Unbeknownst to the entire population of the Dark City, another battle raged beneath the shadows of the Bright Castle.
Three of the deadliest Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore clashed, not for conquest, nor for glory, but for reasons far more sinister… and selfish.
The Treacherous Shadow fought out of spite: the one thing he could never leave behind.
The Executioner of the Bright Lord fought for loyalty, seeking to lay the heads of his foes at his lord's feet.
And the Heinous Blasphemer… fought for nothing. Nothing at all but his own survival. Or perhaps that was what the two Sleepers estimated, and the truth remained shrouded in mystery.
Though, what neither the Executioner nor the Treacherous Shadow could comprehend was that the Blasphemer's schemes ran deeper, far deeper than the abyss of the Dark Sea itself.
A battle royale began, one that would decide not only the fate of the Sleepers… but also the survival of the ancient citadel of humanity: the Dark City.
Right here, right now, only one question remained:
Who will prevail...
Sunny crashed into Harus, hurling the Prowling Thorn as he did. The barbed chain wrapped around Amon's leg, and with a sharp tug, the kunai's string pulled him off balance toward Sunny. Amon cursed under his breath, his gentlemanly smile twitching. Twisting in midair, he caught himself gracefully, using the shattered wooden hatch as a platform to land softly on the corridor floor while Sunny and Harus rolled down a long flight of stone stairs, leaving the chaos of the great hall behind.
The great hall above still thundered with screams and the clash of steel. Blood poured across the white marble like rivers. But here, in the wide corridor, the havoc felt muted and distant. Only three preternatural Sleepers remained.
Amon tilted his head as Sunny and Harus rose to their feet. His eyes flicked to Sunny's weapon, and his smile thinned. The Midnight Shard was nowhere in sight, of course not. Amon had stolen the Austere Tachi, after all. Instead, Sunny's hands gripped a long, black odachi.
Amon's brows arched in faint surprise. So… he already unlocked his Aspect Legacy? The Soul Serpent… taking the form of an odachi?
Interesting… He had traumatized Sunny just enough to push the boy to his limits, resulting in Sunny unlocking the first step of the Shadow Dance far sooner than in the novel, he remembered. Amon looked down, slightly dejected. Failure from success, huh?
But Amon's musings ended the moment Sunny spoke.
"…How wonderful. We're finally alone… just the three of us. And I'm sure you both understand… only one of us will leave this place alive."
There was a dark, icy fire burning deep in his eyes, and it confused Amon. It was as if both Amon and Harus were his mortal enemies… Understandable for Amon, he had made dude's life a living hell but Harus? That was confusing. Sunny had never met the hunchback, not in this reality where Amon had intervened and altered history. In this timeline, Harus had never chased Sunny and his cohort like in the novel. The only time Sunny had seen Harus was at the very beginning, witnessing how he executed the sleeper.
The hunchback tilted his head, his glassy eyes unblinking, silent as a tomb.
Amon sighed softly, brushing a hand down his aristocratic coat, one of the memories he had stolen from the castle guards. He liked it a lot; it gave him the sophisticated air of a nobleman… eh, he really lacked the title of duke. Such a pity, indeed.
Still, his smile faltered, and he muttered under his breath:
"And I wonder what I'm doing here, Sunless…"
Sunny smiled darkly, leaning his weight on the odachi and spitting with venom,
"Don't think I don't know you were the one who tortured me for months!"
Harus blinked, surprised, and glanced at Amon, who adjusted his monocle with a faint, resigned smile.
Sunny tightened his grip on the hilt with both hands and took a step forward, now fixing the hunchback with a furious gaze.
"You embody everything I despise. The mere fact of your existence offends me. You sicken me and for that reason alone I am going to end you. You don't deserve to live."
Harus remained motionless, blinking but saying nothing. Sunny stopped a few meters away, snarling at the lack of response.
