Shadow Slave

In the cold light of dawn, a gargantuan crimson tower was rising from the Labyrinth. From this distance, it looked like a bloodied sword that some primordial titan had thrust into the heavens.

The crimson coral streamed from its walls like the blood of gods, spreading out from the base of the Spire to devour all of the Forgotten Shore. The tower itself seemed to stand on an island, which was surrounded from all sides by black water. Even though the sun was already climbing up, this part of the cursed sea did not disappear.

Instead, it lingered and moved endlessly, forming a giant whirlpool. Unclear shapes could be seen moving under the surface of the black water, drowning the hearts of humans who dared to approach the Spire with dread.

Sunny looked up, at the endless expanse of the crimson tower, and paled. Upclose, it looked even more ominous, oppressive, and terrifying. He struggled to believe that this cyclopean structure had been built by human hands, let alone that it had been their salvation once, a long time ago.

Now, the Crimson Spire looked nothing but twisted, eerie, and utterly evil. It emanated a sense of harrowing power that no human could ever hope to challenge.

And yet, this was exactly what they were going to do.

Turning away, he glanced at the camp of the Dreamer Army.

For the past week, the five hundred of them had traversed the Labyrinth to reach this place. Some had perished along the way, but not as many as he had expected. For that short journey, luck had been on their side.

In these days, they had slaughtered countless Nightmare Creatures and somehow managed to avoid attracting the wrath of the dwellers of the deep. They had seen the headless statue of the Lord that stood halfway between the Dark City and the Crimson Spire, and many other wondrous and terrible things.

And now, they had almost reached their goal.

People were busy preparing for the battle. The dread they had felt at dawn, after looking at the Crimson Spire, which was now so close, turned into grim determination and resolve. Everyone was making final preparations. Some were checking their armor and weapons for the last time. Some were hurriedly building makeshift fortifications.

Some were praying, begging the dead gods to save their lives.

Truth be told, Sunny was the only person who appeared to be idle.

Well, what did they expect? Nephis still had not told him what exactly his role in the battle was going to be. Not that he was obligated to listen, of course…

With a sigh, he turned to the other members of the cohort, who were gathered around a fire, discussing the plan of the battle for the hundredth time. Everyone seemed uncharacteristically somber today.

One after another, they left to join in the preparations. Soon, Changing Star was the only one left.

With a bit of reluctance, Sunny approached her and sat down, staring at the fire. After a while, he said:

"This is very strange, don't you think?"

She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

Nephis had changed a lot since the first time they met, but also remained exactly the same. She was still calm and confident, with ivory skin and beautiful silver hair. She was still strong and full of conviction.

It's just that her eyes seemed a bit hollow these days.

"What is?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Just… all of it. If someone described this scene to me a year ago, I would have been really perplexed. And yet, here we are."

He lingered for a bit, and then added:

"We've come very far. The three of us."

Both of them glanced at Cassie, who was busy explaining something to the Artisan representatives. Her delicate hand rested on the hilt of the Quiet Dancer.

After a while, Nephis nodded.

"Yes. And now, we just need to make one last step."

Both of them remained silent for a bit, thinking about how this final step was going to be the hardest yet. Incomparably so…

Then, Sunny sighed:

"So, what do you want me to do? From how you kept avoiding the subject for these past days, I'm guessing that it's not something trivial."

Changing Star smiled, then looked at him with white sparks dancing in her eyes.

"A really small thing, really."

Then, she turned to face the Crimson Spire, hesitated for a while, and then suddenly said:

"...Give me your hand."

When Sunny did, something traveled through her cool skin into his Shadow Core. He summoned the runes and looked at them, already knowing what he was going to see. And there it was, listed among his Memories:

Oath Key: [7].

Somehow, she had gathered the remaining six keys from the rest. And now, she was entrusting them to Sunny.

Still looking at the cyclopean tower, Nephis said:

"...I want you to destroy the dark sea. Or banish it, at least."

Sunny grinned.

"A really small thing, indeed."

***

Very soon, the sun rose higher, and the dark whirlpool surrounding the Crimson Spire became a little smaller. Several bridges of red coral rose from its depths, connecting the island to the rest of the Forgotten Shore.

And out there on the island, countless silhouettes suddenly began to move, crawling out of the crimson mounds. They were the Nightmare Creatures guarding the cursed tower.

All kinds of horrors were among them. There were members of the carapace legion: scavengers, centurions, and demons. There were colonies of carnivorous worms, giant centipedes that secreted corrosive oil, and eerie vines that crawled on the ground like snakes.

There were creatures that looked like black masses of rotten bones, and creatures that looked like humanoids made of rock, with terrible maws full of jagged fangs. There were swarms of translucent insects that devoured everything in their path and massive spiders clad in iron armor.

There were beasts that could shoot deadly bone spears from their bodies and beasts that could turn their prey to stone with their gaze.

There were corpses with red flowers growing from the holes in their flesh and giant abominations that resembled praying mantises, if those were made of glass and bloodred clay.

And many more that Sunny had never seen, fought, or could describe.

All of them moved together in strange harmony, devoid of the usual territorial aggression that forced the Nightmare Creatures of different tribes to fight each other. They were subjugated by the Crimson Terror and now served to guard the Spire.

Like a terrible wave, the horde of monsters rolled over the bridges of crimson coral and flowed toward the human army.

From his position at the back of it, Sunny could clearly see the bodies of those standing in the front line tremble and take an involuntary step back. Someone even dropped their weapon. A moment later, Effie's loud voice rolled over the rows of Sleepers:

"Stand your ground, wretches! If anyone runs, I'll kill you myself!"

Strangely, her irritated shout calmed down the fear in their hearts.

A moment later, however, it was drowned in the cacophony of the approaching horde.

...The battle for the Crimson Spire had begun.