Shadow Slave

Life, indeed, was good. In fact, Sunny would even go so far as to say that, currently, it was wonderful.

One would expect that being stuck in a cursed city located in the middle of an actual hell, surrounded by nothing but ruins and horrifying monsters, was not really the best way to live your life. But to him, this was somewhat of a paradise.

To his surprise, Sunny had found out that this type of existence suited him pretty well. He had no obligations, no need to worry about the future and, most importantly, was not required to interact with other humans.

Humans always made things hard and complicated. He was sick of them.

Being on your own was much better. He didn't have to pretend to be someone else, force himself to behave differently from how he wanted to, and strain his mind trying to understand people's convoluted feelings.

For the first time in his life, Sunny could simply be himself.

Turns out, his true self was very easy to please. He had no shortage of interesting things to do, explore, and kill. His life was very entertaining and comfortable, all things considered.

It was at least way better than his pathetic existence in the outskirts, back in the real world.

The key to this harmonious feeling was very simple. It was to have no hope.

Sunny discovered that hope was the true enemy of peace. It was the most vile and poisonous thing in the universe. If there was even a glimmer of hope to return home, he would have been desperate, full of anxiety, and probably in the middle of some insane disaster right now.

Like he had always been before.

But without hope, things were simple and pleasant. He really couldn't wish for more.

"Keep telling yourself this crap. You might really believe it."

Sunny grinned.

"What is there to believe? It's the truth!"

The shadow silently shook its head, long accustomed to his crazy tirades. Lately, Sunny had been talking with himself a lot, having long arguments that sometimes descended into screaming matches. It was a good way to pass the time.

…A bit later, he emerged from his secret chamber. Sunny's lair was situated in the upper part of a ruined cathedral, the entrance hidden behind a tall statue of some unknown goddess. There was a small balcony that allowed him to observe the grand hall of the temple over the goddess's shoulder, concealed from sight by the strands of her stone hair.

The balcony was really high above the floor, making it impossible for any creature to climb on it by accident. Falling down would certainly kill a normal human.

Sunny had discovered the hidden room while spying on the bastard that had gutted him. He had entered the cathedral through the hole in its roof and landed on one of the wide support beams, then walked across and accidentally noticed the small balcony.

That's how he and the bastard had become neighbors. The bastard was, in fact, the guardian of this place. He patrolled the grand hall, killing anyone who dared to come inside. Sunny saw plenty of powerful Nightmare Creatures fall to his sword, cleaved apart without much effort.

Of course, the bastard was a Nightmare Creature of considerable power himself.

Sunny was pretty sure that he was at least a devil.

Sharing the cathedral with a devil was very convenient. Sunny could sleep easy knowing that no monster would be able to reach the inner sanctum alive. Of course, he had to be careful to never be seen by his murderous roommate.

On the upside, he could observe the devil as much as he wanted, waiting for a chance to exact his revenge. Sunny was hellbent on killing the damn knight, eventually. The bastard had to die.

But before that, Sunny had to become stronger. Much, much stronger.

Walking across the beams of the cathedral, he approached the hole in the roof and climbed through it.

Outside, the night was already reigning over the world.

It was time to hunt.

***

A skeletal, hunched figure was slowly walking along the narrow street of the cursed city. The creature had long arms that ended with vicious claws and a deformed head with a wide mouth full of razor-sharp fangs.

Even with its back bent, the monster was at least two meters tall. It was dressed in a torn shroud that was once white, but had long ago turned brown from the dried blood.

This was Sunny's prey.

The creature, which was called a Blood Fiend, was among the weakest dwellers of the cursed city. It was merely an awakened monster, barely intelligent and comparatively easy to kill.

Of course, nothing was really easy to kill here. After all, each and every human on the Forgotten Shore was just a dormant beast.

Despite the fact that they shared the same rank and class, Blood Fiends were less formidable than Carapace Centurions in terms of strength and speed. However, that was only until they smelled blood, which sent them into a murderous frenzy. In that state, these fiends were a true menace.

'Pathetic,' Sunny thought, stalking the Nightmare Creature from the shadows.

He had killed a few of these monsters in the past and had a great time each time… well, except for this one encounter where he had accidentally scratched himself on a sharp stone. That was not fun at all.

'Time to die, you ugly freak!'

The Blood Fiend was just about to turn the corner when a sudden sound attracted his attention. With unnatural speed, the monster turned around and fell on all fours, his sensitive ears picking up the slightest rustle. Then, he took a few careful steps forward and stopped at a certain spot.

In front of the fiend, an ordinary-looking rock was lying on the ground.

A second later, the rock suddenly spoke:

"Behind you," it said politely.

The creature froze for a moment, then turned around with lightning-fast speed.

Something whistled in the air, and the upper part of the Blood Fiend's body separated from the lower. Still refusing to die, the monster reached out with its long arms.

"Too slow!"

Sunny slashed with the Midnight Shard, severing one of the arms at the elbow. Continuing the motion, he took a quick step forward and performed another strike, this time piercing the creature's skull. The tip of the tachi entered through one of its eyes and exited through the back of the head.

All of it took less than a second. By the time both parts of the monster fell to the ground, Sunny had already retrieved his sword.

Looking up with expectation, he smiled and waited.

"Come on, say it!"

As if answering his call, the Spell whispered:

[You have slain an awakened monster, Blood Fiend.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

Sunny grinned.

"Ah, thank you kindly. You're so sweet."

The runes shimmered as they appeared in the air in front of him. Looking down, he read:

Shadow Fragments: [398/1000].

Just two fragments away from four hundred. These days, he was progressing at a very respectable speed. In the beginning, back when he had not known the city and the creatures that populated it, Sunny was lucky to get a few fragments in a week.

He had also been much more prone to ending up bloodied and one step away from death.

But now, things were slowly changing. He couldn't even remember the last time he felt compelled to say goodbye to life.

'Ah, you idiot. You just had to go and think that out loud, huh?'

Just as he finished that thought, a distant sound of footsteps reached his ears.