Shadow Slave

With the vast sea of silent shadows scattered across the Night Garden, the ship looked almost crowded. Far more people lived here, of course, but people were human-sized, while many warriors of the Shadow Legion weren’t — so, it seemed as if the main deck was drowning in darkness.

The dark figures of the shades contrasted sharply against that stark silver starlight, and it almost seemed as if the Night Garden had become an eerie black-and-white gravure. The living ship looked like the boat of Charon, the soul guide, drifting on dark waters to deliver the shadows of the dead to hell.

It was quite ironic, then, that what surrounded them instead were the sunken streets of the Eternal City — a place devoid of death, one that had been meant to be a paradise but became no different from hell instead.

”Hey, Your Lordship... why is there a giant moth sitting on my ship?” Nightwalker’s voice sounded a little subdued.

Sunny gave him a long look.

”,..It’s not your ship. It’s Jet’s ship.”

He was very happy to have found Nightwalker, a legendary figure among the fearsome Awakened of the First Generation... but he was not going to let Jet be displaced as a result. The House of Night had lost their Citadel to Mordret, and Mordret lost it to Soul Reaper - so, as far as Sunny was concerned, it was hers for as long as she wanted it.

Nightwalker had not shown signs of wanting to get his past Citadel back — in fact, he seemed generally aloof and devoid of any strong desires — but it was better to set the record straight early on.

Indeed... it was definitely not because Sunny was outraged and aghast at the fact that this deadbeat bum of an old mad had the audacity to flirt with Jet, who was so out of his league in all regards that it was not even funny... no, definitely not. Nightwalker cleared his throat.

”Right. Of course.”

Sunny looked away with a satisfied smirk.

”And this moth is here because it’s very helpful. No doubt about it.”

He looked ahead.

”Anyway, we should continue onward - unless we want for those abominations to catch up to us.”

Nightwalker stared at his back for a few moments, then shrugged.

”You’d better load those cannons, then.”

More and more immortals joined the frenzied torrent of hideous flesh that reached over the chasm of the canal toward the Night Garden. It was as if a disgusting red forest was growing on the edge of the island, twisting and slithering while individual nightmare creatures leaped across.

Looking at that nightmarish sight, Sunny could not help but remember the labyrinth of crimson coral that had once covered the Forgotten Shore. Even though that deadly maze would offer little threat to him now, he still could not help but shiver as an unpleasant coldness grasped his heart. That fear was ingrained into it.

”... You don’t have to worry about that.”

The fallen immortals were tom apart by the impacts of the cannonballs, erased from existence by the ranged attacks of the Shadow Legion, and cut to pieces by the slaying rays of silver starlight. A bloody haze permeated the air, and torrents of blood poured into the seething water below, where myriads of tiny abominations hungrily drank them.

No enemy had reached the deck of the Night Garden yet, but if the swarm grew enough while the living ship remained static, the situation could change.

The living ship was already moving, though. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, the Night Garden moved forward through the narrow canal. Sadly, they were facing a peculiar problem..

The canal was just wide enough for an incredibly skilled helmsman to navigate the titanic ship through it, and the surface of the islands was almost level with its deck. However, the tall masts of the Night Garden extended far into the sky, just as tall as the distant spires.

And, therefore, the bridge connecting the two islands was in the way.

”You have a minute!”

Nightwalker’s voice was a little nervous.

Not deigning the warning with an answer, Sunny looked forward coldly.

Hidden from view by the colossal bulk of the Dark Castle, the six cannons installed on the bow of the living ship barked in quick succession and rolled back as they spat out six devastating cannonballs.

This time, Sunny was not aiming at the abominations crossing the bridge, however.

He was aiming at the bridge itself.

The first cannonball impacted like a meteor, making the bridge ripple like a rope and sending a net of cracks running through its great mass. Enormous pieces of stone shot outward like shrapnel, raining down like hail.

The bridge would have restored itself, of course... but just a split second later, the second cannonball hit the same place, exacerbating the grievous damage done to the structure of the bridge.

And then, another...

All six cannonballs hit their mark with uncanny precision, striking the bridge consecutively, but in the span of a single second. The deafening thunderclaps of the six impacts fused into a single, terrifying boom.

That was a level of coordination and accuracy that six cannon crews would have never been able to achieve, but since Sunny was operating the cannons personally, he could pull off the improbable firing sequence himself.

Those first shots had not been wasted futilely, allowing him to correct his aim. Shattered and broken, the great bridge let out a low, rumbling groan...

And collapsed.

Countless tons of stone poured into the canal, taking dozens of fallen immortals with them.

Before the sorcery of the Eternal City could reverse the destruction and pull the pieces back together, massive tendrils of shadow suddenly rose from the bow of the Night Garden and wrapped themselves around the largest chunks of shattered stone, holding them in place. It was as if the living ship was merely a shell hiding the body of a vast, formless, dark monster.

Sunny grunted quietly.

”Oh, that’s...”

That was far more difficult than he had expected.

The power with which the Eternal City was pulling the fragments of the broken bridge back was truly horrifying. So, resisting it, even temporarily, felt similarly dreadful.

The tendrils of shadows rooted themselves in the Night Garden, and as a result, the living ship actually rose a few meters higher above the water.

”A... accelerate a little, damn it!”

Beads of cold sweat appeared on Sunny’s face.

He did not have to endure long, though.

Soon enough, the Night Garden sailed beneath the shattered bridge, its masts passing freely between the suspended fragments.

Dismissing the tendrils of shadows, Sunny let out a relieved sigh and leaned heavily on the pillar. Behind him, the bridge was already restoring itself... but it did not matter.

Having passed it, the Night Garden rushed forward.

Their daring voyage to the heart of the Eternal City had begun.