Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

In the depths of an endless and inescapable nightmare, a blinding disc of an incandescent sun bathed the dunes of a vast desert in a flood of immolating heat. The sands of the desert were flawlessly white, and the azure sky above them was deep and boundless like an ancient ocean, with not a single cloud blemishing its silken expanse.

A figure ran across the land—it was none other than Tank.

Raphael, sitting on top of his Echo, looked around. To his right, there was nothing but an endless sea of white dunes; to his left, a line of black mountains formed a boundary for the scorching desert.

Raphael sighed. It had been four months since his fight with Dreadghoul, and now he was somewhere near the Forgotten Shore.

In these four months, Raphael had only died 30 times—quite an improvement.

Raphael glanced down at his Echo.

"It's all thanks to you, buddy."

Tank sneered at his master.

"Hey, hey, no need to feel embarrassed, you know. I'm really thankful."

In the distance, Raphael noticed something. Was it… a tree?

'No way, is that the place where Nephis found Eurys?'

Raphael remembered something that made him gulp a huge mouthful of saliva.

"If I remember right, there should be a pool of water under the tree!"

Yes, Raphael was immortal, but he still wanted to experience the feeling of drinking water.

"Tank! Go to the tree now!"

Tank didn't waste time and changed direction, heading for the tree.

…After a while, the tree grew closer.

Raphael ordered Tank to stop and stared at the tree.

Its white bark, its scarlet leaves, tens of thousands of skulls hanging from the beautiful branches fastened with glistening threads of black silk.

A spring of water formed a clear pool in the shadow of the great tree. On its bank, with his back turned, stood a figure clad in strange, rusted armor.

"Tank, be ready—we've got a bag of bones to destroy."

Hearing Raphael's voice, the creature turned around, revealing the desiccated face of a corpse, hollow eyes emanating an ominous blue radiance, and six hands, each grasping the hilt of a weapon. Two hands held long swords, their blades sharper than razors and slightly curved. Two others held menacing, twisted sickles, while the last two gripped a heavy scepter and a broken shield.

The chest plate of the creature's rusted armor was shattered, revealing a harrowing wound beneath.

With furious madness burning in its eyes, the abomination lunged at him, striking down with one of the sickles. It moved faster than lightning, sending a scarlet cloud of fallen leaves swirling into the air with a strong gust of wind.

Raphael jumped backward, dodging the undead's attack. Without wasting time, he lunged forward and punched the undead in the face.

The undead, feeling no damage, used its sword-wielding hands to plunge the blades deep into Raphael's chest, making the tips appear on the other side.

The undead tried to retrieve its swords, only to be stopped. Looking down, it noticed two hands gripping its bony arms.

"Where do you think you're going, fucker?"

The undead, surprised that the being in front of it was still alive, tried to use its other four hands… but it was too late.

"Now, Tank!"

Tank didn't waste time. Using one of its four legs, it crushed the undead—along with Raphael in the process. But Tank didn't stop. It continued crushing the undead until there was nothing left but dust and a meat paste.

————————

"Did that guy just kill himself?"

Eurys was shocked. He had never seen someone sacrifice themselves just to kill a pile of bones.

"Hey, Azarax, did you see that? He literally killed himself! Who in their right mind does that?!"

Azarax looked at Eurys with an annoyed expression.

"No one does that, and I can assure you he isn't sane. He came from the east—you know what's in there."

"Mhm… By the way, am I crazy, or is the meat… moving?"

"You are crazy… but you're not wrong. It's definitely moving."

"Right…"

They continued watching as the mass of flesh grew larger and larger.

"...He's regenerating," Azarax said in a surprised tone.

"Yes… How can he still be alive with that weak body in this state?" Eurys said with amusement.

"Can't you smell the stench of a daemon on him? He's one of Weaver's. Nothing makes sense when something is related to him."

"You're not wrong…"

They watched until Raphael's body fully regenerated.

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Raphael woke up and looked around, seeing only Tank and the tree.

He smiled and looked at his Echo.

"That was a nice crush, Tank. I didn't even feel the pain. Hahaha."

Eurys listened to their conversation.

'This poor thing lost it a long time ago.'

Raphael, not noticing the two skeletons nailed to the tree, jumped into the spring and started drinking.

"Fuck, man, I needed this. This is so refreshing. In my whole fucking life, I didn't think I'd miss water this much."

Raphael closed his eyes and savored the water.

"Ah… I'm in heaven."

Suddenly, Raphael heard a voice above him.

"Ahm… sorry to disturb your happy time, but can you tell us how you survived that?"

'Fuck… I forgot about them.'

