Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

'A Sacred what?!' Eirwen nearly tripped over his own foot, but caught himself before anyone noticed.

The others walked beside him, forming a protective formation around Andromeda. If necessary, Seraphiel could also use his Aspect to lift her and descend carefully, ensuring she didn't fall to her death.

'Do you recall reading about how the time flows here, boy?' Leviathan's voice echoed in his mind, clearly hinting at something.

Eirwen gave a mental nod. 'One of the books said that time and space don't work the way we expect in the Underworld. I could spend a lifetime here, but only a few months would pass in the Waking World.' 

'Exactly,' Leviathan confirmed before continuing. 'All kinds of sentient beings live here, some native to the Underworld, others from other Divine Realms.'

Leviathan's words were meant to clarify, yet they left Eirwen with even more questions.

'Other Realms…?'

Leviathan sighed into Eirwen's mind. He could almost picture the demon rubbing his temples in frustration.

'This is going to be a long talk, boy.'

---

By the time Leviathan finished explaining what the Divine Realms were, Eirwen felt like his brain was melting out of his ears.

'So you're telling me,' Eirwen mumbled, carefully watching his step and surroundings, 'that the Waking World -no, my entire Universe- isn't just one of the Divine Realms, but also the corpse of a God?'

Leviathan nodded, the acknowledgment coming through the weird mental connection. 'Pretty much.'

'And the Dream Realm is also a Divine Realm, one that's slowly consuming the other ones?'

The same nod followed.

Unfortunately, Leviathan's explanation only brought more questions into his mind.

Since Cocytus, the final layer of the Underworld, was located in the Dream Realm, did that mean the other layers were somewhere here as well?

Eirwen already knew that each layer -or each circle- was its own world, connected to the others only by a Fissure, much like the one he had witnessed in the Waking World. So, where are the other layers?

Also, in which Realm was the Underworld originally located? Or was it always in the Dream Realm?

Groaning in frustration at the lack of answers, Eirwen pinched the bridge of his nose which drew confused glances from Andromeda and Raijin.

The cohort was descending a wide slope toward what appeared to be a relatively flat area, surrounded by jagged hills in which they made out titanic cracks that led underground.

That would serve as their shelter for now, though it was a gamble whether they'd find a place to stay or more Nightmare Creatures to face. Hours had passed, and the descent had taken its toll on everybody, leaving them more or less tired. And those caves were their final hope for finding any kind of shelter.

Before Eirwen could bombard Leviathan with the next row of questions, Eliot suddenly spoke up. "We're being followed."

'Huh? How did I not notice that?' Eirwen asked himself as he sharpened his senses, fully focusing on their surroundings. He was fairly certain they were leaving no footprints behind since the howling wind kept sweeping the snow, thus covering their tracks.

But Eliot was right. There was something watching them. Eirwen could feel it now. He'd been so absorbed in his conversation with Leviathan that he had failed to notice the eerie sensation creeping up on him from somewhere.

Both Raijin and Eirwen instinctively moved closer to Andromeda as she furrowed her brows in concentration.

Her mind was already reaching for Aegis Mirror.

If it was a Nightmare Creature, it had to be an incredibly strong one -strong enough to possess the intelligence needed to actually track them, rather than just attacking on instinct.

'Could it be a human?' Eirwen's golden eyes widened slightly. The dark, metallic liquid was swirling around his palm and fingertips. Leviathan quickly dismissed the thought though. 'There's corruption in it, but nothing you kids can't handle.'

Eirwen's brow twitched. 'If you know so much, then maybe tell me what the fuck it actually is?!'

And of course, no answer came, which only intensified the young Sleepers frustration. 'What is the point of having a powerful, demon-like entity in yourself, if that entity doesn't even want to fucking help you out?!'

"Keep moving," he sighed quietly after a moment, refusing to let the demon get under his skin. "We need food anyway. Let's hope it's big enough to feed all of us."

Eliot nearly tripped, then mumbled from behind them, "You want to fight whatever it is? Where have you ever seen a Nightmare Creature that follows you this long before attacking?!"

