Shadow Slave: Purgatory

A searing pain ripped through Sunny's chest, forcing him to his knees.

He clawed at his throat, gasping, but every breath was a jagged blade slicing his insides. Glass—it was like breathing molten shards of glass, each inhale dragging agony deeper into his lungs. It wasn't killing him, not yet. No, this torment was deliberate, designed to shred his will one excruciating breath at a time.

Nephis wasn't doing any better. Her body trembled, her hands gripping her sides as though she could hold herself together through sheer will. A thin, strained whimper escaped her lips with each shuddering exhale, her face twisted into a pained grimace.

'What is this place?'

After what felt like an eternity, Sunny began to adjust to the pain—or at least endure it. With a strained expression, he forced his head up to take in their surroundings.

An endless expanse stretched before him, a wasteland of black sand, jagged mountains, and shadowed plateaus. Above, the sky was swallowed by a solar eclipse—the sun a molten black sphere eclipsed by an immense shadow.

Encircling the entire plane were towering black mountains, their peaks piercing the sky like dark monoliths. Just the sight of them sent a chill down his spine. Rivers of glowing red liquid cascaded down the outskirts of the mountains, each peak feeding one. The rivers all converged somewhere far beyond the plateaus, their destination obscured by distance and haze.

Nearby, a rocky plateau loomed a few kilometers away. To their immediate right, a deep, terrifying valley yawned open, and within it flowed one of the rivers—a molten current of glowing red. Its heat radiated in waves, oppressive even at this distance.

Sunny's gaze lingered uneasily on the molten river. Just the sight of it made his skin crawl. He had no intention of going anywhere near it.

'What kind of sick bastard would willingly approach something like that?'

Yet, oddly enough, a strange sense of safety settled over him. The place was shrouded in shadows, and shadows were his domain. Here, at least, he felt some small advantage.

As the searing pain in his chest became a dull, constant ache, Sunny began to acclimate to the torturous breaths. It was then he heard Nephis whisper, her voice cutting through the silence:

"This situation doesn't look good. We should look for nightmare creatures, Sunny."

Her words struck him like a slap. Look for nightmare creatures? The very idea was insane. Who in their right mind would actively seek out creatures that wanted nothing but to devour them? Especially in this place.

Exasperated, Sunny let out a frustrated groan and replied with the famous words:

"Are you crazy? We—"

Nephis interrupted him sharply, "I know what you're about to say, Sunny—don't waste your breath. This place has unnaturally high gravity. We can't move freely without essence circulation, and we don't have much left. Add the torturous air and hunger to essence depletion, and in a few hours, we'll be too weak to fight or hunt. We need something to eat. Hydration isn't an issue thanks to the endless spring, but..."

Sunny clenched his jaw, already knowing she was right. The oppressive gravity, the suffocating air—it was all designed to wear them down. They couldn't afford to wait long, but the thought of blindly hunting nightmare creatures was absolutely insane. Resigning himself to his fate, he sighed heavily.

"We know nothing about this place, or the creatures that live here," he said. "We should wait at least a few minutes so I can scout with my shadows."

Nephis nodded calmly as she added in a flat tone:

"That's right. We both have to save our strength until we're ready."

Sunny glanced down at his two shadows, Gloomy and the newly formed Happy. Both seemed agitated, almost reluctant. Even Gloomy, his veteran shadow that had faced unspeakable horrors with him, seemed uneasy about the idea of scouting this place alone. Unfortunately, Sunny had no other option.

With a heavy heart, he sent them forward. Gloomy cast him one last contemptuous glare before dissolving into the black sand, blending seamlessly into the endless shadows under the eclipsed sun.

Sunny closed his eyes, seated next to Nephis, his focus locked on what his shadows were seeing. Under normal circumstances, he might have been hyper-aware of their close proximity, but right now, annoyance and dread consumed him.

As his shadows moved through the barren expanse, Sunny saw nothing but darkness—an endless, oppressive void of black sand, jagged rocks, and shadowy desolation.

No creatures.

No movement.

Nothing.

It was as if the land itself was dead, except for the rivers of molten red cutting through the dark terrain and the sinuous trails that writhed through the sand.

Fear and desperation began to claw at him. It wasn't fair. He had survived being chewed, gutted, stabbed, and pierced. They had cleared the Forgotten Shore, endured trials meant to break him, only to find himself trapped in a wasteland where even the air conspired to torture him.

With a deep, resigned sigh, Sunny came to a grim decision. He directed one of his shadows to look toward the distant plateaus, their jagged silhouettes rising hundreds of kilometers away from the cave, before ordering them to return. Maybe—just maybe—there was something out there that they could survive with.

With a sigh, Sunny tilted his head to glance at Nephis. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady and even. Finally aware of how close they were, he shifted away, a faint flush creeping up his face.

Awkward silence filled the air as Sunny worked up the courage to break the news about his shadows' findings—or lack thereof. But before he could say anything, Nephis spoke, her voice soft yet cutting through the quiet.

"Why did you do it?"

Sunny blinked and turned to her, confused. "Why did I do what?"

"Why did you stay back?" she asked, her eyes opening just enough to pin him with a searching gaze. "Why didn't you leave me behind? You have a sister to go back to. There's something waiting for you in reality. But for me, there's nothing. Just war, graves, and bloodshed. Don't you think I'm vile? Despicable? Don't you want nothing to do with me? So, tell me, Sunny. Why?"

The calm and cool Nephis seemed almost agitated. But Sunny simply grinned.

"I thought I told you already. I did it because I wanted to."

It wasn't out of some misguided sense of nobility or kindness. Sunny had acted purely based on what he wanted. 

The simplicity was an echo of a decision once made by Changing Star herself. Back on the Forgotten Shore, she too had made a choice—to not leave a blind girl to fend for herself in a world filled with horrors. The reasoning had been the same, almost unnervingly so.

Because she simply wanted to.

Her expression shifted, the fire in her eyes dimming into something more subdued. For a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something, but the words caught in her throat. Finally, Changing Star sighed, her lips curling into the faintest smile.

"I see." 

Sunny's grin widened. "Besides, weren't you the one who told me not to waste my breath?"

Nephis stilled, her smile fading into something softer, quieter. "I just had to know," she murmured. But before Sunny could tease her further, she cut him off, her tone shifting to something more serious. "Did your shadows find anything?"

"No. There's nothing. I never thought the day would come when I would actively want to be surrounded by nightmare creatures."

With how vicious and dangerous nightmare creatures were in the Forgotten Shore, it was sometimes easy to forget just how deadly the elements could be. Right now, their main source of danger wasn't some vile thieving bird or a titanic horror—it was merely hunger. 

With a heavy sigh, he continued, "We should head for the plateaus. Maybe there's something there we can hunt."

Nephis nodded, rising to her feet with a strained expression. Sunny took a moment to augment his body with essence and his shadows, focusing on circulation to combat the oppressive gravity. Then, he followed her lead.

Together, they stepped out of the cave, their feet sinking into the black sand, each step sending ripples across its surface. The obsidian walls that had sheltered them were now behind them, replaced by the vast expanse of the wasteland.

They were finally leaving the safety of the cave.