Eurys of the Nine and Azarax the Mighty—or so he called himself.

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In the novel, Azarax wasn't particularly important, but Eurys was. He was one of the Nine, a mysterious group shrouded in secrecy. Their goals were unknown, though Raphael had a theory:

'Their goal is to awaken the Forgotten God, known to Sunny as the Dream God.'

Raphael sighed and answered the skeleton.

"It's my Aspect."

"Your Aspect? That's interesting—an Aspect that can regenerate you even when you're dead."

Raphael didn't bother correcting him. Regeneration was only part of his Aspect.

"You know," Raphael said, "there's something called manners. Shouldn't you at least introduce yourselves first?"

Azarax bellowed proudly:

"Kneel, living creature, before Azarax the Mighty! The Plague of Steel! King of Kings! Conqueror of a hundred thrones!"

Raphael raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "...What about you?"

The other skeleton, speaking with a more aloof tone, replied:

"Me? Oh, I am no one. Just a humble slave."

Raphael frowned. "Why are… the two of you… nailed to this tree?"

Azarax growled, his voice seething with disdain.

"Don't you know where you are, creature?! I am here because I led my armies into the great war, slaughtered a myriad of souls, and was punished for my strength and pride!"

Raphael stopped listening midway, uninterested in the long-winded tale. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the other one.

Eurys answered succinctly:

"I angered the gods."

"How the hell do you anger the gods?" Raphael asked, curiosity piqued.

Eurys sighed with regret.

"Well, if you must know... I slit a god's throat. My, oh my! One could say it was a misunderstanding. Was there really a need to be so petty?"

"I see… Well, my name is Raphael. It was nice talking to someone in this hell."

The sun was already sinking below the horizon, and a chilling cold spread across the white desert.

Soon, night descended upon the world, revealing a myriad of bright stars. As it did, the sands shifted, and slowly, countless figures rose from beneath them.

All of them were corpses, their flesh long gone, leaving behind perfectly blackened bones. Some resembled humans, others towered as giants, and some were beings too strange and terrifying to describe.

In a cacophony of clattering rusted armor and unearthly howls, the horde of abominations clashed against one another, continuing their terrible battle even in death.

"Fuck, them again," Raphael muttered, a disdainful look in his eyes.

Eurys observed the scene and asked:

"You've met them?"

"Yes… I've died at their hands multiple times."

"That must hurt…" Eurys replied with a smirk.

"More than you think," Raphael muttered.

He turned to Eurys. "You still didn't tell me your name."

Eurys tilted his head as if pondering.

"A name? I used to have one of those before. What was it? Oh!"

He moved his jaw slightly before speaking again.

"Eurys. Eurys of the Nine…"

Raphael's eyes widened. "The Nine! Did you just say you're one of the Nine?!"

Eurys, surprised by Raphael's reaction, asked,

"You know the Nine?"

Raphael stared at him, feigning ignorance.

"Ah… yes, someone I knew mentioned another of the Nine like you. If I'm right, her name was Aletheia of the Nine. From what I heard, she was a seeker researching the Forgotten God or something like that."

Eurys fell silent for a moment before asking:

"I see… Do you know where she is now?"

Raphael didn't answer directly but pointed east toward the Tomb of Ariel.

Eurys, following his gesture, sighed.

"Thank you for telling me, Raphael. You've done me a great favor."

Raphael seized the opportunity to ask:

"Then can you tell me more about the Forgotten God?"

Eurys's tone grew sharp and dangerous.

"There are some things that should remain unknown, boy."

"Ah… I'm sorry," Raphael replied quickly.

Silence fell between them, the weight of unspoken words hanging in the air.

'Damn it. I answered all his questions, and he didn't give me anything. All my acting went to waste.'

———————

The sun rose once more, its scorching heat dispersing the chaos of the endless war.

Raphael summoned Tank, preparing to continue his journey to the Forgotten Shore.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Eurys. And you too, Azarax. But I need to keep moving."

Eurys tilted his head curiously.

"Where are you headed?"

"West, to the Forgotten Shore," Raphael answered.

Eurys scoffed.

"Hmm, the place cursed by that revolting nephilim. Well, good luck, Raphael."

"Thank you," Raphael replied, climbing onto Tank.

"Let's go, Tank. We don't have much time left."

Eurys watched as Raphael's figure disappeared into the horizon. Then he turned to face the distant Tomb of Ariel.

"Aletheia…" he murmured.

With a heavy sigh, Eurys glanced at his old companion.

"It's just you and me again, Azarax."

Azarax glared at him.

"Shut it, Eurys."

Eurys laughed.

"Hahaha… Same as always."