Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Raphael looked up at the sky of the Estuary…

It was still the same after thousands of years.

Raphael was tired—tired of everything.

Living here for an unknown amount of time had made him curse the day he was born.

He wished he had died alongside his family that day…

Truthfully, he was glad his family had perished back then—they didn't have to live through this cursed time.

Raphael tore his gaze from the sky and looked toward the Great River.

It seemed visitors had arrived.

After a few minutes, two figures came into view.

The first was a short man with black hair reaching his shoulders. His void-like eyes glared at Raphael with murderous intent.

Beside him was a woman with long blonde hair cascading down her back, her eyes concealed by a piece of cloth.

Raphael recognized them instantly—Sunny and Cassie.

Sunny raised his sword, glaring at him.

Cassie placed a hand in front of him and said:

"It's fine, Sunny."

Sunny turned to her, doubt flickering in his eyes.

Cassie sighed before speaking again:

"Go, before Nephis kills the First Seeker."

Sunny gritted his teeth but said nothing. In the end, he turned and left, heading deeper into the Estuary.

Now, only Raphael and Cassie remained.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other," she said softly.

Raphael stayed silent, refusing to answer.

The silence lingered for a few minutes before Raphael finally spoke, his voice broken and weak.

"Why… are y...ou her...e?"

Cassie looked at him, a faint smile on her lips.

"If you're asking why I left them, then… it's because this loop is doomed. So I came here with Sunny to meet you."

Raphael forced out some strength to ask:

"Do… you st...ill want to… break fate?"

Cassie chuckled at his words.

"After everything I've done… do you really think I'd stop now?"

Raphael looked at her and muttered:

"How foolish you...are. Even after thousands… of loops, you're still blinded... from the truth."

Cassie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You think too highly of yourself… Cassie. From the beginning, you've been nothing more than a disposable pawn for him… You tried to break fate, but you've always moved exactly as it wanted."

Raphael paused for a moment before continuing.

"Do you remember what… I told you after the banquet? 'Don't trust your ability.' That's what I said… and it seems I was right."

Raphael shifted slightly, locking his crimson eye with hers.

"You've been fed lies… The visions you saw were fabricated by 'Him.' You always have been—and always will be—'His' puppet."

Cassie's eyes filled with anger as she stared at him.

"No… You're only saying this because you've lost!"

Raphael remained silent, enduring her outburst without reaction.

After a few moments, he finally spoke again:

"Then… why are... you crying?"

Indeed, tears were streaming down Cassie's face.

From his right, Raphael could hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

It seemed Cassie had heard it too.

The Mad Prince appeared, bringing her doom with him.

Cassie turned to him, her voice trembling as she yelled:

"Don't come near me, you monster!"

Raphael observed the scene and closed his crimson eye.

'Another loop… another hundred years…

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Raphael woke up to the sensation of someone touching him.

Opening his eyes, he was startled to see Sunny standing before him… but this Sunny was different.

The figure in front of him was lithe, with alabaster skin, gleaming onyx eyes, and lustrous raven-black hair.

This was not the Sunny he remembered.

Sunny smirked and spoke:

"Handsome, aren't I?"

Raphael stared at him, his eye as dull as ever.

"Future… Sunny."

Sunny chuckled and said:

"Bingo! Ten out of ten." He smiled. "Indeed, I'm not the Sunny you know."

Sunny looked around, observing his surroundings. Rocks vanished and reappeared in different places, shifting unpredictably.

As a Sovereign, he could sense the space around him distorting.

He could also feel the domain enveloping the area. Though incomplete, it was unmistakably a domain.

"A domain, huh? Even though you're just a Master…"

Raphael didn't reply.

Over the thousands of years he had spent here, he hadn't remained idle, simply waiting for corruption or the Nether to take over his body.

Through the corruption, he had gained an understanding of his Transcendent transformation. Using this knowledge, he had constructed a domain.

Even without divinity, he had managed to forge one. Of course, building a domain without divinity was nearly impossible, but Raphael had all the time in the world to complete it.

Sunny stepped closer to the inverted cross, but stopped as Raphael spoke:

"Stop…"

Sunny frowned and asked:

"Don't you want to be free?"

Raphael shook his head and replied:

"No, I shall bear their sins for eternity and await my salvation."

Sunny sighed, looking at him.

Raphael met his gaze and asked:

"Are you here to retrieve your fate?"

Sunny shook his head.

"I already retrieved it a long time ago. I'm here for something else."

Raphael didn't press further, closing his eyes and returning to slumber.

Sunny stared at him for a moment and whispered:

"I'm sorry…"

He walked past Raphael, leaving him behind.

---------------------------

Sunny glanced around the room.

Seven people sat around the table—himself, Cassie, Nephis, Mordret, Kai, Effie, and Jet.

The room was silent until Sunny broke it.

"Since we've killed most of the Plagues, with only Torment left alive in Verge, we're close to conquering the Nightmare… but there's one issue. Where in the Spell's name is Raphael?!"

His concern was justified. Raphael wasn't just a Titan—he had a divine aspect and wielded darkness, the natural adversary of both light and shadows.

If someone like him had been corrupted, then they were all doomed.

Effie coughed, breaking the tension, and spoke:

"Maybe he didn't enter the Nightmare?"

Sunny turned to her, his tone sharp.

"Effie… he was the first one to enter."

