Shadow Slave: The Blessing of Fate

If push came to shove, Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan would have to face an Awakened Demon one on one and win.

She took in the sight before her, a wide root protruding from below the grey dust—reaching the top of the giant hill in the close proximity.

Sunless had chosen this particular root for a reason. Only the bottom part had been covered by soil. The rest of the root was completely exposed.

When she turned her head, apart from her silver hair, she also noticed a figure approaching them. From the distance it may have looked like just a dot, but Nephis knew exactly who was coming to see them.

Carapace Demon.

The silver bell had not rung, so Nephis assumed the plan was still in action. She picked up the blind girl who stood close by and pulled her onto the Echo's back. Before it simply drove off along with her, she heard a whisper in her mind.

[You have received a Memory: Howling Gale.]

Ignoring the message, she turned her attention to the fleeing Cassie. Nephis couldn't be certain if the Scavenger acted on his own accord, or if Sunless was watching them from atop the hill. Internally, she hoped for the latter option as it comforted her in some way.

With a quiet sigh, she turned back and her eyes locked onto her opponent. A colossal creature was heading her way, her job was to take care of it—a task unfit for a Sleeper.

There was a boundless sea of confidence visible in her striking grey eyes. A resolve unlike any ignited in her pupils in the form of white sparks.

Frankly, she had not gotten used to her Flaw yet. It was a gruesome torture everytime she used her divine powers, her eyes would tear up, and her teeth would grit against themselves.

She continued staring down the incoming enemy and grabbed one of the pots on the ground. Oil spilled on the root next to her, as she continued to empty pot after pot—covering the root in a layer of glistening liquid.

"You better not mess up Nephis…"

***

"A crucial part of this plan also relies on you, Neph. We can't truly be sure when the influence of the tree's hex might hit you. You need a safeguard, perhaps a nice or a bad memory to keep you from being taken over."

Nephis nodded as the pale boy before her lectured her, Sunny took another bite of dried meat and continued.

"Thanks to Cassie, we learnt about a weakness, it's a wound on the demon's chest. Its heart should lie behind the steel layer. You know what to aim for, but that doesn't mean you can act stupid. Don't hurt yourself if it's unnecessary."

Silence took over the camp for a while, Nephis didn't react to his concerns, and as though pushing them off, she talked about the next steps of the plan.

"Once the root is doused in oil, I light it on fire. Cassie will give me her staff before she escapes and I continue to fan the flames. Considering the distance from the tree, the fire would spread through the root slightly before the Awakened Demon reaches me."

Sunny nodded.

"When that happens, you just have to make sure the Awakened Demon doesn't extinguish the fire."

After a short pause, she muttered: "You won't have to worry about that…"

***

It was his second journey up the hill, Sunny held the pots in his hands, and kept repeating one phrase in his mind.

'You are Lost from Light, this tree is a Nightmare Creature that uses a powerful mind hex… You are Lost from Light, this tree is a Nightmare Creature that uses a powerful mind hex… You are Lost from Light, this tree is a Nightmare Creature that uses a powerful mind hex…'

He gazed up at the majestic sight before him, taking in the sheer size of the abominable tree. The lightless expanse of shadows beneath him remained, following him like a dog would its owner.

It blocked off most of the outside influence, and reminded Sunny of the fragment of Shadow God's domain he had obtained in his Third Nightmare. However, the differences between these two powers were quite simple—not as powerful, and he was in full control of it.

Sunny reached the peak of the hill and put the pots on the ground. He turned around and headed to get the last batch of oil remaining, taking a short pause to look at the Soul Devourer.

He felt strange somewhat, doubts began surfacing in his mind—why was he doing all of this in the first place?

Sunny felt himself growing more disattached to reality while an alien intruder tried meddling with his mind. Fortunately, he had kept on repeating the phrase and even bothered to look at his runes to remind himself.

Aspect: [Lightless Shadow]

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow, one whose existence shouldn't be possible. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. Normally, it would be improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master. But what kind of an existence could ever enslave a shadow that managed to break out of the chains cast by light and fate itself?]

Breaking out of the chains of fate and light—feats simply unthinkable for anyone in this world, how could a pitiful tree be able to chain him? Sunny promised himself that he'd never fall into enslavement ever again, his conviction and only goal was to stay free… forever.

If he let himself fall prey to a mere Awakened Terror, what was the point to reliving this hell in the first place?

Chuckling to himself, he muttered under his breath: "Just you wait. I've told you already, I'll burn you to your roots."

***

The crackling sound of burning wood resounded in Nephis' ears. The sight before her was in a way breathtaking, and horrifying at the same time.

It resembled her First Nightmare—the time when she had to torch herself to escape the shackles of the Awakened Terror that locked her in an endless dream. Her sword Dream Blade reminded her of this terrifying experience.

The Fire, which burned in Nephis, felt stronger day by day. The flame she was entrusted with made her feel lonelier than ever before.

Ever since her father, Broken Sword, perished—presumably in a Death Zone—she locked herself off from others. Her clan was betrayed and left alone to rot, while Song and Valor prospered.

Those three ghouls never bothered to help her nor the Immortal Flame… And they would pay for that.

And the thing stopping her at this moment was merely an Awakened Demon—a being whose power could never be compared to the might of a Sovereign.

She used the Howling Gale, the staff that Cassie obtained in her very own First Nightmare, to fan the flames—to nurture them and guide them towards greatness. The fire before grew ferociously in power, as though it listened to her story and wished to help her.

Nephis smiled to herself and dismissed the Memory, summoning a different one instead—the Dream Blade.

Her partner in battle reflected her beautiful ivory face that showed a slight grin. Gritting her teeth, she enveloped the blade in gorgeous white flame. She was preparing to face the Carapace Demon.

***

"While we are at it, when you can, you should trade the armors between each other. The Puppeteer's Shroud is a Memory I've obtained from slaying an Awakened Tyrant and has some degree of mind attack resistance."

Cassie's eyes widened at his words as she shouted out in shock: "A–Awakened Tyrant?! I knew you were strong, but how did you kill that before even being a Sleeper?!"

Nephis just stared at the boy in question, her eyes showed a hint of being proud of her involving herself with him.

He coughed awkwardly and explained: "Well, technically, I wasn't the one to kill it. I just lured it into a sure death and the Spell gave me the kill…"

"A kill is a kill. An Awakened Tyrant is intelligent as well, meaning that even if not in power, you did win against it in the battle of wits and cunningness. You should be proud."

Sunny grinned at her praise, taking in the sweet feeling of hearing her voice speaking so reverently at his achievement.

His face turned somewhat grim as he looked Nephis into her eyes and spoke.

"It may have originated from an Awakened Tyrant, but its main function is still the mind resistance. In a way, it might even be worse at taking damage than the Starlight Legion Armor because it's not a hard steel layer. You should be wary of any cuts… powerful blows would hit hard either way."

***

All of the pots now lay before the great trunk of the Soul Devouring Tree, Sunny took the largest one and brought it over to a certain spot—the top of the root.

It was the very same one that Nephis was damaging below him, in the distance he saw a flame rising and slowly, but surely spreading upwards. He flipped the pot around and let oil streak down the root, making it more flammable than ever.

Sunny emptied all the pots, letting oil not only go down the root, but also drip from the trunk of the tree. Now what remained was climbing the tree, which was fairly simple, and it would turn even easier once he reached the first branches because he could simply jump upwards from there.

As he planned to start the climb, he heard a thundering noise reaching him from the base of the hill. Shivering slightly at the thought, Sunny knew perfectly what the source of that sound was.

Nephis' battle with the Carapace Demon had begun.