Shadow Slave: Immortal Ice

Eirwen cursed under his breath, his eyes flicking to the shimmering Runes in the corner of his vision. They were pulling at his mind, like a siren calling a pirate to his death.

He shook his head, groaning in frustration, before glancing up at Bernard. The commander wasted no time, leaping forward and skipping steps as he summoned his shield.

It materialized in his hands within moments. With a swift motion, Bernard slammed it down onto the ground, letting it expand in size until it covered most of the door.

The Lion roared, its voice echoing through the stairway as it lashed out at the shield. Each blow landed with such force that the stairway itself trembled and groaned under the strain.

Eirwen halted his cursing, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. Ensuring he had a few seconds, he retreated into his thoughts, trying to piece together a plan. His mind raced as he calculated the smoothest way to use the chaos to his advantage.

'One holding me up, two behind me, and Bernard in front,' Eirwen thought as he evened his breathing, his eyes widening slightly. He allowed his mind to drown every unnecessary thought, focusing entirely on the pieces of the plan. If he did everything correctly, the Nightmare would end soon.

By now, he was fully convinced that heading to the throne room had been the right decision. There were too many obstacles in their path for it to be mere coincidence, it felt as though he was following the proper script. 'My trial couldn't be boring,' he mused.

"I accept," he whispered.

Meanwhile, Bernard was in front of him, gripping his shield tightly and roaring orders at the top of his lungs. His voice was nearly drowned out by the deafening clash of claws against metal as he braced himself, holding the door shut against the Nightmare Creature.

But a moment later, Eirwen couldn't focus on Bernard, or anything else for that matter. The Runes shimmering before him shifted again, their glow darkening. Suddenly a horrifying pain erupted from his core, racing down to his left knee like magma.

His eyes widened, and he bit down hard on his lip to stifle the groans that threatened to break free. Even so, faint sounds of pain still slipped through his clenched teeth. The knight holding him was too exhausted to notice, his focus locked entirely on Bernard, whose massive frame was the only thing keeping the Lion at bay.

"Finally, you accepted," the chorus of countless voices echoed all around him, their tone devilish yet angelic.

The pain intensified, spreading like fire through his body. Eirwen's breath stopped as the flesh below his knee began to split open, each nerve screaming in pain, he felt everything. He could feel the jagged ends of his Tibia and Fibula twisting and extending unnaturally, forcing themselves to align. Flesh knit itself over the growing bone, tendons slithered into place like snakes, veins shot through newly formed muscles. The air around him seemed to transforming into raw material -bone, flesh, blood- weaving together to recreate what was lost.

Eirwen bit down harder on his lip, trying to silence his groans, but it only seemed to make things worse. The agony spread through every inch of his body; each pulse of pain felt worse than the last. The bite on his lip closed too, the flesh stretching and reconnecting.

'Why does it hurt this much?! Why does EVERYTHING hurt this much in here?!' Eirwen cursed, his mind screaming against the hellish torture.

After what felt like an eternity of searing pain, his leg was finally restored. Not only that, but every wound on his body had healed, leaving him feeling like new. His snow-white body was clear again now and he seemed to nearly shine.

"See? Wasn't that bad," the ethereal voices chuckled in his mind, but he proceeded to ignore them, assuming that either he was going insane or that it was the Nightmare Spell somehow.

Eirwen shook his head, cursing under his breath, nearly stumbling backward down the stairs. The knight holding him quickly steadied him, "Please, watch out, your Royal Highness-"

The knight couldn't finish his sentence as he stared at his prince. Eirwen was drenched in sweat -his body and hair slick and wet- but what shocked the knight the most was the fact that Eirwen was standing on his own two feet. Two feet. His left foot had regrown. Not just that, but the person in front of him seemed to be someone completely new.

This was probably the snapping point for the knight as he nearly stumbled down the stairs.

This was also the first time Eirwen truly heard the other knights speak to him. Before this moment, he hadn't seen them as anything more than mere tools—puppets who did their job without question. It wasn't like he had ever tried to interact with them anyway.

He grinned, savoring the fleeting moment of realization. But before the knight could say another word, a sharp bone blade pierced through the air. It slid through the knight's mundane helmet, slicing through his eye, his skin, his flesh, his skull, and finally his brain.

The two knights behind Eirwen took an instinctive step down, their eyes wide with shock as they witnessed the brutality in front of them. They were far too exhausted to react in time.

Bernard, however, was completely preoccupied with holding the massive beast at bay. His focus was solely on the creature, and he didn't notice the massacre behind him until it was far too late.

In a flash, Eirwen dispatched the two remaining Shields. He flew forward with a powerful kick, sending one hurtling down the stairs. The knight's fall was brutal, his heavy armor only amplifying the impact, but it was the massive shield that crushed him under its weight. The knight's hand twitched slightly before he ceased moving.

The second knight barely had time to react after his comrade fell. Eirwen spun through the air, delivering a devastating axe kick straight down onto the knight's helmet. The force of the blow caved in the metal, crushing the skull beneath and silencing any resistance.

By the time the screams reached Bernard's ears, it was already too late. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes likely wide with shock beneath his helmet, though Eirwen couldn't tell anyway.

"You treacherous fu-!" Bernard roared, letting go of his shield for just a moment. He back-kicked Eirwen with enough force to send him flying into the wall, then tumbling down the stairs.