"Do you have any idea what I had to do? What I had to sacrifice? How many things I had to give up to save myself from becoming someone's slave? And here you are… living as one of your own free will. Bastard, what gives you the right? Who gave you the idea that you can breathe the same air as I do?"
He turned that same hatred on Amon, eyes blazing with fury and a hint of madness. His words hissed like poison.
"And you… pathetic leech who lives by sucking others dry. You're as much a slave as that bastard, doing whatever Medici wants, tailing him like a loyal shadow. I'm sick of you, bastard. Damnation... Today I will butcher you. And believe me, I will enjoy it."
Amon was momentarily stunned. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked down at the small man... literally small. Sunny really was that short. Amon had grown considerably; at 1.80 meters, he was slightly above average, but Sunny… well, more like 1.65 meters. Amon almost felt a pang of pity.
He glanced at him and let a humorous smile slip out.
"Well… that's something. Are you sure you ain't Lex Luthor's bastard? I mean, that level of hate and envy is rare, dude."
Harus looked down, irritation darkening his face. "When will you shut up, you worms?"
Sunny clenched his teeth and glared back with pure hatred. "Who's worm, bastard!?"
Amon gave a wry smile. "I mean, thanks. I'm a little embarrassed now, no need for compliments like that." Both men stared at him, weirded out.
Amon's smile faded into something more thoughtful as he regarded Harus. "I think two of us don't have any reason to fight. How about we kill this little cunt and go our separate ways?"
Sunny blinked, the first look on his face was desbilief, then fear, as a sinister smile spread across Amon's features. The hunchback only shook his head faintly.
"No need. I will kill you both."
"That's a pity, then. I like you, though." Amon said, regret threading his voice.
The hunchback nodded. "Perhaps you're interesting, worm, but we're on opposite sides. It's rare to see someone who isn't either disgusted by me… or afraid. Now... It's time we end this pathetic exchange."
He spoke, and then everything went black. Both Sunny and Amon lost their sight. That was Harus's ability: to steal the sight of his enemies. But that didn't mean Sunny was helpless.
He could still sense his surroundings through Shadow Sense. Harus's shadow lingered within reach of his perception. Fighting like this was difficult, Shadow Sense couldn't fully replace his eyes yet, but he could manage.
As for Amon… he only smiled and activated his spirit vision. The world returned, not in light, but in the stark glow of essence. He could see the auras exuding from Ether Bodies, and the Ether Bodies themselves...
Which meant he could fight. It was Luna who first learned Spirit Vision and later taught Amon. Her spirituality was so strong that she could instinctively use it, but Amon struggled at first. After a few more tries, however, as the Swindler, he managed to master it. As for Medici… he still couldn't use it, most likely due to his lack of spirituality. He could handle the basics, but not at the level of Luna or Amon.
Flesh, blood, bone, mind, soul, shadow… and lastly, spirit. His enemies possessed spirit bodies, and he was capable of perceiving them. Even if his physical sight had been stolen, it no longer mattered. Spirit vision steadied him, restoring his composure and combat ability.
That was why he managed to intercept Sunny's odachi, steel screaming against steel, and immediately retaliate with a strike of his own.
With a thought, Amon shed his tattered aristocrat's attire. The memory shimmered into white sparks and vanished, replaced by assassin's robes fitted with hidden blades, and the tachi now firmly gripped in his hand.
At the same time, sparks of white light wove themselves into a heavy chain. It coiled into existence, wrapping around Harus's arm from wrist to elbow, then tightening across his knuckles like a brutal gauntlet.
The hunchback grimaced and straightened, his spine cracking as he forced himself upright. A moment ago, he had seemed no taller than Sunny. Now, he loomed over both of them, nearly as towering as Tessai once had. His warped frame radiated a vicious, bestial power that pressed down on the corridor like a weight.
Amon's smile slowly vanished as he caught sight of the monstrous punch and the gleaming edge of an odachi rushing toward him. His eye narrowed, and he leapt back, dodging the blade first, then seizing Sunny, who hadn't yet adjusted to his Shadow Sense. With one brutal motion, he flung him forward.
