Shadow slave fanfic: The Prince of Death

[Aspirant! Welcome to the nightmare spell. Prepare for your first trial...]

Sunny's eyes snapped open.

"I've heard these sounds before!"

Of course he had. This was the voice of the Spell. The same Spell that had once banished him. Hearing it again was strangely... nostalgic.

But was it just him, or did the Spell seem excited? Was it actually happy to see him regress and restart his journey?

"Nah, that would be crazy. Right? Right?"

Sunny shook his head, brushing away the absurd thought. His gaze shifted to his surroundings.

He was back in the body of the temple slave -bound in chains, surrounded by fellow prisoners, marching God knows where. But this time... the body felt different. Stronger. Faster. Deadlier.

Years of preparation had not been in vain. Now, it was time to use them for some real gains.

His eyes landed on a particular figure walking at the front of the caravan—Auro of the Nine.

Last time, he had sacrificed himself on the altar of the Forgotten Temple.

This time, someone else would die in his place.

And to make that happen...

First, Auro had to die.

The caravan eventually came to a stop. The slaves were ordered to sit down and handed meager rations.

Sunny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air was different-cleaner, untouched by pollution. The past felt more vivid than he remembered. And there, nestled among the bushes, were the distinctive crimson petals of Bloodbane.

"Ahh... just like I remember."

Then, as if making casual conversation, he turned toward one of the soldiers in charge and spoke in an unhurried manner.

"Sir, you might want to be alert. It seems like the Mountain King is coming."

The soldier froze. "What!? How do you even know about-"

Sunny shrugged. "I'm a temple slave, am I not? Do you think I wouldn't know something so basic?"

The ability to openly lie was strangely exhilarating for him.

The soldier hesitated, then turned sharply, shouting commands to his comrades.

With this warning, the caravan gained a few minutes of preparation. The panic and chaos would still come... but not to the same scale as last time.

And then, just as expected-

A distant rumble shook the ground.

Chunks of rock and ice fell from above.

The Mountain King had arrived.

The monstrous tyrant landed with a deafening crash, and in the ensuing chaos, Sunny was already moving.

The Awakened tyrant swung its massive limbs at random, sending bodies flying. Using the opportunity, Sunny positioned himself exactly where he needed to be—right in front of the tyrant's incoming attack.

Sunny moved silently, allowing the claw to cut open the chains that held him.

He was free, and next to him, a man was also freed...from life itself that is.

With a violent motion, the dead man's chest burst open, and a writhing creature emerged.

Sunny grabbed it by the sides of its face and strangled it with all his strength. Then, realising it didn't work, he flung it to the ground, grabbed his broken chain, and wrapped it around the larva's throat.

The two struggled for a moment—until the Spell finally spoke.

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Mountain King's Larva.]

A sinister grin spread across Sunny's face.

"If the outskirt rat Sunny could kill one dormant beast... then the current Sunny should be able to kill at least five."

His body moved with practiced ease.

Breaking off two of the creature's fangs, he wielded them as makeshift daggers, then rushed toward another larva.

The creature leapt at him—he dodged, slipped behind it and stabbed the back of its head. Over and over and over again.

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Mountain King's Larva.]

Sunny barely had time to process the kill before a blur of motion caught his attention. —Auro was charging toward him.

At the same time, four more larvae erupted from the surrounding corpses.

The Mountain King, far away, continued to massacre the soldiers, mundane and awakened both. Everything was happening exactly as before.

Except for one thing.

Except for Sunny.

Auro reached him almost instantly, slicing down one larva in a single motion before turning to engage another

But before he could finish it off—

"Oi!! Awakened!" Sunny barked. "You're needed against the tyrant more than here! I already killed two of these so leave them to me!"

Auro hesitated. His eyes flickered to the three remaining larvae, then to Sunny-who brandished his makeshift daggers with confidence.

Then, after a moment's pause...

Auro turned and sprinted toward the Mountain King.

Sunny was left alone with the creatures.

One was already mortally wounded from Auro's blade and would soon die on its own. The other two were untouched.

His Mark of Shadows flared, sharpening his perception. His current body at the peak of human standards for a 16 year old.

Without hesitation, he rushed at the wounded one in the middle.

He jumped on top of the larvae, and landed a downward kick, shattering the creature's skull.

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Mountain King's Larva.]

[You have received a memory.]

The two remaining larvae lunged at him together, but their attacks were predictable—vulgar.

Weaving between them, Sunny summoned the shortsword memory he had just received and cut them down with ruthless efficiency.

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Mountain King's Larva.]

[You have slain a Dormant Beast, Mountain King's Larva.]

Before he could bask in his victory, an all-too-familiar voice rang out.

"Boy!! You did it!!"

Sunny turned.

It was Shifty, standing next to Scholar.

His lips curled in disgust.

He hadn't missed the two. And he wasn't going to let them go, either.

They were despicable people.

And a free source of fragments.

Walking toward them with an icy expression, he watched as they shivered.

"Wha-what are you doin-!?"

Shifty never finished his sentence.

With a single, decisive motion, his head was separated from his body.

Scholar barely had time to scream before he met the same fate.

[You have slain a Dormant Human.]

[You have slain a Dormant Human.]

[You have received a Memory.]

Curious, Sunny summoned the new memory.

[Indecent Desires]— it was a small torch with an ever-burning flame.

"...Could be used as a luminous memory. And as a fire source."

Then realization struck him.

"Wait-does that mean this guy's crimes were...? Oh my God!"

He exhaled sharply. "Honestly, good job, Auro, for killing him last time!"

Shaking his head, he turned toward the battlefield.

"Anyways, Phase One complete. Time to go see the tyrant."

Unsummoning the shortsword and luminous memories, he ran towards the rampaging tyrant.

Upon reaching the scene, Sunny quickly assessed the situation.

There were more soldiers alive than before because he had arrived earlier, and had sent auro here earlier too.

Without wasting time, he relayed his plan—using the heavy wagon to push the tyrant off the mountain. The soldiers felt unsure, but Auro, having seen Sunny's effectiveness firsthand, chose to trust him.

And the others followed him.

That was their mistake...

The soldiers split into action. Two rushed to the wagon. Sunny grabbed a chain and threw it around the tyrant's limb, while throwing the other part to the soldiers to bind it to the wagon.

More soldiers died in the process. But some survived. They fought desperately against the tyrant, trying to throw it off the cliff.

And in their desperation...they did not realise that sunny hadn't moved an inch.

At the last moment, Auro lunged forward and struck the Mountain King's leg, throwing it off balance.

The wagon was finally pushed over, sending the beast tumbling down the mountain.

But in the process...

Auro collapsed to one knee, panting heavily—completely exhausted.

His neck was exposed.

And that was all the treacherous slave needed.

In a swift motion, Sunny appeared behind him, summoning his sword.

With all his strength, he brought it down in a brutal slash.

Auro of the Nine—hero of Sunny's Nightmare and Rebel of the empire—died before he could ever react to his adversary.

Sunny exhaled slowly.

"Phase Two: Complete."

[You have slain an Awakened Human, Auro of the Nine.]

[You have received a Memory.]