Shadow Slave

Sunny smiled.

“To be precise, this is a divine relic I recovered in the frozen wastelands. And I mean that literally — it is a Divine Armament left behind by a slain god. I almost kicked the bucket to retrieve it, so be a darling and call me da... uncle, call me uncle.”

Effie’s eyes widened.

Indeed, the great spear that looked like a bolt of obliterating lightning forged into a weapon was a Divine Weapon — it was the spear Sunny had glimpsed in one of the truths revealed to him in Ariel’s Game. That truth had shown him Weaver challenging Ariel to a Death Game on a blood-soaked battlefield in a frozen hell... with Ariel inhabiting the body of a dying Divine. Sunny could remember every detail of that scene vividly...

The endless white plain, the broken corpses of lesser gods, the rivers of ichor flowing into the depths of the frozen ocean, the tendrils of nothingness seeping into reality through the cracks in the shattered sky... the giant kneeling in the middle of the silent battlefield, grasping his fractured head with two enormous hands as he mumbled disjointed words, full of terror.

And a great spear laying on the broken ice, forgotten, still brimming with the echoes of annihilating lightning.

...The giant might have forgotten about his spear before dying, his body swallowed by the imprisoned ocean, but Sunny had not. So, he ventured into frozen wastelands hoping to find it.

Luckily, discovering the battlefield from his vision had not been too difficult — at least not for Sunny, who could cast his shadow sense across numerous kilometers and move with breathtaking speed. After all, there were not a lot of places where the sky was shattered and tendrils of nothingness seeped into reality, even in the Dream Realm.

Surviving that harrowing place, however... that was an entirely different matter. Thousands of years had passed since the day he saw in the vision of truth, and the entire area had become far more eerie and terrifying, not to mention chillingly lethal, than it used to be.

Everything was swallowed by the ice and bathed in the familiar white mist... only something seemed to be hiding in the mist there, making his skin crawl. The unbearable cold was almost absolute, far worse than even the Winter Beast’s blizzard had been.

Sunny had wanted to explore the battlefield thoroughly, but in the end, he barely managed to retrieve the spear from deep within the ice before hastily making a retreat. The spear had been gigantic at first, but as soon as he touched it, it shrank to its current size.

That eerie place, that sense of terrible fear, that cold... was something he wished to never relive.

Looking at Effie, Sunny smirked.

“So, what do you say?”

Enthralled, Effie leaned forward and picked the spear.

“Thanks, uncle-uahh!”

Barely lifting the spear off the ground, Effie toppled over and landed on her face, making Sunny laugh again.

“Oh, sorry! I forgot to mention... it’s quite heavy.”

Effie herself was also a... top-heavy person. So, it was no wonder that she had lost balance and ended up falling down.

Laying on the ground, she gave him a glare, then stood up and reached for the great spear once again. With a grunt, Effie lifted it after all. Lean muscles rolled under her dewy olive skin, and beads of sweat glistened on her face.

Sunny was not surprised to see her shouldering the crushing weight of the Divine weapon that made even a Sovereign struggle — if anyone had enough raw physical strength to carry the great spear, it was Effie. She studied it with a contemplative expression, then smiled.

“Awesome. However... I don’t think I am strong enough to wield it in battle. No Saint is.”

Sunny lingered for a few moments, then nodded.

“Indeed, no Saint is. Which brings us to the next point of this conversation, and the real reason I’m here. Actually, I feel a bit awkward giving this speech for the second time, but here it goes... Nephis and I are going to appoint Apotheosis sooner or later, which means...” ʀΑＮȮꞖЁ𝘴

Effie waved a hand in the air dismissively.

“If you are about to tell me how someone else has to become Supreme before you guys jump into the Fifth Nightmare, no need. Actually, I already met Kai in NQSC, and he regaled me with the tale of your misadventures in the Death Game over some drinks. So, you can skip the explanation. I already know.”

Sunny stared at her for a few seconds.

”And?”

Effie placed the golden spear back on the ground and shrugged.

”Sure, I’m in.”

He blinked a couple of times.

“That, uh... you know that we are talking about you challenging the Fourth Nightmare, right? Not immediately, I mean — but eventually. That is the reason I took Kai to Ariel’s Game, and that is why I want to take you to the Mirror Maze. To help you prepare.”

Effie yawned again, then let out a groan.

“Damn it... all this talk of attaining Supremacy, and I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet. I said sure, didn’t I? Let’s do it! Let’s get me ready to challenge the Fourth Nightmare... eventually. Preferably after I had breakfast.”

Sunny stared at her silently, then shook his head.

”Don’t you need time to consider? Only four people in history have survived the Fourth Nightmare, you know.”

Effie met his gaze, then smiled faintly.

“Look around.”

Sunny did, studying the cozy wooden home and the picturesque grounds of the manor.

Effie, meanwhile, picked up the Divine spear and carefully leaned it against a nearby tree.

“I have stuff to protect, Sunny.”

It was a very simple answer... but one that said it all.

Brushing the dirt off her sweatpants and her stretched-out crop top, Effie started whistling a cheerful melody as she headed inside.

“Don’t dawdle! It’s the full moon tonight, so let’s grab something to eat and discuss what, exactly, we are going to do in the Mirror Maze. Oh, and also...”

She turned around and smiled.

“Thank you for the spear, really. I mean it.”

Then, Effie’s smile turned into a grin.

“I mean, I did not know what to expect when you began boasting about the size of your bundle, but when you took that thing out... good heavens! It really...”

Heading into the house, Sunny pushed her inside.

“Shut the hell up!”