Waving him off, Eirwen spoke with confidence while keeping an eye on their surroundings through his peripheral vision. "It's probably waiting because it's too weak to take us all on at once."

'But where the hell is that bastard?' Eirwen asked himself as he slowly scanned the area.

The only place it could be was among the massive boulders to their right. The stone jungle -with its towering monoliths that were the size of a skyscraper- made up for a perfect hiding spot, making it easy for anyone to disappear in them.

But those boulders were too far to make sense as the creature's hiding spot.

'Unless…' Eirwen stopped, his gaze shifting downward to his boots. The thick snow covered at least an inch of them.

His eyes widened as a slight vibration rumbled through the ground, as though a speeding train was shooting toward them.

"It's beneath us!" He roared, grabbing Andromeda by the collar of her armor and leaping to the side with all his strength.

In a heartbeat, everything around them erupted into chaos.

Boom!

A massive, grey centipede-like Nightmare Creature erupted from the ground, right where they had been standing only moments before. Snow and stone sprayed into the air like shrapnel. The ground kept trembling even after its emergence.

Eirwen rolled down the slope with Andromeda tightly wrapped around his arms. 

Plunging the claws of his right hand into the snow-packed ground, Eirwen gritted his teeth, using all his strength to dig in and finally come to a stop.

"You alright?" Eirwen groaned before glancing down at Andromeda. Her eyes were wide with shock and her breath came in quick bursts as snow clung to her hair. Yet, she nodded quickly after gathering her breath. "Yes- Yes, I am."

Letting her go, Eirwen looked up just in time to witness another explosion, followed by a violent tremor that rippled through the ground. A shockwave of force and wind swept tons of snow down the slope, threatening to bury them alive under all of it.

Cursing under his breath, he grabbed Andromeda's collar once more before pulling her close, bracing for the avalanche that was quickly closing down on them.

Dark liquid gathered at his fingertips, solidifying into sharp, two-inch-long black claws.

Sinking one hand into the snow-packed ground, Eirwen covered Andromeda with his body, bracing himself for the impact.

The mass of snow and debris was surging toward them akin to a tsunami.

Andromeda screamed, her grip tightening around Eirwen in sheer panic as the avalanche finally collided with them.

It felt like being crushed by a collapsing building. His bones and muscles screamed in agony, every inch of his body begging for a break. Groaning and cursing, Eirwen gritted his teeth, pushing against the suffocating and blinding mass of white.

But after a moment, his vision cleared, and the massive wave of snow had passed them as quick as it came.

Andromeda desperately gasped for air, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her eyes snapped open only after she was sure the worst was over.

Eirwen quickly scanned her over. The snow clung to her armour, but she looked mostly unharmed, only if a bit stunned.

"We have to help the others," she mumbled weakly, pushing herself up as soon as Eirwen let go of her.

And she was right.

Eirwen glanced up, his eyes narrowing as he took in the source of the constant clashes and tremors. Raijin and Eliot were a couple dozen meters up the slope, doing their best to hold their own against the giant centipede.

Its long, jagged limbs lashed out with terrifying speed that shouldn't have been possible for its size. That made it nearly impossible to clash the monster head-on. Yet somehow, the two Dreamers were managing to keep up.

Even if they were already covered in blood and wounds.

Seraphiel on the other hand, stood farther away -blood stained most of his face- so the centipede wouldn't simply crush him. His arms were stretched out as he used his Aspect to assist the others as much as he could.

The young boy was a skilled fighter, no doubt, but he had no business taking on something like that up close.

"Don't come too close. Stay back and use Aegis Mirror like always. If it comes toward you, run to Seraphiel!" Eirwen ordered, summoning the claws on his other hand as well.

[Pressure] and straight hands was really all he needed.

Eirwen's eyes widened as he shot forward, his face depicting pure concentration. The mental connection to his Soulrune reappeared, and he tapped into its strange powers once more.

[New Deal!]