Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

The images that formed were of a red angel, clad in demonic armor and wielding a sword the size of a mountain. The very air around it seemed to burn and disintegrate, consumed by an overwhelming aura of pure destruction and decay.

The last image Eirwen saw was of the angel plummeting into the depths of a raging ocean, its form swallowed by the fury of the wrathful waves. Beneath the water a titanic shadow shifted for a split second.

'The Soul of Abaddon is finally unsealed,' Leviathan finished, dragging Eirwen out of the strange memory. The process that had been consuming him also came to a sudden halt.

Gasp

"Fuck…" Eirwen gasped, clutching his chest as he dismissed the top layer of his armour, leaving himself topless. A thin layer of sweat clung to his skin, glistening in the bright light.

He immediately felt the cool, refreshing air against his flushed and damp torso. His skin was as pristine as ever, the dried blood completely gone. Yet there was one significant change.

A black, inky pentagram was etched into his torso. It wasn't large, covering his left chest and part of his abdomen.

Raijin's disgust faded, replaced by even more confusion as he crawled closer to Eirwen. "Wow, you got tattoos?" he asked, his curiosity getting the best of him as he reached out shamelessly to touch the pentagram.

Eirwen swatted his finger away in irritation, a jolt of electricity zapping him in the process. "No- Yes-" he groaned, his patience snapping. "None of your business!"

If he was being honest, Eirwen had no idea what exactly had just happened himself, only vague speculations he came up with on the spot. His brain was working overtime, trying to process everything as soon as he regained his focus.

"Either way," Raijin huffed, standing up and brushing himself off, "What you just did was disgusting." His voice full of judgement.

"Shut the hell up," Eirwen shot back, pushing himself to his feet as well. He decided to swap out the damaged Memory so it could heal in his Soul Sea.

His body was enveloped in sparks as the plates of his old armour vanished. But he wasn't left standing naked the new Memory immediately manifesting on him.

In a matter of seconds, Eirwen was clad in a fitted black outfit, designed for both warmth and mobility, secured with a thick leather belt. A heavy, fur-lined cloak draped over his shoulders.

Raijin followed, summoning a new Memory that in a way resembled Eirwen's.

Eirwen had bought a ton of Memories, all to ensure they'd be ready for everything.

As hard as it was for him to admit, he knew that he needed everyone to succeed. At least, until Leviathan had regained enough strength.

'He is even weaker than he was in the Trial though,' Eirwen remembered Leviathan's words, which made his brow twitch in annoyance.

"Where is your brother?" Eirwen asked after a moment, glancing back at Raijin with a raised eyebrow.

Raijin turned, facing a distant point. Lifting a gloved hand, he pointed forward. "He's close. Somewhere on the lower part of this mountain." He lowered his hand, rubbing them together to generate some warmth. "I think Andromeda is with him too. Otherwise, he would've rushed to my side by now."

"Or he's also fighting something," Eirwen corrected, already ready to summon Hydra's Choice or his Claws if needed.

Raijin inhaled sharply against the biting, icy air; his face was filled with concern as he looked back at his companion. "Let's go meet them then."

Eirwen nodded, motioning for Raijin to lead the way. He didn't know how exactly Raijin sensed where his brother was, but honestly, he didn't care. His mind was consumed by something entirely different.

Opening his Runes, Eirwen inspected them closely.

'The hell? Nothing changed?' he thought, his boots crunching against the snow as he silently followed Raijin, his frustration growing again.

After a moment Eirwen decided to ask Leviathan. 'Mind helping out?' he thought, but -who would've guessed- he was met with silence.

Marching after Raijin, the two of them leaped down onto another cliff. They landed with a heavy thud, kicking up snow around them.

'Maybe it's the same as my claws? They come straight from my Cursed Core.'

'I can feel there's more Essence in my Cores than before, and I can sense the strange power surging through me,' Eirwen thought, clenching and unclenching his fist.

'But there has to be more,' Eirwen thought greedily with a sigh.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind he looked at Raijin's back and asked, "Are we close?"

"Yes," Raijin answered dismissively, his focus still on Seraphiel.

Rolling his eyes, Eirwen leaped over a crack in the ground, his gaze flicking to his right.

There he saw a huge drop, the bright azure sky reflecting sharply off the snow and nearly blinding him.

"How fucking high up are we…" Eirwen mumbled, his gaze drifting over the jagged peaks of distant mountains, their sharp tips piercing through the clouds. Even as he looked down, he could see the clouds swirling beneath them, but no sign of the ground below.

Raijin, on the other hand, was clearly in no mood to admire the view. His focus seemed entirely consumed by thoughts of his brother.

---

A few minutes later, they descended another dozen meters from where they had originally landed, now walking on a flat expanse that stretched forward endlessly.

These mountains were truly gigantic.

What was even more shocking, though, was that they weren't even on the highest peak. Behind them stood a dozen more mountains, each one dwarfing the one they were on, their towering heights nearly touching the heavens.

"He's somewhere here!" Raijin's sharp voice suddenly pulled Eirwen out of his thoughts.

His eyes widened as the Dreamer sprinted forward without a warning or signal, his frame crackling with faint electricity. Not wasting a second, Eirwen followed closely behind, the dark metallic liquid manifesting on the fingertips of his gloves.

Raijin was ridiculously fast, but Eirwen still managed to keep up with him effortlessly, the two of them blurring through the snowy.

'Here's nothing but fucking snow no matter where I look!' Eirwen huffed, steadying his breath as his thighs and calves burned from the force of his sprint. 'Where the hell is he even going?!'

But then he sensed it.

It was something that reminded him of that particular moment in his first Trial when he had entered the strange bubble created by Bernard.

"There's an illusory veil before us!" Eirwen shouted, his voice barely cutting through the sharp wind that slammed into them.

Raijin nodded and pushed forward, his speed increasing. The blue vines of electricity practically exploded from him, while white sparks danced around his right hand, manifesting into his spear.

And just a moment later, Eirwen crashed through the illusory wall, his vision clearing as he finally saw the reality.

Andromeda, Seraphiel, and a tall stranger with olive-green hair were standing back-to-back, surrounded by countless white and gray Goblins that were swarming them from all sides.

The two boys were struggling to protect Andromeda, who was clutching her shoulder. There was a bluish tint to her determined face.

Aegis Mirror also danced around them, its silver and regal form deflecting attacks as it blinked around the three of them, trembling with excessive force.

But Eirwen's gaze shot past the Dreamers, landing on a fat, dark-grey Nightmare Creature that stood out among everyone.

"I'm going for the big one!" Eirwen roared, his voice cutting through the chaos before he and Raijin split up, charging straight into the chaos.