The hunchback's fist met Sunny's chest with a sickening crack, launching him across the floor. The young man gasped for air, bones straining under the impact as he collapsed.
While Sunny struggled to rise, Harus turned his attention fully to Amon. The chain twisted and snapped, lashing through the air before wrapping tightly around the midnight shard. With a savage tug, Harus yanked, dragging Amon toward him.
Amon yelped but panic never fully claimed him. His body was built for adaptation, for impossible maneuvers. Just before being pulled into the hunchback's crushing grip, he drove a hidden blade into the wall, arresting his momentum. The midnight shard slipped from his hand, dissolving into white sparks before it could reach Harus.
There was no time to resummon it. Harus was already upon him, chain coiled and fist descending like a hammer.
Amon twisted, preparing to leap back, only for the air behind him to darken. Sunny reappeared, odachi poised for his spine.
But before the blade could pierce him, Amon made his move. With a flicker of his wrist, he stole the wooden hatch beneath Sunny's feet, making Sunny stumble, losing balance, and his strike went wide.
Amon snatched the shaft midair, spinned it, and then kicked it toward Harus. The hunchback shattered it instantly, but the brief disruption gave Amon the chance to put some distance between himself and the two mentally ill weirdos.
Amon grimaced. He couldn't steal the Soul Serpent, it was part of Sunny's soul. Besides, being a living entity made any attempt to take it completely useless.
That left only the chains. Each time he flicked his wrist, attempting to steal them, the theft sputtered and failed. The chains remained beyond his grasp, not because of raw power, but because he lacked the information the Theft required.
Harus was a mystery. There was no information about the hunchback or his arsenal, aside from his ability which Amon already knew about from the Novel and what everyone knew of the Butcher of the Bright Lord.
This was dangerous... Amon felt a surge of irritation at the developments. He was the kind of guy who minded his own business: steal what he wanted, live comfortably, and avoid other people's chaos. He didn't care whether someone was a murderer, a slave, or an edgy delulu.
That was why being dragged into this fight annoyed him so much. He'd been pulled in because of the petty antics of a homeless orphan and now had to trade his time and effort for something he never asked for.
Should I just kill them both and walk away? he wondered, voice like gravel in his head. This is getting absurd. Let them kill each other, why should I fight? I can grow stronger by doing nothing. I don't like being forced into this kind of bullshit. And Sunless… the fuck do you think you are? Did you forget I know your true name and could make you my bitch? Or are you trying to kill me because of that exact reason… Should I just… Lost from… No. I will do far worse to make your life miserable, you wretched pussy. Your entire life will become a joke I will laugh about.
Fine, then. I'll crush you both, he thought, irritation curdling into cold resolve. He glared at the two shitheads, letting the rage warm him like a torch.
And then he ran... Embarrassing.
Harus and Sunny blinked, tightening their grips as Amon dashed forward, only for him to bolt past them and vanish down the corridor at impossible speed.
For a beat, they stood frozen, expressions lost and confused, until their eyes snapped toward the running silhouette of Amon. Both screamed, enraged.
"Get back, you coward!" Sunny spat.
"Pathetic worm… where are you running to?" Harus snarled.
"Thanks for the compliments, you dumb fucks!" he yelled at them and vanished. Ahh... He truly was a practitioner of the cowardly path.
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[A/N: So, what do you guys think about the fight? Yep, Amon can use Spirit Vision, I tried adapting that ability from Lord of Mysteries into the world of Shadow Slave. Amon's really a lazy bum at heart, bros allergic to physical activity. Anyway, what do you think he's planning now? I'm pretty sure none of you will guess it, heh. I got hyped while writing this chapter, and I think I finally managed to adapt to this shit. I'm still sick, but not as bad as yesterday and beer helped for some reason. Well, that's it for today. Enjoy the meal, weirdos!]
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