Shadow Slave

Nightwalker studied him for a long while with the same strangely distant expression he had worn previously, then smiled faintly. “Conquering the Eternal City? I am not going to diminish your accomplishments... getting to the Lighthouse unscathed must have already been difficult enough. Well done. However, you should have noticed that this place is populated by a myriad of immortal abominations. Surely, your goal is a tad too ambitious?”

Sunny gave him a nonchalant shrug. “Personally, I think it’s just ambitious enough.”

Jet chuckled.

“You must not have witnessed the power of a Supreme before, mister. It is quite daunting. And that guy is not just any Supreme, at that — he’s someone who became Supreme by killing the person who sat on the throne before him, which puts him in an entirely different category:”

She smiled.

“I wouldn’t have brought the Night Garden here if I wasn’t reasonably confident in his ability to keep his promises. Despite how he looks, he’s quite reliable.”

Sunny gave her a silent stare.

“Huh? What’s wrong with how I look?”

Not getting an answer, he frowned and glanced back at Nightwalker.

“She’s right. My forces have already secured the Wharf and the island it is connected to. Currently, we are engaged in a battle for the three islands north of that. I expect the siege to come to a conclusion in a few hours, which would allow us to advance further, into the heart of the city.” Nightwalker studied him with interest. ”Really? How are you dealing with the immortals, then?”

Sunny gave him an even look.

“lam putting them to sleep. Although now that I know what hides in the water, I am thinking of just tossing them into the waves.’ Nightwalker shook his head slowly.

“That won’t work.’

Sunny was a little disappointed.

”Why?”

The lost founder of the House of Night let out a heavy sigh, as if recalling his own disastrous attempt to do just that.

“As I said, the immortals are merely shells for the parasite that controls them. So, you can indeed get rid of them by throwing them into the water — some would climb out, but most would become an endless source of sustenance for the little critters there. However...”

His expression darkened.

“A parasite is a parasite. Once one host becomes useless, it will find another — and with myriad abominations populating the depths, the Flesh of Kanakht would have countless new hosts to infect. Once thousands of those fishes start mutating, sprouting tendrils, and climbing ashore... you’ll regret having fed them an immortal or two in the past. Believe me”

He shivered.

Sunny was quite uneasy, as well. He hummed, then mumbled quietly:

“Wow. I never thought that one day I’d be happy to only be fighting the human vessels of an immortal Great Terror...”

His expression twisted a little.

“Flesh of Kanakht is a Great Terror, right?” He had assumed so because the fallen immortals wielded power similar to that of Great Nightmare Creatures. Considering that Nightwalker did not mention any kind of source creature or a Cursed Abomination controlling them, the Flesh of Kanakht did not seem like a Tyrant. As for being a Titan... it could be one, but Sunny would have expected more trouble when facing a creature like that.

‘As if fighting a city full of immortal Great Ones is not trouble enough!’

Nightwalker nodded.

“I would expect so.’

He studied Sunny intensely, then shifted slightly.

“Well... I guess you really do have a chance to conquer this hell. Unbelievable.”

His expression turned wistful for a brief moment.

”And there I was, feeling proud of myself for becoming a Transcendent...”

At that moment, Naeve, who had been silent before, finally spoke:

“The Flesh of Kanakht is not our only problem.”

Nightwalker gave him a curious look.

”Oh?”

Naeve hesitated a little, then nodded.

“The Dutchman is also here”

Nightwalker’s eyes widened a little.

“That thing? It followed you to the Eternal City?”

The House of Night had never engaged in a serious battle against the Dutchman, but having traveled the misty waters of the Stormsea for decades, they had known about the existence of the wraith armada from various chilling encounters and sightings long before this expedition. Nightwalker probably knew more than most.

Sunny shrugged.

”It’s more like we followed it here. It doesn’t matter who arrived first, though, only who will be the one to leave when all is said and done. Jet here is a specialist in disposing of troublesome wraiths. In fact, she’s somewhat of a wraith herself”

Jet smiled.

“When I’m in the mood.”

Nightwalker chuckled. Then, however, his expression slowly grew serious.

A heavy silence settled in the room. Sunny studied Nightwalker and Naeve, wondering why their reunion was so... reserved. The former seemed too aloof, while the latter was seemingly holding himself back.

But neither displayed any noticeable sense of joy.

Perhaps they were simply too shocked to feel anything easily defined yet. Maybe they had never had a joyful kind of relationship, to begin with.

He hesitated for a few moments, then asked:

“If I may ask... how did you end up stuck in this city, Nightwalker? Better yet, how did you manage to get here alone, as a mere Ascended?”

The corner of Nightwalker’s mouth twitched.

”Mere Ascended, huh?”

He remained silent for a while, then sighed. “Who said that I was alone?”

Sunny frowned.

“That was the impression | got after learning about your disappearance from Naeve and Bloodwave”

Nightwalker shook his head.

“I wasn’t alone. I was accompanied by that kid, Asterion, and his followers.”

Sunny winced.

”I’d appreciate it if you would not mention his name.’

Nightwalker grinned.

“Oh, I would be happy too. I don’t particularly like mentioning him either.’

At that moment, Jet asked in a confused tone:

“Why would you take him with you instead of forming an expedition from the champions of the House of Night? And why did you leave the Night Garden behind?” Nightwalker smiled.

“That’s simple. Because I did not want to lose the Night Garden, and I did not want my people to die. Plus... you said that you are putting the immortals to sleep? I was planning to do something similar — fighting them physically is useless, so I needed someone with a powerful Aspect that allowed them to perform mental attacks. Such people are rare, and that kid seemed like a good candidate, being the successor of Heart God and all.’

His expression darkened.

Nightwalker remained silent for a few moments, and then said in a cold tone: ”Of course, I did not expect that the bastard would kill me as soon as we reached the city and he didn’t need me anymore.”