Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

"Nephis!"

Sunny rushed toward the fallen Nephis, his face etched with concern.

Nephis, now using her fire to heal her neck, looked up at Sunny.

For the first time, Sunny saw Nephis crying. He didn't know why she was crying, but it stung his heart. He didn't understand why, but it didn't matter.

The four of them helped Nephis sit on the couch.

"Princess, give me one reason why I shouldn't go find that bastard and kill him." Effie said, her voice full of anger.

Nephis looked at Effie for a moment before saying, "You can't kill him, Effie."

"Why do you say that? It's not like he's unkillable or something."

Nephis didn't reply, she just sighed.

Sunny looked at Nephis and asked, "Nephis, you said he has a Sacred Aspect. Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Nephis seemed surprised by the question.

"I'm pretty sure I saw more than one core inside of his Soul Sea."

All of them stared at Sunny in disbelief.

"Do you mean he has a Divine Aspect, like you two?" Effie screamed.

"That's not the problem." Sunny replied. "He has seven cores. He's a Titan."

Silence. The room was quiet until the sound of the couch breaking was heard.

Everyone turned to look at Cassie.

"Ah... sorry." Cassie said sheepishly.

'My couch! Do you know how much it cost?' Sunny thought but didn't dare say it aloud.

"There's only one meaning to this." Nephis finally spoke. "His Aspect must have evolved from a Sacred to a Divine Aspect."

"Is that even possible, Lady Nephis?" Kai asked.

"We don't know, but if that's what happened, then yes, it should be possible." Nephis replied.

"Will we have another Mordret? Because, gods help us, that bastard is enough." Effie muttered.

"Sunny, I'm going to my room." Nephis said.

"Ah, yes, sure. Have a good night." Sunny replied.

"Hey, doofus, I'm gonna stay here tonight." Effie said as she walked up the stairs.

Cassie didn't say anything but followed Effie.

Kai looked at Sunny and asked:

"So, do you have any room for me?"

"Nah, you're sleeping on the couch."

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Kai, just waking up, looked at the table in front of him. It was covered in boxes, and on top of the pile, there was a paper that read [Call this number].

"Everyone, come here!" Kai screamed.

After a minute, Effie was the first to appear. She looked at Kai for a second, then at the pile of boxes, pointing at it.

"What is this?" Effie asked.

Kai didn't respond, just shrugged.

A few minutes later, the rest of the Cohort gathered.

"So, should we call the number? It must be him." Sunny said.

Nephis didn't say anything. She took out her phone and dialed the number.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Raphael's voice came through the phone.

"I can hear you, Raphael." Nephis said.

For a moment, Raphael's voice went quiet.

Sigh... "Look, I know you're angry, and so is everyone else. I even blame myself for how stupid I was. But you must also know what the Underworld was like, Nephis. I wasn't in my right mind yesterday."

Raphael paused before continuing.

"I'm truly sorry for what I did yesterday, but I know sorry isn't enough. That's why I brought something that will make you forgive me."

"You think we'll forgive you because you brought gifts?" Effie said, her tone tinged with anger.

"Yes." Raphael replied.

"Dream on, big guy." Effie said.

"Since you're the first to speak, let's start with you. In the pile of boxes, there's a long one. Inside, you'll find a Transcendent Spear, capable of killing a Corrupted Tyrant in a single, ultimate attack."

Effie had already started opening the box. As she heard the word "Memory," she looked at the spear inside.

"If I'm right, you should have already opened the box. To make the Memory yours, you just need to pour your essence, and it's yours."

Effie did as instructed. The spear disassembled into white particles and entered her body. After a moment, Effie looked at the Cohort, who were also staring at her.

"I forgive him."

Sunny stared at her in disbelief. She was the angriest of them all, and just like that, she forgave him!

"Hahaha... I knew you were smart. Now, for Master Kai, in the box on the far right, there's a Transcendent Bow. This bow can duplicate any arrow you have in your arsenal. It can also merge two different arrows into one without sacrificing the original arrows."

Kai hesitated at first, but eventually, he accepted the bow.

"For Sunny, I have two gifts for you. The first one is inside the smallest box. Inside is an orb of darkness. If you let your Shadow absorb it, it will become one class higher."

Sunny opened the box, and immediately, Saint emerged from his shadow, took the orb, and consumed it. The Nightmare Spell whispered in his ears:

[... The Marble Saint is evolving.]

Sunny was already happy with this, but Raphael didn't stop there.

"The second gift is a black Odachi capable of cutting both the Body and Soul. I won't explain it further since you can read the description of your Memories thanks to your lineage."

Sunny wasn't surprised Raphael knew about his lineage—Nephis had already mentioned that he somehow knew.

"Next is Nephis. Since your fire can destroy your Memories, I gave you both armor and a sword capable of withstanding your flames. You can ask Sunny about its abilities."

Nephis nodded and took the armor and the sword.

"Finally, Cassie... Your gift is an Echo that can transform into anything. By transforming it into eye lenses and wearing them, you can share your vision with it using your ability. Since it's an Echo, there must be contact to transfer the it, so we'll need to meet. If you want, we can meet after the Valor banquet."

Cassie accepted the proposal.

"Good. Enjoy your new Memories. If any are destroyed, feel free to call me for a replacement," Raphael said.

"Yes, Daddy."

Silence. Everyone stared at Effie with questioning looks.

"What?" Effie said, suppressing her laugh.

"You're really are whore, aren't you?" Raphael's voice said from the phone.

"Hahaha—,Just for you." Effie replied.

The call ended.

Sigh... "We need to be ready for the banquet next week," Nephis said.

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In an abandoned alley, Raphael sighed and ended the call.

'Will that went good.'

In front of him was the dead body of a handsome young man with short black hair and blue eyes.

Raphael looked down at the lifeless body. He was the heir to one of the higher clans, led by a Saint. The clan was associated with the Valor clan.

As the heir to the clan, he had been invited to the Valor banquet.

Raphael's body began to change, resembling the dead man in front of him.

Darkness rose from his feet and engulfed the body.

Once the transformation was complete, he walked out of the alley. Waiting for him was an old man dressed in a butler's uniform.

"Young Master." the butler bowed his head.

"Let's go." Raphael replied, stepping into the car.

"Yes, Young Master."

Inside the car, Raphael smiled.

'Everything is going according to plan.'

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If we reach top 100 in the rankings I will upload another chapter today.