Shadow Slave

Even weakened, the Flesh of Kanakht was fearsome.

It was enormous. Its power was like a natural calamity. Its vitality seemed boundless, and its Will was like a vast ocean, reshaping the world around the Great Titan to excuse its existence.

Worse than that, its grotesque body was infinitely malleable, mutating at a startling speed to answer the demands of combat. That made the monstrous Nightmare Creature utterly unpredictable, and therefore countless times more perilous.

But worst of all was the fact that the Flesh of Kanakht could grow. It infected any living being — or a semblance of a living being — it could reach, then made them a part of itself.

‘I can’t let it touch me.’

After witnessing the fate of his Shell, Sunny felt quite disturbed. He was not at all confident that his body would be able to resist the Flesh of Kanakht, even if it had been altered by Weaver’s lineage.

And since it seemed that even manifested shadows could become hosts to the parasitic Titan — at least if the form they were manifested into resembled living beings — he could not be sure that abandoning human flesh in favor of his natural form would be of any use, either.

‘How do I kill something that I cannot touch?’

For now, Sunny chose to continue with his original strategy and attack the shadow of the Great Titan instead of targeting its body, aiming to destroy the Nightmare Creature’s soul. Nephis and Sunny clashed with the Flesh of Kanakht, causing the entire world to ripple and quake. The fury of the forces they unleashed was so terrifying that the Palace Island started crumbling into the water, while the water itself boiled and seethed in a turbulent chaos of towering waves.

The echoes of their terrifying battle washed over the wraiths and the shadows, forcing many to halt. They even reached the Ivory Island, making its chains rattle and the trees growing on its heavenly surface sway. Nephis unleashed torrents of incinerating flame and rays of annihilating light, burning and severing the body of the Great Titan. Sunny continued to pursue its shadow, delivering one strike after another. They worked together naturally and seamlessly, without the need to use any words...

Not that it did them any good. Cohesion and cooperation were vital in battle, but when the enemy could mutate in any kind of way at any given moment, there were no vulnerabilities left for them to help each other exploit.

No matter the timing of their attacks or the direction, the Flesh of Kanakht could always respond to them with dreadful effectiveness. And even if they did manage to deliver it grievous wounds, those wounds were simply mended without leaving any trace behind. The Great Titan itself, meanwhile, was overwhelmingly powerful, and every one of its terrifying attacks threatened to destroy them.

Well... maybe not. Sunny had seven incarnations, after all, so he would lose a few parts of himself at best if one of the attacks landed. Nephis, meanwhile, could heal herself endlessly. Neither of them even knew if it was possible to kill her, let alone if the Flesh of Kanakht could.

But despite their tenacity, they were at a disadvantage in this battle. Because, unlike the Great Titan, they had something to protect.

They needed to protect the Ivory Island, as well as their companions — Jet, Cassie, and Naeve. Most of all, Sunny needed to keep the Flesh of Kanakht away from his last incarnation and Nightwalker, since the process of reuniting his shadow with him could not be interrupted.

So, they pushed the Great Titan back into the lake and continued the fight in the shallows.

It was then that Nephis finally failed to dodge an attack.

The tendrils growing from the immense body of the Flesh of Kanakht caught her as she was preparing to unleash a conflagration of soul flame. She was a spirit made of light, at the moment — a being made entirely from flame, which made it so there was no flesh for the Titan to infect. However, the tide of red flesh enveloped her, still.

And then, something truly disturbing happened.

There was no body for the Flesh of Kanakht to infect and control... so, it created a body. The tendrils of flesh enveloping Nephis slowly assumed a twisted, deformed semblance of her own figure around the radiant spirit... imprisoning her within a cage of bleeding flesh.

It was not a mere physical barrier, either. When the Flesh of Kanakht grew a body for Nephis, that revolting shell actually became her body. And since she possessed a body now, the Titan could infect her.

Another terrifying explosion shook the world, and Nephis escaped the body that was forced upon her mind and soul in a whirlwind of flame.

She seemed a bit disturbed, though.

[Nothing is working.]

Cassie relayed their messages, allowing them to speak with each other.

[Physical attacks have no effect. It is too big to be turned to ash, and any burns I leave on its body disappear without a trace.]

[Its soul is unimaginably resilient, as well.]

That was what it felt like to fight a Titan. That being... it seemed endless, inexhaustible. Impossible to destroy.

Sunny was starting to feel a bit of apprehension.

[So what the hell do we do?]

They could even stall for time, really, because the Flesh of Kanakht was too powerful.

Even Death Will was having no effect.

[I...]

Nephis remained silent for a few seconds before relaying the rest of her message to Cassie.

[I am not sure. We need to keep attacking it, gather information, and then come up with something that will work.]

If there was something that could work. Sunny gritted his teeth.

‘If only...”

And at that moment, a familiar voice suddenly resounded in his ears.

It was a familiar voice — of course it was. After all, it belonged to Sunny himself.

It was the voice of the Handy Bracelet.

It said:

[You Shadow has evolved.]