She scratched her head awkwardly, chuckling.

"Right…"

"You don't need to worry about him," Cassie interjected.

All eyes turned to her.

Mordret leaned back in his chair, a sly smile on his face.

"Care to explain, Lady Cassie?"

She nodded, pulling a scroll from her pocket and placing it on the table.

Sunny frowned and asked:

"What's this?"

"It's a scroll written by Dusk before I entered her body," Cassie replied.

Sunny glanced at Kai, noticing him nodding in confirmation.

Cassie wasn't lying—it was indeed written by Dusk. However, she didn't clarify which Dusk. The truth of the matter was more complicated, as the scroll had been written by Torment just before Cassie awoke inside Dusk's body.

Cassie unrolled the scroll and began reading aloud:

"All hail the Hanged Man, the degenerate nature of all living things, the one who bore our sins, waiting beyond time for his and our salvation."

She placed the scroll on the table and sighed.

"I didn't fully understand the first part, but I think I grasped the last. What Dusk meant by 'beyond time' surely refers to the Estuary. As for why he's there… I don't know."

The room was quiet again until Nephis spoke up.

"Could it be possible that he can't get corrupted?"

Sunny nodded thoughtfully.

"If Raphael truly can't be corrupted, then the Six Plagues likely tried to kill him. But Raphael is immortal. The only logical way they could deal with him is by—"

"Sealing him," Mordret interrupted.

Sunny glanced at him and nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Since they couldn't kill him, their best option was to seal him to keep him from interfering with their plans. I don't know why they chose the Estuary, but it seems their plan worked. There's no other Raphael around, so they must have sealed him there for who knows how long. Poor bastard… really reminds me of myself."

Nephis stood abruptly, determination in her voice.

"If he's really sealed there, then we need to kill the First Seeker as quickly as possible."

The others nodded, and with that, the attack on Verge was imminent.

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Sunny gritted his teeth as he climbed the mountain. Each step was a battle against exhaustion, but he pressed on. When he finally reached the summit, his gaze fell upon a creature chained to an inverted cross. He didn't need anyone to tell him who it was—he could already guess.

Suddenly, the creature's face split open, revealing a single blood-red eye that burned with an eerie glow.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, silence hanging heavy in the air. Then, the creature's deep, broken voice echoed:

"Go, Sunless… your fate awaits you…"

The crimson eye closed, and the creature fell silent once more.

Sunny clenched his fists, frustration boiling inside him. He had so many questions, but no matter how many he asked, Raphael refused to answer.

With no other choice, Sunny walked past him and continued his journey through the Estuary.

Minutes later, after Sunny had vanished from sight, Raphael opened his crimson eye again, his gaze fixed on the starless sky above.

He knew—this was the last loop.

But even with the knowledge that his torment was finally ending, he felt nothing. No relief, no joy, just an empty void where his humanity had once been.

For what felt like an eternity—thousands, perhaps millions of years—he had endured this cursed existence. The emotions that once made him human were gone, lost to the endless cycles of suffering.

Yet, deep within, a faint wish still lingered.

He wished—he truly did—to return to his old life. To the life of a normal high schooler who lived peacefully with his family. A life untouched by this nightmare.

Suddenly, the space around him began to crack and shatter like a fragile mirror breaking apart. Darkness engulfed everything, consuming the world in an endless void.

After an unknowable amount of time, a voice echoed through the void:

[Your Nightmare is over!]

-----------------------------

...

..

[Your nightmare is over.]

[Prepare for appraisal...]

Raphael remained silent, as though waiting for something inevitable.

[Ascendant! Your trial is over.]

[A Fool had journeyed through the Great River, reuniting with his friends and companions. He fought and defeated the corrupted abominations that stood in his way. One of his friends had sought freedom, and the Fool, in his naivety, made a promise to help him. Yet how foolish he was. In the pursuit of freedom, that friend succumbed to corruption and turned against him and their other companions, leading them all into darkness. Even as the corruption tainted him as well, the Fool fought valiantly against the abominations that were once his friends. Despite his courage, he was ultimately defeated and sealed in a place beyond time, endlessly battling corruption and madness for an unknowable amount of time...]

[You have slain a Great Tyrant...]

[You have slain a Great...]

The Spell began listing every being and abomination Raphael had destroyed within the nightmare. The names echoed like dirges through the void.

After what felt like an eternity, the Spell passed its final verdict.

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Glorious. Your perseverance truly knows no bounds.]

Suddenly, the voice of the Spell faltered, glitching and distorting as if unable to handle its proclamation.

From the shadows, a figure emerged.

It was a man cloaked in an aura of malevolence, wearing a mask of black lacquered wood, carved into the shape of a fierce demon. Its mouth was lined with sharp, jagged fangs, and seven twisted horns crowned its head. The mask's hollow eyes radiated an unnerving darkness.

Raphael's crimson eye flickered as he looked at the figure. A bitter laugh escaped his lips, echoing in the void.

When his laughter subsided, Raphael raised a hand to his face, his fingers grazing his own features.

"Is there really a need for a mask... Father?"

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Boom! And there it is, where all things will be revealed... in the next chapter, which is the last chapter in this volume.

If you have any questions, you can find me in the official Shadow Slave discord. just go to the Fanfiction room, and search for mine, it's named after the FF name.

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See you again next time👋