Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

In the middle of an ocean, a sailing ship was moving toward an unknown destination.

At the top of the ship stood a man dressed in black armor, a red cape draped over his shoulders that seemed to be splashed with blood. He had long, fiery red hair and a youthful, handsome appearance.

The red-haired man was humming to himself, enjoying this moment of his life, even though he had been sailing the seas for over a month.

How could he not be happy? His father had finally sent him away from that boring city.

As the Child of War, Medici always craved battle. He had once asked his father for a fight, only for Adam to kick him out of the castle. He still remembered his brother's angry face, which he found quite amusing.

Gazing at the endless ocean before him, Medici sighed. It had been more than a month since he entered the Tomb of Ariel, as his father had ordered.

He had been given two tasks: first, to search for any survivors in the Tomb of Ariel, and second, to retrieve a thing for his father.

When he entered the Tomb, he found himself in the distant future. At that time, he had wanted to enter the Estuary, but he couldn't. He needed to complete his father's task and find the Guiding Light first to locate the Estuary.

So, he ventured across the endless sea, searching for anything alive—even abominations—since he was desperate to kill something.

Looking ahead, he spotted the silhouette of an island.

"This should be Weave..."

Medici continued sailing toward Weave until he finally reached it.

Unlike what his father had seen in the Third Nightmare, this version of Weave was far more destroyed. The islands that were once connected to the center were gone.

Jumping from the deck, he landed on Weave. After looking around for a minute, Medici sighed.

There wasn't a single human left on Weave—only abominations.

Summoning a great sword made of blood-red fire, he searched for any abominations, killing them all in the process.

Finding nothing of value, Medici returned to his ship and continued sailing toward the past.

***

Two months had passed since he left Weave. While heading to the past, Medici found the lost islands of Weave and slaughtered every abomination there.

After two months, he finally reached Fallen Grace. Like Weave, it was destroyed and controlled by the Senior Sybil. As for Dusk, she had already been killed by Sunny during the Siege of Falcon Scott.

Leaving the burned ruins of Fallen Grace behind, he returned to his ship and set sail for the lost temple.

It didn't take him long to reach it. Entering the lost temple, he fought against the Defiled Sybil and its army, slaughtering them just as he had done with the others before.

Passing through the murals, Medici entered the secret room where the Guiding Light was kept.

Walking toward the altar in the center of the room, he picked up the Guiding Light and examined the soul shard atop the staff.

"Lost From Light," he spoke.

At first, there was no response. But then, the soul shard surged with light, pointing toward someone or something.

Medici grinned madly as he looked at the staff. How could he not? The thing he had come to capture was still there in the Estuary. Just the thought of fighting the Vile Thieving Bird filled him with ecstasy.

Medici took a deep breath. He wanted nothing more than to rush into battle, but he still needed to complete his father's task.

He looked at the Guiding Light and spoke again, "Wind Flower."

Once more, the soul shard surged with light, pointing in a specific direction.

Satisfied, Medici left the temple and returned to his ship to continue sailing. This time, his destination was Wind Flower, the daughter of King Daeron.

***

Medici sighed as he looked at the vortex ahead. Unlike the Chain Breaker, his ship would not survive passing through it.

Summoning his crimson wings, he flew into the vortex, ascending toward the island.

The turbulent air around him struck with force, but it was nothing for a Supreme like him.

After a few minutes, he emerged from the tornado and landed on the island.

Even after thousands of years, the island remained the same.

He glanced at the tower in the center and flew toward it.

Many Great Abominations stood in his way, but they were swiftly cut down by his crimson sword.

Entering the tower, he climbed the stairs until he reached the room where Wind Flower lay sleeping.

He opened the door and stepped inside. There she was—a rare beauty with smooth, dewy dark skin free of blemishes. Her exquisite face was soft and lovely, and her wavy hair glistened like black silk. She wore an archaic robe of rich azure with vivid white accents. As she slept, her vulnerable, innocent expression was captivating.

Medici raised his crimson sword and stabbed it through her stomach. However, the sword did not harm her physically; instead, it reached her soul.

The seed of corruption within her was suddenly engulfed by crimson fire.

Every Child of Raphael possessed a unique Aspect. Amon's was related to time, Adam's to fate. Medici's Aspect, however, was a combination of his father's, the Nephilim's, and the Valor clan's, granting him control over fire and iron, as well as complete mastery of his body.

