Shadow Slave

At some point, Sunny somehow became a person who had experienced and endured more than most people. So much so that bewildering people with honest retellings of his numerous misadventures was one of his favorite pastimes, in fact. In other words, he considered himself to be quite a veteran. Nothing really rattled him anymore, let alone scared him.

However...

As the Night Garden navigated the narrow maze of the Eternal City’s canals, he had to admit that this was quite possibly the most harrowing situation he had ever found himself in. Godgrave, the Burned Forest, Ariel’s Game... nothing could compete with the horrors of the sunken city of the Demon of Repose in scope and scale of their sheer deadfulness.

Perhaps only the Tomb of Ariel could compare — not the endlessly flowing waters of the Great River or its nebulous Estuary, but the inner walls of the ancient pyramid, where a myriad of Dark Butterflies rested on the cold black stone.

He had only glimpsed those detestable creatures from afar, though. The grotesque legion of corrupted immortals, on the contrary — the hosts of the Flesh of Kanakht — was right in his face.

’Goddamit... that’s a little bit too much.’

One of these damned things was already creepy and disgusting enough to make even Effie lose her appetite. But with thousands of them pursuing the Night Garden like two monstrous, slithering rivers of flesh... Sunny felt like he would never be able to enjoy a meal again.

By now, the living ship was surrounded on both sides and besieged. The canals differed in width, but there was never more than a few hundred meters between its hull and the weathered foundations of the islands — a negligent distance for Great Nightmare Creatures.

The cannons roared without pause, and the barrier of slaying starlight still surrounded the Night Garden like a radiant shield. However, that alone was not enough to prevent the immortal abominations from invading its deck, and so most of the pressure fell on the Shadow Legion, which Sunny controlled.

It had been fine at first, but as more and more immortals joined the pursuit, the terrifying battle had become frenetic and feverish.

Sunny was barely keeping it together as he commanded the shades and manned the cannons to push the nightmare creatures back. On top of that, he also needed to destroy any bridge that appeared in the path of the living ship and prevent its pieces from fusing back together until the ship passed. His head was starting to ache.

The noise of it all was unbearable, and the sight of it all was terrifying enough to give even the most seasoned veterans of the Dream Realm nightmares. All the shades of the Shadow Legion, all of his Shadows, and most of his incarnations were engaged in the fierce battle against numerous undying Great Nightmare Creatures — that was indeed a battle unlike any Sunny had fought before.

Needless to say, its carnage and mayhem were peerless.

The pristine expanse of the Eternal City shone with a gorgeous silver light, and the cold waters of the Stormsea rolled above the besieged Night Garden like a dark sky. ”Damn Weaver... why couldn’t that nasty daemon just put pieces of themself somewhere nice and easily accessible...” “Huh? What are you mumbling about?” Sunny glanced at Nightwalker and pursed his lips.

”Just cursing out a dead Demon.”

The youthful founder of the House of Night stared at him silently for a moment, then nodded.

”Ah, I see. Been there, done that.”

At that moment, the air of the runic hall suddenly turned cold, and Jet appeared out of torrents of mist.

She looked around warily, then dismissed her scythe and found herself a chair to sit down.

Despite the harrowing violence happening all around the living ship, she seemed entirely at ease. In fact, she languidly stretched her legs and leaned back in the chair, letting out a Satisfied sigh.

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

”Tired?”

Jet looked at him evenly.

”Dead tired.”

Then, she chuckled and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Sunny smiled, as well, and turned his attention back to the battle.

Only Nightwalker seemed surprised.

”Aren’t you going to help defend the ship? From what I see, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation.”

Jet sighed and spoke without opening her eyes:

”Nobody likes to fight an immortal Nightmare Creature, but in my case, they are simply the absolute worst kind of adversary.”

Sunny nodded quietly. Jet’s soul could not generate essence, so she relied on her Aspect to exist. That Aspect allowed her to absorb a portion of soul essence of those she killed — the fallen immortals of the Eternal City never died, however, which meant that fighting them was harmful to her.

Not only could she not replenish her broken soul, but she had to actively drain its reserves. Worst still, there were no other Nightmare Creatures in this part of the Eternal City, so she could not hunt at all. Jet looked at Nightwalker.

”Don’t worry, though. I am simply saving my strength for the Dutchman.”

He studied her with interest.

”Oh?”

Jet nodded.

”Do you know why they call me Soul Reaper? It’s because my Aspect allows me to directly attack the soul. Among other things, that means that I am custom-made to slay spectral abominations and wraiths of all kinds.”

She smiled darkly.

”The last time we met the Dutchman, I sank a few of his ships. I never got to the flagship, though... maybe I will this time.”

Looking away, Jet sighed.

”l am not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, though. After all, no one knows a lot about the Dutchman — what it is, where it comes from, and what it’s capable of”

Nightwalker chuckled.

”Oh, really?”

He shook his head and then said in an aloof tone:

”You’re mistaken. I might not know a lot about most things... but I do know a thing or two about the Dutchman. After all, that thing had been hunting me down for decades”

Nightwalker looked at Sunny and Jet with a smile.

”Do you want me to share?”