Shadow Slave

The Shadow Realm had not changed much since Sunny visited last. Granted, that visit had happened quite recently, during the final battle for the Eternal City.

Sunny himself, however, felt a bit different. The Spirit Weave had enhanced his Will, making the world feel much more malleable. It altered the inherent nature of his Will, as well, granting it a second innate affinity — or at least greatly enhancing what had already been there.

Before, the main trait of Sunny’s will was Death. Now, however, he also felt a strong connection to Fate. He did not know what to do with that affinity, and honestly, it was quite paradoxical for his Will to possess it — after all, he was a fateless being.

Fateless, masterless... Sunless.

Sunny’s whole existence seemed to be built around the absence of things.

Perhaps that was why he found the vast, silent, empty expanse of the Shadow Realm so soothing.

Walking across the obsidian dust and enjoying the silver radiance of the distant essence storms, he inhaled the cold air deeply.

”Still... I’ve done well for myself.”

As someone who had been deprived of so many things, Sunny sure managed to achieve a great deal. He was a Supreme Titan, the ruler of the Forgotten Shore, the Lord of the Dark City, the commander of the Shadow Legion... he was also incredibly wealthy, highly accomplished in various fields, and very difficult to kill.

There was someone far more difficult to kill nearby, though.

Reaching the Graveyard of Serpents, Sunny walked over to the spot where the broken figure of Eurys used to rest against the ancient bone. Strangely enough, the talking skeleton was nowhere to be seen — there were, however, traces left in the dust. Sunny followed them.

He found Eurys a dozen kilometers away, laying listlessly at the bottom of a tall hill. The skeleton seemed to have crawled his way here, tried to climb the hill, and rolled back quite a number of times.

Now, his empty eye sockets were staring at the dark sky expressionlessly.

Clicking his tongue, Sunny sat on the dust nearby.

“Where were you going?”

Eurys remained silent for so long that Sunny began to suspect that he had really managed to die.

However, eventually, the creaky voice resounded from the depths of the cracked skull:

”My, oh my. I assumed you would never come back, boy. So, I took matters into my own hands.’

He paused, and then added:

”I had to take them into my hands because my legs are broken. I can’t really move my feet.”

The skeleton laughed at his own joke, his jaw making loud clacking noises.

Sunny observed him with a faint smile. “Oh? Right, I remember... you wanted to reach the heart of the Shadow Realm. To die properly before time catches up with you and you turn into a mad beast.”

Eurys nodded.

”That’s right.”

Sunny shook his head.

”I guess it must be a coincidence that the Void Gate is also situated at the heart of the Shadow Realm. You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you? And about how it was opened.”

Eurys stared at him curiously.

“Oh, it was opened? My, oh my! I did not know.”

It was difficult to say if he truly did not know or was simply pretending. Eurys had been nailed to that tree before the very end of the Doom War, after all. So, he would have been hanging on it powerlessly by the time the daemons decided to pull their last gamble.

Nether, Hope, Ariel, Mirage, and Rime...

No, actually, wasn’t there one more?

Eurys clicked his jaw.

”Anyway, I wasn’t planning to go to the heart of the Shadow Realm to die. It’s just what shadows do, so I thought I’d follow the proper etiquette and get the full experience. A semblance of natural death, if you will. I had no idea that someone opened the Void Gate... well, actually, that’s a lie. I had an inkling. I don’t really care about it, though.” He stared at Sunny with his empty eye sockets.

“Whether it’s open or closed, what difference does it make to me?”

The skeleton chuckled.

”Anyway, you seem a little different, boy. I’ve been crawling up this hill over and over again for a while. What has been happening to you?”

Sunny smiled darkly.

“Me? My, oh my... so many things have happened. I don’t even know where to start.”

Eurys gave him an unamused stare. “Damnation. Start anywhere, then.”

Sunny chuckled.

”Well, let’s see. First, I went to the Jade Palace and got sucked into a game created by the Demon of Dread. There, I battled Great and Cursed abominations, conquered a bunch of mountains, blew up one or two, and finally had to face my own doubts. In the end, I squished a very talkative moth and escaped.”

His eyes glistened dangerously.

”Oh, I also witnessed the end of the world and had a one-sided conversation with the Demon of Fate. They stared right at me and called me an epigone. Ah, it was quite shocking.”

Eurys stirred slightly, then said in a neutral voice:

“There is no way. There is no way that Weaver is still alive.’

Sunny’s smile widened a little.

”Oh, they’re not. But when has something like that ever stopped the gods or the daemons from talking?”

He lingered for a moment, then added: ”Anyway, Weaver showed me how the gods died and how the world ended. So... I went and wrote a very comprehensive research paper about it. That took some time. Caused quite a stir, too.”

Eurys let out a dubious laugh.

”A... research paper? Oh, you are a philosopher! I knew a few philosophers once. Anyway, that sounds like a lot. No surprise that you have been so busy.”

Sunny grinned.

”Oh, that is not all! After winning that game, I went to Mirage Castle and got sucked into a huge mirror. There was an entire city hidden in that mirror, actually, and I had a swell time there. Hunting down serial killers, being screamed at by aged policemen, having therapy sessions with my radiant Shadow, and riding a metal carriage propelled by myriad tiny explosions. Oh, I also discovered chocolate milk and a pastry called a donut. No earth-shattering discoveries this time, though.”

Eurys stared at him for a moment.

“Do not? What a strange name for a pastry. By the way, while I do not know what kind of therapy your shadow was administering to you, exactly, I do think that describing your own shadow as radiant is a bit in poor taste. Humility is the most attractive quality for a young man, you know.’

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

“Says who? I think tasteful boasting is far more attractive. And all boasting is tasteful if I’m the one doing the boasting, so... oh, did I tell you that I conquered the southern reaches of Heart God’s forest, became the most accomplished enchanter of humanity, seduced the most beautiful woman in the world, and am one of the wealthiest people in existence?”

Eurys remained silent for a long while after that.

‘He’s probably busy admiring my accomplishments. Well... understandable!’

In the end, the ancient skeleton mumbled quietly:

”I think you did mention being that loathsome girl’s partner...”

Sunny grinned.

“That’s right!”

He studied Eurys for a bit, then shrugged. “Well, anyway. I helped destroy that Mirror City and escaped. After that, I commandeered the ship of Repose, uncovered a map to ancient treasure, battled all kinds of sea monsters to reach it, defeated an army of immortal Nightmare Creatures to claim it, brought a dead legend back to life... oh, and then destroyed another city. Come to think of it, I’ve been destroying too many cities as of late, haven’t I?”

Eurys gave him a reserved look.

“My, oh my. I’d say. And you’ve only been gone a few months...”

Sunny shrugged, then smiled.

“Oh, right. I also learned quite a few interesting things about the Nine. Like what Slayer’s name was. And where you guys come from.”

His smile turned menacing, and a deep darkness drowned his eyes.

“And what you bastards did. Learning something like that would have made me very angry, don’t you think... Prince Eurys?” Eurys stared at him with his empty eye sockets, expressing no particular emotion. Eventually, he laughed.

”My, oh my! Nobody has called me a prince in ages...”