His Ascended Aspect ability allowed him to cleanse corruption completely from anyone, including himself.

The crimson fire burned away the corruption. It tried to fight back, but its enemy was the will of a Supreme.

The fire consumed everything, leaving nothing behind. Wind Flower was the first to notice. She felt it—the corruption was gone.

She awoke from her dream, opening her eyes to see the red-haired man standing before her.

She was speechless. After an unknown amount of time trapped in corruption, she was finally free.

"W-who are you...?" she stammered.

Medici looked at her and replied, "The great Child of War, Medici, son of Raphael."

Wind Flower was overwhelmed with shock and disbelief. "You... did you come from outside the Tomb?"

"Correct. I was sent by my father to search for survivors in the Tomb."

Wind Flower remained silent. Medici didn't wait for her to respond and continued, "Lady Wind Flower, if you come with me, I'll ensure you escape the Tomb."

Wind Flower clutched her clothes tightly. "Can you really get me out...?"

"I can," Medici replied.

Tears streamed down Wind Flower's cheeks as she finally allowed herself to cry. The sound of her sobbing echoed through the tower. After so long, she had found hope.

After some time, Wind Flower composed herself and spoke to Medici, "I'm sorry."

Medici shook his head. "It's okay. I understand."

He stood up and said, "We need to leave the island before the time loop restarts."

He walked over to Wind Flower, lifted her into his arms, and flew out of the tower.

Looking down, he raised his finger toward the sky, and a massive crimson sun of fire materialized.

With a flick of his finger, the sun descended onto the island, obliterating it completely and breaking the time loop.

Medici flew into the darkness beneath the island, entering the whirlpool and reaching its heart.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, both were ejected from the vortex at tremendous speed.

Holding Wind Flower, Medici looked at the Great River but felt no interest in it. Wind Flower shared his indifference.

"We'll go to Twilight," he declared.

Wind Flower nodded silently, following his lead.

After some time, the two landed on the walls of Twilight.

Looking down, Medici sighed. The sight of human bones scattered everywhere was disheartening.

"We're leaving," he said.

Wind Flower remained silent, only nodding in agreement.

The two continued flying toward their next destination before the Estuary: Verge, the land of the Seekers.

"Are you sure about this?" Wind Flower asked.

Medici glanced down at her. "You don't need to worry. You've seen what I'm capable of."

Wind Flower sighed as they descended onto Verge.

Medici looked at Wind Flower and retrieved a Memory—a tool created by his brother Adam. This Memory had a single enchantment: it could store anything, including living beings.

Wind Flower touched the Memory and vanished inside it.

Medici stored the Memory back in his soul sea and turned to face the army of abominations charging toward him.

Above him, thousands of crimson flames transformed into spears.

In mere seconds, the spears rained down like crimson fire, killing hundreds of abominations. Those that survived were consumed by the flames.

Medici summoned his weapons. As the great Child of War, how could he not join the fight himself?

With a mad laugh, he charged into the horde, slashing left and right. The sky rained blood as he bathed in the carnage.

Ahead, he spotted a massive abomination—a Cursed Devil. The sight made his blood boil with excitement.

He strode toward the Cursed Devil, their wills and Authorities clashing.

But the Cursed Devil's will and Authority were no match for the son of a Daemon and a Vessel.

Medici slashed through the abomination, severing space itself and cutting the Cursed Devil in two.

With their leader dead, the abominations fell into chaos. Medici continued his slaughter until he reached the Citadel of Truth, where the First Seeker, Aletheia of the Nine, awaited.

Inside, he found a sprawling mass of festering flesh oozing black liquid.

Without hesitation, Medici thrust his crimson sword into the mass. The fire consumed everything, from its main body to its tendrils.

Exiting the Citadel, he watched as Verge burned and sank into the Great River.

Summoning his crimson wings, he flew away, leaving the destruction behind.

Only one task remained: the Estuary.

***

I've finished my midterms and am finally free for a month and a half. During this time, I'll complete the fanfic, as only the final volume remains. Trust me, I'm cooking up something even better than the plot twists in Volume 4.

Also, I know I promised to upload a chapter last Friday and Saturday, but I was both lazy and busy studying for the midterms I just finished. Please forgive me!

If you have any questions, you can find me in the official Shadow Slave discord. just go to the Fanfiction room, and search for mine, it's named after the FF name.

Leave a review on this fanfic, chapter and some power stones, so more people can read it.

See you again next time👋