Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Chapter 45: Inevitability of Fate



"Anything that could go wrong will go wrong." Murphy's Law.

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Sunny looked in front of him as Cassie exited the ketch and set foot on Verge.

In his hands was the Guiding Light, brimming with radiance.

Ahead of Cassie stood Raphael.

"You are here…"

Raphael smiled and nodded.

"I'm here to talk to him."

Cassie nodded and moved past him.

He looked back at her and said:

"Cassie, make sure you don't use your ability, okay?"

Cassie sighed and nodded.

Satisfied with her response, Raphael smiled and walked toward the ketch, sitting in front of Sunny.

Sunny looked down at the ketch floor and said:

"I... I'm sorry."

Raphael chuckled, surprising Sunny with his reaction.

"What are you apologizing for? Isn't this what you've dreamed of for so many years? The chance to break free from your fate and escape your slavery is finally here."

Sunny remained silent, not saying a word.

"Can you listen to my story, Sunny?"

Sunny looked at him and nodded.

Raphael smiled and began speaking:

"I was once a normal seventeen-year-old boy who loved exploring. One of my favorite hobbies was reading novels, and the best novel I'd ever read was… Shadow Slave."

Sunny stared at Raphael in shock, his eyes wide.

"W... what do you mean?!"

Raphael didn't answer and continued his story:

"The novel was about a boy from the outskirts named Sunny. One day, he was infected by the Nightmare Spell and entered the First Nightmare. Through cunning plans, he succeeded in conquering the Nightmare and became a Sleeper. The novel followed his journey through the Forgotten Shore, Chained Isles, the Second Nightmare, Antarctica, and finally the Third Nightmare."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"The boy loved the novel. He felt joy when something good happened to the protagonist and sorrow when things went wrong. One day, while on a trip with his family, a missile struck their location... and in the next moment, the boy found himself in the world of the very novel he had read.

He didn't understand what was happening. Despair and fear consumed him—how could someone like him survive in a world like this? Days passed, and the boy was infected by the Nightmare Spell. But this time, he felt determination in his heart to find a way back home.

So, he challenged the First Nightmare and conquered it. He met the protagonist of the novel. Weeks later, the Winter Solace came, and he was sent to the Nightmare Desert. The boy was terrified and desperate. He quickly devised a plan to leave the Nightmare Desert and reach the Forgotten Shore before the Crimson Spire."

Sunny watched Raphael, whose expression shifted into one of deep anger.

"He failed! The boy watched as his last hope crumbled before him. From that shattered hope emerged a woman he knew. How could he not? She was the one who enslaved the protagonist of the novel.

The boy made a plan—to use her to conquer the Second Nightmare. The plan succeeded, and the boy conquered the Second Nightmare... but at the cost of his sanity."

Raphael's voice shifted, now resembling that of a madman.

"Finding himself in the waking world, the boy sought answers. And there it was, right in front of him. The boy discovered the truth! He wasn't from another world—no! He was in his own world but in a different time!

His last hope of returning to his family shattered into pieces, along with his sanity. After learning the truth, the boy tried to kill himself... but he failed!"

Raphael looked directly at Sunny, their eyes locking.

Sunny felt a chill. In Raphael's eyes, he saw pure insanity and madness.

"This cursed body won't let me die, Sunny! Why? For God's sake, why can't I die?!"

Raphael took deep breaths, his voice calming.

"The boy found hope again, for the second time. It lay with the protagonist—he was the heir of the God of Death. Maybe, in the future, he could finally kill him."

Raphael stood up and placed his hands on Sunny's shoulders.

"That's why you must live, Sunny. Your life isn't just yours anymore. That's why you must survive... or I'll truly lose it."

He removed his hands from Sunny's shoulders and began scratching himself. But as his nails dug deeper, they tore into his muscles. He started peeling away his skin. His hands reached his eyes, which he crushed.

His face became a horrifying sight, resembling an abomination.

"I don't know what I'll do if you die, Sunny. I might destroy the world... and kill everyone."

Raphael took deep breaths as his face began regenerating.

'Damn it... I lost control again.'

This was the second time it had happened—the first was when he met the cohort, and now here.

