Shadow Slave

The Eternal City, which had been vast and sprawling, had shrunk to a narrow swath of the lake and the shattered remains of the Palace Island. The Palace itself was gone, and the Eternal City was not eternal anymore. Neither name fit now.

The ornate buildings, the vast groves of silver trees, and the splendid plazas had been turned to rubble by the Crushing, then turned to dust and washed away by the ferocious descent of the Stormsea. Only the unblemished surface of dark glass remained, stretching into infinity...

And the radiant Lighthouse that still shone brilliantly despite being submerged in water. Sunny doubted that anyone would ever reach it again. But then again, the future was unpredictable.

The remains of the dome were collapsing. There were mere minutes left before it vanished completely... seconds, possibly.

So, he had to hurry.

As soon as the last stitch was made, the five incarnations of Sunny fused into one. He had already dismissed his Shadows. The colossal figure of the Puppeteer was gone from its perch atop the Dark Castle, and the Dark Castle itself was gone as well.

The Shadow Legion had retreated back into the vast lightless expanse of his soul.

All that remained was to get to the Ivory Island before it dove into the Dream Gate. Looking up, Sunny took a single step and emerged from the shadows of the Tower of Hope.

At the same time, Nightwalker took a single step across folded space and appeared on the emerald grass beside him.

The legendary founder of the House of Night glanced around with a detached expression and asked in an even tone: “What is this place, exactly?”

Sunny looked at the skull of the dead dragon that stared at them with empty eye sockets.

“Ivory Tower. This one was built by a different daemon.”

The Chain Breaker was already resting on the placid waters of the small lake. Beyond it, the pristine white abyss of the Dream Gate was drawing closer and closer, slowly obscuring the devastated Eternal City. Towering pillars of dark water surrounded them on all sides, and above them, the last of the invisible dome was crumbling under the unimaginable weight of the Stormsea. Nightwalker looked ahead, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said in a faintly subdued tone:

“So I am really leaving this place, after all” He let out a long sigh, then smiled faintly. Looking down, he studied the monstrous form of the Flesh of Kanakht that was slowly drowning in rising water far below.

“And we are really leaving that thing behind without killing it. I can’t quite believe it.” Sunny looked down, too. His expression turned a little sour.

”..Yeah. Ah, now there are two Great Titans on my kill list. Don’t worry, I’ll get to them sooner or later.’

He always did.

Sunny turned away, knowing that there was no point in thinking about the Flesh of Kanakht anymore, at the moment. Instead, he began to gather shadow around him, preparing to encase the Ivory Island in a cocoon of them if need be. It was still unclear if they would be able to escape the Eternal City before its dome vanished completely, after all.

In fact, the island swayed just then, pivoting to the side to dodge a crushing waterfall of dark water that suddenly appeared in its course.

Nightwalker sighed, then looked at the Chain Breaker.

”I... want to be on a ship now.’

He took another step, landing directly onto the deck of the ancient vessel. Sunny followed.

Nephis, Cassie, Jet, and Naeve were gathered there. There was no need to steer the ship, but Nephis was focused on controlling the Ivory Island. The other three were behind her.

When Sunny and Nightwalker appeared, they all let out relieved sighs.

Jet, who was sitting on the deck and leaning against the railing, smiled lazily.

“Oh, you’re back. Good... 1 thought you decided to go for a swim.”

Sunny gave her a long look.

”No, thank you.”

Naeve turned to Nightwalker and stared at him with subsided intensity, but did not say anything. Likewise, Cassie remained silent. No one spoke, watching the approaching Dream Gate intently.

The Eternal City was almost entirely gone by then. The grotesque mass of the Flesh of Kanakht had disappeared beneath the waves, and the spot where Sunny had been stitching Nightwalker and his shadow together had been crushed by a pillar of water.

More pillars descended all around the Ivory Island every moment, as if straining to prevent it from reaching the towering white rift of the Gate.

Sunny had escaped a great deal of disaster in his life... granted, few were as apocalyptic as this one. Still, he found it hard to believe that they would actually escape the Eternal City.

And yet, in the end...

They did.

The Ivory Island reached the Dream Gate unscathed. Its edge entered the blinding radiance slowly, and a pristine white wall seemed to erase it from existence.

The wall drew closer as the flying island passed through the Gate, and then swallowed Sunny and his companions.

He closed his eyes a few seconds before, so he did not see the actual second of transition.

But he felt it.

The rain that had been pelting them vanished suddenly. A warm wind caressed his face. The harrowing sounds of a dying city were replaced by blissful silence, and the darkness of the abyssal depths was replaced by gentle sunlight.

Sunny opened his eyes slowly.

A blue sky welcomed him.

‘We made it.

The Ivory Island was flying above the southernmost region of the basin of the River of Tears. The river itself was twisting across a vibrant landscape far below, full and vast.

The Night Garden was resting on its flowing waters, its decks brimming with countless people. After spending a long time away from sunlight, they seemed to have all poured out of the cavernous holds of the living ship,

Many of them were pointing at the sky now, excited by the appearance of the Ivory Tower.

The Dream Gate closed, cutting the connection between this land and the Eternal City.

..Now, the expedition was truly over. Sunny exhaled slowly.

They were safe.

Nightwalker took a deep breath and looked up, a smile slowly appearing on his face. “Ah, the sun. I really did not think that I would ever see it again. One last time.” Turning to Sunny, he bowed slightly. “Thank you. It means more than you can imagine.’

Sunny frowned.

”One last time? What are you talking about? You’ll see it plenty... perhaps even enough times to get sick of it”

Nightwalker lingered for a moment, then shook his head softly.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way:

Just then, a long cut suddenly appeared on his cheek, swelling with blood.

Sunny stared at him, dumbfounded.

‘What? Where did this cut come from?’ Nothing had attacked them.

Nightwalker turned to Naeve, as if intending to say something.

But by the time he did, two more jagged cuts appeared on his body.

“Nightwalker, what the hell is happening?” ”Father!”

He staggered and fell to his knees, letting out a quiet groan.

“No, n—nothing... it’s just,,, mortality. It has a way of catching up with you. ”

Countless wounds had revealed themselves on his body. Sunny finally flinched, realizing what was happening.

The Eternal City still had its claws in its prisoner. Nightwalker might have reclaimed his shadow, and they might have escaped... but that did not erase the past.

So, every wound he had received over the decades was catching up to him now. “Arght!”

His bones cracked with a terrible sound, and his flesh was split open.

He was dying. He was going to die a thousand times over, until there was nothing left of him except scattered fragments of bone and a sea of spilled blood.

“Ah... it’s been a... pleasure. I always thought... I’d die on the deck of a ship...” Sunny stood there, frozen.

‘No, it can’t be. Not after everything I’ve done!”

..Luckily, Nephis was not frozen at all. Appearing near Nightwalker, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked down. “Do not die on this ship, though.’

A soft radiance suffused her skin, and the terrible wounds on Nightwalker’s body began to heal.

And new ones appeared to replace them. His body was mangled, mutilated, and destroyed. His skin was flayed, and his flesh was torn. His limbs were ripped or severed, and his eyes were gouged out.

No matter how used to pain Nightwalker was, he couldn’t help but scream.

However, Neph’s flames healed him at the same rate as he was being destroyed and shredded by the blades of postponed death. In the end, Nightwalker’s body was entirely torn apart.

And yet, Nephis flame healed that damage, too.

‘Come on, come on...”

Sunny did not notice when he had held his breath.

Who was going to win?

The laws of the world, or Nephis?

Naturally...

In the end, Nephis won.

Nightwalker survived.

He escaped the Eternal City, at long last... And so did the rest of them, with him.