Before Bernard could finish his sentence, the lion seized the moment of chaos and slashed at Bernard's shield with such force that it sent him staggering back as well.

Eirwen groaned, bracing himself as agony shot through his back and stomach while he tumbled down the stairs. He instinctively covered his vitals and head, desperate to avoid his skull cracking open on the hard stone as he rolled down, feeling pathetic.

But just before he crashed into the ground, he shot his leg forward, pressing it against the wall to halt his descent.

"Goddamn, this hurts," Eirwen winced, rubbing his side.

Unfortunately, there was no time to rest. He looked up just in time to see Bernard crashing down, his rustling armor thundering as he fell straight toward him.

"You know you need to kill him too, right?" The voices suddenly echoed all together, blinding his senses for a brief moment.

Eirwen shoved them aside, ignoring them for now. Meanwhile Bernard crashed into him, sending both of them tumbling further down the stairs.

Eirwen shot his hands forward, aiming to impale Bernard's back with his bone blades. But they only managed to scratch the surface as the two of them collided and continued to roll helplessly down the stairs.

He could hear Bernard curse and groan as he tried to summon his sword into his right hand.

Eirwen, noticing that, kicked at Bernard's wrist, trying to pry his hand open so he couldn't grip the weapon. But Bernard was quick, grabbing Eirwen's foot with a crushing force. The sharp, crude gauntlets dug into the sole of his foot, forcing a loud groan out of him.

"You're one of them! I knew it!" Bernard let out a guttural roar as he finally manifested his sword.

"Do I really have to help you again?" The voices sighed in his head as Eirwen struggled to break free from Bernard's grip. They were only a few steps from crashing to the ground. And crashing hard.

Eirwen's vision was spinning from the constant rolling, his body bruised and battered. A rib or two cracked and a finger broken, adding to the pain.

Suddenly, his eyes caught the glimmer of steel as Bernard's sword came crashing down toward his skull.

Before Eirwen could even react, the two of them slammed into the floor with a deafening thud.

Bernard crashed onto the floor, the back of his head slamming with brutal force, causing the sword to slip from his grip.

Eirwen, seizing the moment, rolled onto his back despite the pain coursing through him, straddled his opponent and attempted to rip Bernard's helmet off, aiming to pierce the man's skull.

But Bernard was quicker than expected. With a violent motion, he grabbed Eirwen by the nape of his neck and yanked his head down. Eirwen's nose collided with Bernard's thick helmet, the impact nearly splitting it open as pain shot through his face.

He groaned and cursed, desperately scratching at Bernard's armor with his gauntlets. Even though he was sitting on top of him, he was still the one trapped.

"You are nothing like the prince," Bernard spat, his voice thick with primal hatred. "But somehow, you both share something in common. You're both selfish pieces of shit!"

His hand kept Eirwen's head locked in place as blood dripped down his broken nose. With his other hand, Bernard struck Eirwen in the temple.

Eirwen groaned, the pain making his vision blur as he tried to resist or push away, but Bernard's grip was unyielding, and the commander's strength was too much for him.

A second later, Eirwen roared in fury, he has had enough. "Who are you to judge me?! You don't even exist, you son of a bitch!" With a sudden burst of strength, he grabbed Bernard's collar, hands tightening around the metal in an attempt to pry the helmet off.

Bernard froze for a moment at the sudden burst of strength, momentarily taken off guard by the prince's fury. He kicked his feet and desperately tried to gouge Eirwen's eyes out.

The two of them wrestled weakly, each struggling for dominance, but Eirwen held the upper hand. His body, mostly healed, was at full strength, while Bernard was exhausted and battered. The fall down the stairs had taken a much harder toll on him, only weakening him further.

"Wanted to avenge your brother, huh? You stupid whore," Eirwen gurgled, blood pooling in his mouth and dripping out as he spoke like a madman.

Finally, Eirwen's fingers gripped the helmet and yanked it off. Bernard's face was a mess; sweat and blood mixed together, his nose broken, and a cut streaked across his cheek.

Eirwen spat blood at his face and laughed manically. "You are pathetic and weak. Two Transcended brothers, and here you are, a weak fuck," he spat, cursing his opponent with each word.

Bernard tried to lift Eirwen off of him, but his strength had all but failed him.

For a brief moment, fear flashed in his eyes. He was scared. Scared of death. All his dreams of avenging his brother and killing Marcel would never come to pass.

Without hesitation, Eirwen drove his Bone Blade down, sinking it deep into Bernard's skull. Bernard groaned in agony as Eirwen dragged the blade up, slicing through his head with a sickening sound, splitting it open in two.

[You have slain an Awakened Human: Bernard]

[You have completed the Deal! Your reward has been already claimed]

[New Deal!]

Eirwen's brow arched as he panted atop Bernard's unmoving corpse.

'A new Deal already?' he huffed, wiping his forehead with his bruised shoulder. He gritted his teeth against the pain, his eyes moved and willed the Runes to expand once more.

[Let Him escape the Dream. In return He promises to kill the Saint following you]

Eirwen's eyes widened. 'What Saint? Huh?' His mind raced to make sense of the words, but before he could dwell on it, a calm voice echoed from behind him.

"What a pity, I truly hoped I could be the one to end him…"