Chapter Text
Under the shroud of the starless sky, a lonely shadow lay nestled against a jagged outcropping, completely invisible to the eye. From time to time, it would hesitantly, slowly peek out from its cover, only to let out an inaudible squeak and dissolve back into the darkness, hiding from the subject of its observation.
The happy shadow was scared.
Which was to be expected, really- this was the first mission it had been sent on. It was nothing like the gloomy shadow, who traversed the labyrinth easily with nothing but a deep scowl on its face.
This was also why the shadow was so surprised when Gloomy volunteered to send it on the mission, against a trio of scary, deadly monsters. Alone, no less!
Its shoulders slumped briefly before it quickly cheered itself up. Right- there was no need to worry! Master was strong. He would do all the fighting for it. It would cheer him on!
Such was the nature of the happy shadow, after all.
Before long, the order came. The shadow slid out from under cover, then swiftly slid to the edge of the cliff. It made its way down and soon reached the ledge that it had scouted earlier.
It stopped, becoming completely still, and for a moment the world itself seemed to darken. Two glimmering eyes of ruby appeared within the depths of the shadow, growing brighter and brighter.
Seconds later, the sound of shouting and the clashing of blades sounded across the labyrinth.
***
Hearing the signal from far away, the Demon with the lance abruptly stiffened and snarled. It bared its fangs, but then stopped and looked back at its kin, a vestige of confusion appearing on its grotesque face. The Fallen duo not too far from him did not seem to react, simply lying prone on the ground, surrounded by fragments of the insects they had just devoured.
It was as if they had not heard the sounds of battle at all.
The lance-bearer snorted almost derisively. Lazy, foolish creatures! This was why, out of the three of them, only it could fully wield the power it was granted. Only it was deserving of such power! Switching the massive fang to a single arm, it dropped on its lower arms and began to gallop away from the two Sleepers, quickly gaining distance and vanishing out of sight.
Some distance away, faint light was spilling out from a fissure in the ground.
Peeking over the edge, a boy with long, black hair watched it go, then staggered, his face showing visible relief. As the ashen-grey fossil in his hand dissolved in a shower of sparks, a curved sword took its place. Leaning slightly into the silver-haired girl next to him, they shared a look of silent understanding.
It was time to hunt down a pair of demons.
***
The Nameless Sun shone like a beacon in the eternal night of the Forgotten Shore, but Nephis knew nothing would respond to its call. The top of the Crimson Labyrinth provided enough cover to drastically reduce the chance of being spotted by something as she moved rapidly toward her targets.
Soon, they noticed her approach. The hulking figure a dozen metres from her finally moved, letting out a low growl- prompting the other to do the same. The bone gauntlets on all eight arms shimmered, the ivory claws extending by several inches in the blink of an eye. But by then, she was already within reach.
Her task was to distract both Demons long enough for Sunny to land a crippling strike on one, buying enough time for her soul-destroying blade to take effect.
With four arms each, the Nightmare Creatures they were facing could both attack and defend at the same time. As such, the only way they could deal any meaningful damage was to take them by surprise- a method of combat Sunny knew best.
Nephis summoned her flames and infused one into her sword. In the brief pulse of light, the figure in front of her blurred, and instantly she was forced to sidestep and parry. Pale sparks flew as sunlight met jagged bone, shaving off a large chunk of charred ivory.
Darting forward, she ducked under a furious swipe and attempted a stab at the creature’s abdomen, but was forced to pull back as a fist drove downwards, bare millimetres from crushing her on the spot. She slashed at the arm with lightning speed, and was met with little resistance, leaving a deep, charred cut on its upper limb.
If the monster had reacted just slightly slower, she would have severed it entirely. Its speed and strength were truly monstrous- greater than even that of the Spire Messenger they had fought at the Hollow Mountains, and that fight had heavily injured the strongest cohort on the Forgotten Shore.
However, the old Nephis couldn’t even compare to the demoness that was fighting now. She had an extra core filling her with power, and a powerful Ascended weapon capable of rending flesh, bone and soul. Plus, she knew how to fight humanoid enemies- even if they had four arms, their biology was still familiar enough.
Familiar enough for her to if not kill, then at least distract without too much difficulty.
The other Demon closed in behind her as she turned to face it, trusting Sunny would do his part. She switched to a single-handed grip before summoning the Evertwine in a swirl of sparks. As the abomination snarled and lunged at her, she rolled under its left arms and held her sword up, angling it slightly to the side- an elbow was already falling onto her, but she was prepared for this move.
The glowing blade sank deep into the giant’s flesh, slicing into the joint. Nephis twisted her sword out the side of its arm, severing it, and threw the golden rope under the stump that remained in the same fluid motion. The end of the rope looped around the bloody forearm twice in rapid succession, then seemed to melt into the flesh- she had infused it with some of her flame, too.
Not wasting any time, she wrapped the rope around her wrist once and jumped forward, before the rope drew taut. The maimed Ape screamed and withdrew its arm, yanking Nephis forward so hard that her shoulder threatened to give out.
She shot towards the creature with astonishing speed. Her sword flashed as she cut deep into its shoulder, cleaving another one of its arms and filling the gap with radiant white flame.
Nephis smiled. A risky trick she learned from Sunny, and it worked. She tucked in her knees and turned her momentum into a forward roll, hearing the agonised wail of the creature behind her.
Then, she frowned. The battle had gone much, much better than she had expected. Within less than a minute, she was able to heavily wound a creature one whole tier above the Messenger they had fought, so long ago. This one was supposed to be empowered by a surplus of essence, too.
Perhaps the Nameless Sun was simply a bad match for the defences that the Apes possessed? It did seem a little too strong for an Ascended Memory…