Looking back at Sunny, Raphael sighed.

"Listen, Sunny. I just want you to promise me one thing: that you'll live."

Sunny remained silent for a moment before replying:

"I promise..."

Raphael smiled and clapped Sunny on the back.

"Good. Good luck, my friend. Let's meet again in the waking world."

He stepped off the ketch and looked back at Sunny.

"Sunny, remember—never summon Sin of Solace. Do you understand?"

Sunny nodded.

Raphael smiled once more and walked away from the ketch, which was now sailing down the Great River.

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Two days had passed since the scouting of Verge.

Raphael soared above an army of three thousand strong. Among them, three were Transcendent, fifty were Ascended, and the rest were Awakened.

Beside him was Kai, awaiting orders.

In the distance, an army of abominations advanced toward them, their numbers three times greater than the human forces.

Raphael observed the growing horde, calculating, and after a few moments, he bellowed:

"Archers, shoot!"

The sky darkened with arrows, raining death upon the abominations. Some fell, others were injured, but many pushed forward, unscathed.

This was only the beginning.

Hundreds of blood spears hovered in the air, awaiting Raphael's command. Without hesitation, he sent them plummeting downward, impaling anything in their path.

Despite the assault, the abominations pressed on, their pace quickening.

"Shields up!" Raphael shouted as the frontline braced for the coming impact.

The abominations closed in rapidly, now mere hundreds of meters away.

"Prepare for impact!"

The clash was thunderous as the abominations slammed into the shield wall. From gaps between the shields, spears thrust outward, piercing the grotesque forms.

The battle raged for minutes in a brutal stalemate.

Raphael's gaze swept across the battlefield, searching until he found it: a massive figure at the rear of the enemy forces. Its grotesque form consisted of countless human faces and bodies, oozing a dark, ink-like liquid.

'A Great Tyrant.'

Turning to Kai, Raphael barked:

"There, at the rear right of the army. Do you see it?"

Kai nodded, drew his bow, and loosed an arrow skyward. It exploded above the Great Tyrant, marking its position.

Minutes later, two additional armies emerged from the flanks, each numbering a thousand soldiers. They surged into the fray, unleashing their Aspect abilities.

With their arrival, the main army abandoned its defensive stance, activating their own Aspects and launching a full assault.

To the left, abominations collapsed inexplicably, untouched. To the right, a sea of white flames erupted, reducing the creatures to ash.

The battlefield descended into chaos, and Raphael's task was to command and guide it.

The signal served three purposes: to signal the flanking armies to engage, to unleash the main army's full strength, and to pinpoint the enemy leader's location.

With these tasks complete, Raphael's body began to transform. His armor materialized, and he activated his [Berserker] enchantment.

Wings spread wide, he launched himself toward the Great Tyrant, landing amidst a swarm of abominations.

The creatures lunged at him, claws and fangs poised to tear him apart, but his [Seer] ability allowed him to evade their strikes.

Raphael fought like a whirlwind, cutting down everything in his path. His blade flashed as he beheaded a Great Beast, though it had killed him fifty times over.

But he didn't stop. More abominations came, Great and Corrupted alike. He fought relentlessly, killing and dying in a gruesome cycle, refusing to yield.

Finally, Raphael stood before the Great Tyrant.

The dark liquid it oozed pulsed with an aura of corruption. Instinct warned him that even a single touch would doom him.

From behind the Great Tyrant, a woman emerged, stepping through the sea of white fire.

Silver-haired and silver-eyed, Nephis locked eyes with Raphael. Without words, they nodded to one another.

Nephis would take the lead, and Raphael would support her.

Together, they surged forward, launching a combined assault on the Great Tyrant.

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In the Estuary, Sunny trudged forward, his thoughts teetering on the edge of collapse. The weight of the truth he had uncovered—the Sin of the Gods—pressed heavily on his mind.

His thoughts swirled chaotically, but he shoved them aside. He could deal with them later. For now, he had one goal: find his freedom before Nephis reached the First Seeker.

Sunny's steps faltered as he froze mid-stride, his breath hitching. His face paled as his gaze locked onto the scene before him.

