Shadow Slave

At the same time as the Saint Army entered the battle for the western bridge, the Slayer Army reached the eastern span of the chasm. Here, the landscape was rather similar, except for the fact that the great bridge was flat as opposed to arched and not quite as wide.

The battle was very different, though.

As the torrent of fallen immortals entered the bridge, rushing across its surface like a harrowing tide, a cold wind blew across the chasm. Then, something glistened in the air.

It was a snowflake... one at first, then one more, then an endless number of them.

Ina strange tum of events, on that day, snow fell at the bottom of the Stormsea.

The winds howled, reaching a frightening speed and intensity, and a violent blizzard enveloped the world in its frigid embrace. The temperature plummeted, and the milky- white veil of snow obscured everything in sight.

The snowstorm, of course, was summoned by the shadow of the Winter Beast. Somewhat weakened, but largely indifferent to the hurricane winds and the lethal cold, the fallen immortals continued moving forward.

One of them had almost reached the middle points of the bridge when a black arrow suddenly fell from above, pinning him to the stone. The fiend struggled to break free, tearing his ghastly flesh in the process a moment later, another arrow appeared noiselessly from the snow, severing his body in half.

And then, as other fallen immortals overtook the bleeding body, massive silhouettes suddenly dove at them from the snow. Those were the Shadow Wolves, tearing the abhorrent abominations apart with their enormous maws.

Drowned by the howling of the wind, a quiet rustle followed them. Soon enough, the figures of the Obsidian Wasps rushed between the giant Wolves, joining the massacre.

And then, finally, eerily beautiful ember patterns ignited in the veil of snow, stretching high into the air. They heralded the arrival of the Ember Queen - Slayer was standing on her enormous head, already nocking another arrow, and a great tide of the Black Millipedes flowed past her to join the fight.

Among them was another Millipede Queen, this one seemingly forged from glistening onyx — it was Serpent, who had assumed that form for the moment. The dark surface of the bridge was swiftly covered by snow, and the snow was swiftly painted red by the blood of the hideous immortals.

But that was not all.

Unseen in the blizzard, two currents of shadows extended on both sides of the bridge, spanning its length. Soon, they solidified into glistening obsidian, becoming bridges of their own their smooth surface was immediately hidden by the segmented carapaces of numerous millipedes, who were rushing forward to attack the fallen immortals from the flanks.

Saint commanded the forces of the Shadow Legion in the west, while Slayer commanded them in the east...

That only left the middle bridge.

The scene taking place there was no less stunning, albeit far more bizarre.

Out there, in front of the bridge, the ornate buildings collapsed, raising a vast cloud of dust.

And in that dust, a strange, colossal silhouette revealed itself, moving slowly toward the chasm.

Soon, the gargantuan figure reached the bridge, revealing itself to be...

A towering, imposing dark castle.

The castle moved across the rubble on eight towering segmented legs, akin to a gargantuan spider. A titanic moth was perched on its tallest tower, and countless strands of black silk extended from it east and west, bloating out the sky of the Eternal City like an ethereal spider web.

’That was the Marvelous Mimic, of course. Both Mimic and the Puppeteer were currently augmented by one avatar of Sunny, and every shade of the Shadow Legion capable of ranged attacks was currently manning the castle’s walls. The shadows of Daeron and the human Saints were there, as well, while Goliath, the Defiled Seeker of Truth, and the Remnant of the Jade Queen were escorting it. The Dark Castle stepped onto the great bridge, instantly blocking its entire width, and continued moving forward. Soon enough, the defenders of its walls unleashed a devastating barrage of ranged attacks on the attacking immortals, reducing them to tom shreds of slithering flesh.

Three battles raged at the same time, and on each of the three bridges, the forces of the Shadow Legion were slowly advancing.

..There was a fourth battle happening at the same time, as well, hidden from view.

Out there in the throne room of the Dark Castle, a deep shadow rested beneath the obsidian throne. It was Nightmare, having returned to its shapeless form. At the moment, the fallen immortals infected by his Dream Curse were locked in the maze of nightmares, shattering them one after another. At the same time, the seeds Nightmare had planted in them were growing, giving birth to new terrifying dreams...

The tenebrous steed had to not only keep his prey contained within the maze and spread the Dream Curse to those of the immortals who were still awake, but also battle and subjugate each of the newbom nightmares — and do so faster than his prior minions were being destroyed, as well.

’The fury of that terrible battle was in no way inferior to what was happening in reality, and maybe even more dreadful. ”...Gods.”

Sunny and Jet had just reached the wharf by then. Standing on its walls, they looked back, at the beautiful vista of the Eternal City.

Jet took a deep breath.

It was hard to see the details of the three battles from where they were standing, but what little they could see was already unimaginable enough.

She remained silent for a few moments, then sighed.

”Why do I feel... like I’m missing all the fun?”

Hearing her own words, Jet shook her head.

”Damn. We haven’t known each other that long, but I already feel as if I’ve spent too much time with you.”

Sunny grinned.

He opened his mouth, wanting to answer, but at that moment, a distant rumble distracted them both.

Looking east, they saw something stunning — out there, far away, the colossal shape of the Clocktower...was crumbling.

The immense structure was breaking apart and folding in on itself, enormous chunks of stone falling down in clouds of dust and debris. The scale of this destruction was simply daunting.

Sunny frowned.

His own forces were nowhere near the western reaches of the Eternal City, and the Dutchman was far in the north.

That only left the mysterious third contender. That thing, whatever it was, must have caused this scene.

His frown deepened.

”..Because fun things are happening.”

Turning away, Sunny headed toward the Night Garden. ”Let’s go. There’s no time to waste.”