Sunny cursed, then sent essence into his legs to give them some explosive strength, broke through the bindings, and bent backwards to dodge the javelin.

As a result, he avoided the attack, but ended up rolling over his shoulder.

When he hit the ground, though, it felt... wrong.

'What the hell?'

Sunny felt something cold and slithering move across his palm. Looking down, he saw a thin, grey worm crawling across it, with pieces of soil sticking to its translucent body.

The sight of it was naturally disgusting, but more than that, it suddenly filled Sunny with fear.

He gazed at the spot that he had touched to exit the roll and shivered.

The soil... was moving, countless worms crawling out of it like flesh maggots.

It was not just that small patch of ground, either.

All around them, the battlefield seemed to be... rippling. The ground was seething like a liquid, full of these thin, grey worms...

Suddenly, Sunny felt very cold. His mind froze for a brief moment.

It could have been a manifestation of a powerful Aspect Ability... but the scale of it was too great to come from anyone except for a Saint. There were no Saints with these kinds of powers on the battlefield, though.

His eyes widened. 'The... the... the Titan?'