Shadow Slave

Caged in the darkness, Sunny had a lot of time to think. All around him, a horde of Nightmare Creatures waited for their turn to be slaughtered in the bloodsoaked arena, a few unfortunate human slaves among them. Here in the nightmarish dungeon, both abominations and people were the same, equal in the face of inevitable death.

His thoughts returned to the very start of the trial, to the announcement the Spell made. Five brave ones… someone else had entered the Nightmare with them, and Sunny had a good idea who.

Mordret… the Prince of Nothing still lived, against all odds, and had found a way to reach his goal. Perhaps his reflection had hidden in the eyes of Saint Cormac, and then slid unnoticed into either Effie's or Kai's.

Was one of his friends dead?

No… no, that didn't make sense. If Mordret had devoured one of the souls aboard the ancient flying ship, then someone would have noticed. The Fire Keepers were a close group, and knew each other too well to miss a sudden change in the demeanor of one of them.

As for Effie and Kai, if they had fallen victim to Mordret's terrifying Ability, then there would have been only four souls entering the Nightmare.

But who was to say that the Prince of Nothing had to invade a soul once his reflection jumped into the person's eyes? Maybe he could just hide in the reflections, biding his time and waiting for an opportunity to find a better vessel.

And speaking of vessels…

Sunny studied his monstrous body, his black eyes full of a somber apprehension.

Why had he been sent into a body of a demon? The Spell was supposed to find suitable vessels for the challengers… had he been made into a hideous abomination because of his three shadow cores? After all, it was hard to find a human with a soul worthy of a Divine Aspect.

If so… was Mordret in the body of a Terror right now?

Hidden in the darkness, Sunny shivered.

Yes, this was most likely the case. This fact had the potential to either reveal itself to be a blessing, or a curse.

In theory, all five of them had the same goal — to resolve the conflict of the Nightmare and Ascend. So, having a Terror fight on their side would be a boon, no matter how much resentment Sunny had for the bastard. He also suspected that Mordret wielded the ivory knife, increasing their chances of success even further.

But Sunny also remembered what Master Jet had told them… not all of the Awakened trying to conquer the trial of the Spell had to pursue the same goal. Sometimes, their solutions and ideals clashed, making them enemies.

The idea of having Mordret as an enemy in this already insurmountable hell scared him. The Prince of Nothing… was maybe the most dangerous opponent he had ever faced.

Would Mordret turn on the other four humans that had entered the Seed? It was impossible to tell. He was not cruel for the sake of cruelty, and was not nearly as insane as everyone seemed to think. His hatred was directed toward Valor, and not them. But at the same time, Sunny could not say that the banished prince was completely of sound mind.

Something about him… when Sunny looked Mordret in the eyes, it felt as though something was missing in them. It was a very small difference, but one that made facing the Prince of Nothing strangely unsettling.

Mordret was a wild card, one whose actions Sunny simply could not predict.

'...No point in dwelling on it right now. Unless I find a way to escape this morbid place alive, all that awaits me is death, anyway.'

He shifted and hissed slightly as pain radiated through his body, originating from countless wounds.

Sunny thought back to his battle in the arena.

Strange… it was all so strange.

Some of his powers were gone, but others remained. His Aspect seemed to be unaffected, by his connection to the Spell was gone.

Then, did this mean… did this mean that an Aspect was not a part of the Spell, but instead existed outside of it?

Trapped in an unbreakable enchanted cage, Sunny scowled.

A long, long time ago… back when he had passed the First Nightmare and received his Aspect… it had felt as though the power was coming from somewhere deep within him, as opposed to from an external source.

Was the Spell only awakening inherent powers that were locked inside human souls, and not creating them?

'Wait a minute…'

Come to think of it… Auro of the Nine had claimed to be an Awakened, and while the youth sitting silently in the nearby cage had not said it, he was an Awakened, too. But in this ancient past, the gods were still alive, and so were the daemons.

Their terrible war had not started yet, and Weaver had not disappeared to create something that would spell doom for both the six gods and the six daemons… to create the Nightmare Spell.

If Sunny's suspicions were correct, of course. Than meant the Nightmare Spell had not even existed yet, in this era.

But Awakened did.

As well as Nightmare Creatures… or the Corrupted, as the youth had called them.

Sunny's vertical pupils narrowed.

Were the Nightmare Creatures… not created by the Nightmare Spell, as well?

'What the hell…'

The very idea seemed strange and ridiculous. The Spell had appeared in the waking world, causing the first Nightmare Creatures to be made from the bodies of those infected by it, and for the first generation of the Awakened to be born.

It summoned those Awakened into the Dream Realm, which was populated by the abominations, and pushed them toward seeking out and challenging the Seeds of Nightmares. Unless a Seed was conquered, it eventually opened a path for more monsters to enter reality.

The very idea of Nightmare Creatures, Aspects, and Awakened was inseparable from the Spell.

And yet… somehow, it was?

'What... what does it all mean?'

Sunny ground his fangs, overwhelmed by a myriad of thoughts, and a lot of confusion. It seemed as though the very foundation of his worldview had suddenly turned out to be built on shifting sand…

He closed his eyes and scowled, feeling a dull headache approaching, then raised two hands and rubbed his face, careful not to slice it open with the claws.

Suddenly, the cage next to his swayed. The young Awakened stood up and grabbed the bars, staring into the darkness.

A few moments later, he said hoarsely:

"Demon… hey, demon. Wake up. They're coming!"