Shadow Slave

A suffocating cloud of pristine sand had bloated out the sky, and hurricane winds were raging across the vast sea of white dunes. The world was perfectly white and suffused with incinerating heat. The grains of sand cut the skin like knives, but six fragile humans stubbornly marched forward through the radiant inferno, covering their eyes with tired hands and struggling against the wind.

Sunny was at the head of the small column, shielded from the hurricane, somewhat, by Saint's indomitable back. There was a piece of black glass in his hand, and in it dwelled a reflection of a young man with one shining mirror-like eye.

"Hurry, Sunless... you are almost there, but you must hurry. The creature is drawing close."

'Shut up, bastard... I know... I know it all!'

Gritting his teeth, Sunny pushed through the wind and walked forward. He felt as if he had been thrust into a scorching oven. The Skinwalker was on their heels, as relentless and inevitable as ever, but at this rate, the desert itself was going to kill them before the great abomination could.

'What... a joke... six of the most powerful Ascended in the world... will be done in... by the environment...'

Wasn't it funny? His journey as an Awakened had started with almost freezing to death in the cold mountains, and now, he was on the verge of succumbing to the unbearable heat of the cursed desert. The Dream Realm was merciless to the weak, but it was also ruthless toward the strong. Not that Sunny was particularly strong, yet.

Randomly, he remembered a part of the speech Nephis had given to the Sleepers in the Bright Castle, right before leading them to siege the Crimson Spire.

'The weak will die. The strong will die, too. And those who remain won't be the same... follow me... and you will never be slaves...'

He wanted to laugh.

The world was entirely white, and incandescent. They were not going to last much longer in the annihilating sandstorm. Sunny already felt ready to collapse... he could only imagine how the others felt, without the same elemental resistance as his. Everyone had their own tools to deal with the heat, of course, but still... they were all balancing at the very edge of oblivion.

But, luckily, their destination was already close. Slowly, a massive dark shape revealed itself in the hurricane of pristine sand. Sunny froze for a moment, looking up.

In front of them, some distance away, a giant block of black stone lay between the white dunes, tilted to the side, its lines perfectly even and immaculately smooth. It seemed impervious to the destructive force of the sandstorm, the cataclysmic fury of the eternal battle between the ancient dead, and even the cruel ravages of time... and yet, one of its ends was cracked, broken, and utterly shattered.

Sunny did not know what unholy blow could have damaged the indestructible black stone, and did not want to know. The sight of it stunned him. Not only because he recognized the block of stone for where it had come from, but also for what it was.

The entirety of it emanated a familiar ghostly darkness.

The giant block of black stone... was a Seed of Nightmare.

All of it.

...Beneath the Seed, shielded from the wind by its vast expanse, a monstrous winged abomination lay on the sand. Its powerful limbs and long tail were dwarfed by the size of the black stone block, but none of them were deceived - the creature was massive, and dangerous. It raised its long neck and looked in the direction of the six masters, making their tired bodies tense up.

At the same time, Mordret's reflection smiled.

"Oh... don't mind me, Sunless. That body is really unsightly, huh? Let me change really quick..."

The abomination opened its maw, and a small human body fell out of it into the sand. A moment later, the creature suddenly dropped its head, lifeless. The human body stirred.

The Prince of Nothing slowly rose to his feet, and then waved at them with a bloody stump. The wind carried his voice:

"Run! The Skinwalker is almost here!"

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Nephis. Without wasting any more time, he gathered the last of his strength and dashed toward the giant block of black stone.

The rest of them followed. They had already discussed everything that needed to be discussed. Everyone already knew everything there was to know about the nature of the Third Nightmares - how they were different from the previous two, and how they were similar.

They would be entering the trial with their physical bodies this time, for one. After all, there was no distinction between the body that dwelled in the waking world and the body that wandered the Dream Realm once one became an Ascended.

That was something Nephis and Cassie had learned from Clan Valor, and shared with them. It was good to know. Apart from this fact, though... the Nightmare they were going to enter was completely unknown.

The Skinwalker was breathing down their necks, so there was no time to hesitate. Sunny reached Mordret and looked at him with a scowl.

"You better not pull anything once we're inside."

The Prince of Nothing lingered for a moment, then grinned:

"Ah, you took the words out of my mouth. Sunless... let's survive."

Sunny nodded, then turned to his companions. What was there to say?

He forced out a smile and shouted:

"Everyone... stay alive! We will return as Saints!"

With that, he spared each of them one last glance.

There were sparks of white flame dancing in Neph's eyes. Cassie was pale, but full of unbreakable resolve. Kai was looking at the black stone with a sense of resigned trepidation. Effie seemed grim and determined. Jet... was smiling. She shook her head lightly and grinned.

"Life is sure unpredictable... who would have thought that I'd end up challenging the Third Nightmare, after all?"

Soul Reaper laughed as she looked at Sunny.

"Sunny! Thank you!"

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.

'What a lunatic.'

With that, he turned around and took a step toward the black stone.

One step, two... three...

Slowly, the white inferno of the raging sandstorm disappeared, and all that remained was boundless darkness.

In that darkness, Sunny heard the voice of the Spell:

[Ascended! Prepare for your Third Trial!]

Its words echoed in the void.

[Thirteen million, seven hundred thousand, and seventy seven brave ones... welcome to the Nightmare!]

Sunny's eyes widened.

'...What?'

[End of volume six: All the Devils Are Here]

[GuiltyThree's Note: Wait a minute... wasn't it the end of Volume Five just yesterday? Huh, I guess not! In any case, welcome to the end of the sixth volume of Shadow Slave. We are closing in on 1,500,000 words, can you believe it? As usual, I will take a day off and return with the first chapters of Volume Seven the day after tomorrow. Have a great day!]