Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2441

Chapter 2441 Immediate Impact

Sunny shook his head as he continued on his way. The memories of learning what Nephis had done in Bastion were followed by the memories of reuniting with her in Ravenheart — at that point, he finally reached his destination.

Having spent several weeks surrounded by billowing clouds of ash and Cursed abominations, fighting one desperate battle after another, he was truly a pitiful sight to behold. His body might have been rebuilt and perfected by Flesh Weave, but he still could not wait to take a shower, lower himself into a bath, or better yet, rest his weary self in a steam room, followed by a plunge into ice-cold water.

It just so happened that he could really use a cold plunge at the moment…

Leaving his battered incarnation to tend to itself, Sunny shifted his focus to the avatar who remained in the council room. The Song sisters had left by then, leaving him alone with Nephis and Cassie.

The mood in the spacious chamber was different now. The sunset had drawn its last breath, surrendering the world to the embrace of darkness — the sky outside the tall windows was black and littered with shimmering stars, snow dancing in the torrents of cold wind.

The brief levity was gone, replaced by a sense of gravity. Sunny remained silent for a few moments, then spoke with a sigh — this time, he described what had happened in the miniature realm of Ariel's Game in detail, without wasting his time on jokes or witty wordplay.

Going over everything he had experienced helped him put the events of the past weeks in perspective, as well.

'Let's see…'

First, he explained the nature of the little, dreadful world created by Ariel — the vast grid of towering mountains, the Snow and Ash Domains, the significance of dawn and dusk for the game pieces, the role of Castles and Shrines, and lastly, the existence of the terrifying arbiter who hid beneath the clouds. These were the laws governing the Death Game.

Then, he described his own actions in the game and the battles he had fought.

The battle against the Crystal Hive was relatively insignificant, in the grand scheme of things. At best, it was a valuable exercise in fighting a powerful adversary while being suppressed by a hostile Domain — which wasn't really that new of an experience for Sunny or for Nephis, who suffered a much worse version of the same suppression every time they entered the waking world.

Next was the battle against Abundance. That one was a much more valuable lesson… a priceless one, even, since it was the first time Sunny had fought a Cursed abomination. He had learned about how lesser deities embodied concepts and weaponized them to twist the absolute laws of existence in their favor from that clash, as well as understood the natural affinity of his own Will better.

In the end, Sunny had defeated Abundance by utilizing sorcery to counter and restrain the Beast's authority, then slowly poisoning its soul with Death Will.

Nephis smiled faintly when he described crushing the infinite worm under his boot.

"...What an elegant solution."

Sunny chuckled.

"Thank you. Killing Abundance was the pebble that began an avalanche. With a Sacred shade in my service, I could tackle more powerful foes and slowly build an advantage over the Snow Tyrant. Plus... it was quite satisfying!"

He continued, describing the race to the Shrine of Truth and its first siege — his battle against the Wolf, the grand spell he had woven, and the eventual annihilation of the volcano.

The details of how he had held off a Cursed Demon while fueling his trap with the Demon's own strength had a greater effect on Nephis and Cassie.

Cassie especially seemed stunned.

"So, you… channeled an opposite concept to that of the Wolf?"

Sunny nodded.

"When you fight deities, the battle itself is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a clash of Wills happening at the same time, hidden from view — it influences the cadence of combat, deciding who will gain the decisive advantage. Gods reshape the world around them according to what they are, and in order to defeat them, you have to break that vision of reality first. One would ideally achieve that with overwhelming strength… but since we are weaker than the Cursed Ones, I had to get inventive."

Cassie smiled.

"Amazing…"

Nephis, meanwhile, contemplated his words deeply.

Eventually, a sigh escaped from her lips, and she gave Sunny a long look.

It was sort of... boastful? Satisfied? A little prideful?

However, Nephis did not seem proud of herself. Rather, she seemed to be proud of Sunny... and satisfied with herself as a result?

'What has gotten into her?'

The blind seer considered her words seriously for a while, then gave her a hesitant shrug. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

She fell silent for a moment.

"Still, that is something worth investing time in. Our cities will come under siege eventually — when that happens, there has to be a way to keep the population safe while the champions repel the enemy. Sunny, I would be grateful if you and Cassie made that project a priority."

Sunny smiled.

"Sure. I can spare an incarnation or two."

In fact, he was glad to receive this opportunity.

Sunny did not pursue fame or recognition. Being forced into the shadows by the revelation of why Weaver's Lineage had been forbidden by the gods suited him fine — if not for the fact that he could not exert as much influence from the shadows freely as he would have wanted to.

Humanity was protected by two Sovereigns, but one of them was severely constrained in what he could do to actually help people. So, working on fortifying human cities in the Dream Realm was a good way to apply his power for the benefit of all in a secretive, but efficient manner.

Sunny's expression turned somber as he continued his tale, describing the eerie encounter with the Cursed Demon and the days missing from his memory. Then, he told Nephis and Cassie about the battle against the Rat King and how he and Kai had utilized the inherent vulnerability of that Cursed Beast to destroy it.

As he did, he summoned the shade of the Rat King to illustrate his point…

Strangely enough, the appearance of a large, feral-looking black rat on his palm did not impress the two women that much. In fact, their reactions did not seem enthusiastic at all, for some reason.

It was almost as if they did not like this adorable black cutie-pie!

But why wouldn't they?

'Weirdos…'

Dismissing the Rat after giving it a few head scratches, Sunny considered his words and described the final battle of Ariel's Game — the battle against the Spirit of Doubt, Puppeteer itself.

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