The still water stretched out in eerie silence, littered with countless corpses. These were not the carcasses of Defiled abominations he was accustomed to seeing. No, these lifeless husks belonged to Great Nightmare Creatures.

His eyes scanned the macabre tableau, lingering on the broken forms of Dark Butterflies floating among the carnage. Despite their intact exteriors, their lifelessness betrayed the truth—something had obliterated their very souls.

And then, in the distance…

Was it an illusion, or was something dark and immense rising from the water's surface?

The Guiding Light, unwavering in its purpose, pointed directly at the shadowy figure far ahead.

Sunny stood motionless, dread rooting him in place. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move, taking a hesitant step forward.

The stillness shattered. Beneath the water, something vast stirred, its presence sending ripples of unease through the air.

And then… it looked at him.

Sunny's instincts screamed danger. He immediately summoned Sin of Solace, gripping the blade tightly as he braced himself for an attack. Yet, to his shock, the entity made no move.

The silence pressed on, yet a gnawing wrongness crept into Sunny's awareness. Something was deeply, fundamentally out of place.

'What is this feeling?' Sunny's thoughts raced. He couldn't shake the sensation that he had forgotten something—something critical.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. His eyes fell on the sword in his hands.

'Huh? Didn't Raphael warn me never to summon this?'

Cold dread seized him. For someone like him, someone meticulous and calculating, to forget such an essential warning… something was horribly wrong.

Panic flared as Sunny attempted to unsummon Sin of Solace, his fingers trembling.

But it was already too late.

Before him, the illusory figure of Sin of Solace materialized, grinning with a madness that sent shivers down Sunny's spine.

The sword's haunting voice broke the silence, its tone dripping with malice:

"Azathoth."

Deep within Sunny's soul sea, a dark transformation began. A seed of corruption, small yet potent, came into existence.

——————————————————

Raphael took deep breaths, staring at the lifeless body of the dead Great Tyrant.

After an hour of grueling combat, they had finally killed it.

Luckily for them, the Great Tyrant was physically weak, though its mind attacks had been powerful. But thanks to Raphael's immortality, they were able to bring it down.

"The enemy is retreating!"

Hearing the shout, Raphael looked over the battlefield and grinned.

They were winning! Freedom from the Underworld was finally within reach!

He raised his voice and yelled:

"Don't let them flee! Kill them all!"

The army roared in unison and charged, hunting down the retreating abominations.

Raphael glanced at Nephis and smiled, and Nephis returned the gesture.

Summoning his wings, he floated into the sky.

But then, without warning, his [Seer] ability activated. Startled, Raphael lost balance and tumbled to the ground.

In front of him, hundreds, thousands—no, millions of silver threads appeared. But something was different this time. All the silver threads were connected to a single golden one.

Normally, each silver thread showed a different outcome, but now they all pointed to one.

His vision focused on a cave surrounded by jagged black mountains. He recognized the place immediately.

'The Estuary…'

A cold wave of fear and dread swept over him.

From the cave emerged a short man with black hair and two void-like eyes. His face was grotesque, marred by wounds as if someone had relentlessly slashed it with a blade.

'No… no, no, no, no! This can't be happening. He promised me! He said he'd meet me in the walking world. So why? Why did he let himself be corrupted?'

Tears streamed down Raphael's face. Everything he had worked for was gone.

The Mad Prince suddenly turned, his gaze locking onto Raphael.

No, not at Raphael—at Verge.

"Hahaha… Hahahahahahaha!"

Raphael laughed like a madman, tears mingling with his manic cries.

'Was it truly impossible from the start? Is this the inevitability of fate?'

He didn't know. He couldn't know.

But one thing was certain.

Sunny was gone.

And the Mad Prince was coming.

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"Anything that could go wrong will go wrong." That was supposed to be the opening quote for this volume, but I decided to change it at the last second—I didn't want to give away any spoilers. Unlike someone who doesn't seem to care about that. :]

I hope this twist caught you all off guard. But this is just the beginning—there's so much more to uncover. Get ready!

Leave a review on this fanfic, chapter and some power stones, so more people can read it.

See you again next time👋


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