Shadow Slave: World's Favorite

This is basically just a long glaze chapter so you are all warned, Baldr got quite a bit of aura from his antics

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After the horrors of the Soul Tree and the dangers of their grueling voyage. The cohort had finally found their way to the City that Cassie dreamt of two months ago.

Sunny was barely able to contain his excitement as they climbed the seemingly impregnable walls of the City. Following after Nephis, he finally reached the top before they both helped Cassie ascend.

'So this is it huh...' Sunny sighed in relief taking in the view of the City, before noticing something peculiar, the place was teeming with powerful abominations lurking in the shadows.

Most seemed to be of the Awakened ranks but some areas contained creatures filled with might that made him shiver even from afar, his first thought was that these Fallen creatures served as the points of dangers in this City to navigate around.

But even these were seemingly hiding from something, at least the ones with enough intelligence to keep them from meeting whatever they were scared of.

"They probably move at night, let's hurry to the Castle."

Jumping off the damp, blackened walls of the City, the cohort started navigating toward the general direction of the Castle, Sunny's shadow serving as the scout as usual.

The closer the cohort got to the Castle, the less creatures they had to move around or slay. The Castle that once filled them with hope was getting more ominous as they advanced towards it, Sunny's expression turned somber.

Were they advancing towards the den of a truly powerful creature? Like those tentacles Nephis had barely been able to escape from...

'Thinking of it, didn't Cassie mention some kind of monster living in the Castle in her vision...' That thought ran through Sunny's head before he stopped moving.

"What happened?"

"There's the voice of a woman ahead..."

Indeed Sunny had stopped after hearing the stifled mournful sobs of some girl, his guts however told him that if they rushed there, only dangers would be met.

"Let's go then."

Sunny sent a weird look towards Nephis, even as the voice of the woman came close enough for the others to hear.

"Are you crazy? What kind of person ever cries that loud in a place teeming with monsters. If it truly is someone, they ought to have died a long time ago."

Sunny's logical conclusion only met the stone-cold face of Nephis but having known her for long he could see the hidden conviction burning deep in her eyes. Cursing under his breath he and the rest of the cohort moved toward a point where they could observe the entity approaching.

Hiding behind a pile of rubble they observed as the cries drew closer, hazy fog following behind it. After a few tense seconds, a Fallen abomination that was anything but human emerged from it.

It's flesh was rotten, most of it gone with simply some pieces loosely hanging from it's bones. It's form was covered by a hide similarly rotten with some holes that showed off it's ribs the interior hidden behind a veil of unnatural darkness. It cried out a few times with the same voice as before, hoping to lure in unlucky entities that would meet it's path.

However, today seemed to be the day it would meet it's end.

"—!"

The cohort observed as, in complete silence a group of Awakened attacked the creature from behind, the precision of the ambush was surgical.

It's eyes, the only seemingly working organ in it's body along with it's ears were punctured by a pair of turquoise daggers wielded by one man. While two of it's legs were cut by glaives of the same color in the hands of one two Awakened. The people that started the attack quickly retreated as the Fallen creature barrelled towards them in a crawl.

From the opposite side, three other Awakened emerged. Led by a man the cohort identified to be the oldest of the bunch, Sunny was filled with shock at seeing the group of hunters thriving even in such an environment.

'They're fighting Fallen Creatures? And what have we been struggling against before...'

The other cohort composed of six people continued battling the creature with vigour, the oldest Awakened wielding a battle axe with enough finesse to slid off the blows of the Fallen Demon, until finally, an opportunity presented itself. The veil of darkness that hid the interior of the creature from prying gaze stopped working as most of it's rotten hide had been cut, inside, three radiant shards of light and a pristine heart, beating with incredible vigour, even while being connected with nothing at first glance.

The man suddenly lunged forward letting his battle axe dissipate into shimmerint light while he went into the creature's ribcage, puncturing it's heart with a similar dagger to the one his companion wielded . After trembling for a few seconds the creature slumped to the ground, reduced to nothing but a pile of bones and rotten flesh.

"Do we reveal ourselves?"

Sunny asked Nephis while the other Cohort was busy picking up the shards hidden inside of the creature. He would never admit it but he hoped Nephis and Cassie would stay in a cohort with him, the months they had spent together had created a bond between them that Sunny wouldn't want to be destroyed, even when they weren't the only three people in this accursed place anymore.

"Let's do so."

As they approached, the group of hunters brought their weapons up again, their eyes filled with wariness. As the figures of Cassie, Nephis and himself came in their range the group not only relaxed but brightened up.

"Did you guys just arrive here?" The leader asked, his eyes squinting in suspicion. It was normal in such a situation, a group of people revealing themselves just after the fight? Most people would think it was an ambush.

The question was seemingly directed at Nephis, the man probably immediately picking up on the fact that she was the one leading this group, Sunny's Flaw fortunately wasn't triggered.

"Yes, we've been fighting our way to this City since the Winter Solstice, I was fortunate enough to be able to regroup with two other Sleepers."

The man nodded in acknowledgedment before looking at his cohort, most of them smiled knowingly, an expression wich madeit's way on the leader's face.

"Alright. I'm Tessai, I don't think you'd know where exactly the Castle is so let me lead you, don't be afraid to ask questions about this place."

Before long the two cohorts temporarily merged as one bigger group, moving towards the City with a certain sense of pride. Some of them discussing how 'He' would be happy.

Sunny moved to the center where Nephis and Tessai were discussing, next to them Cassie, the weakest of the group was being carried by a particularly bulky Awakened.

"So what's the method to pass through the Gate?"

It was a known fact that Gates depending on the Citadel that they were in, had different conditions to be used, some had to be passed through, others touched or even plunge into for some of them. While the two first were the most commons, it didn't hurt to ask, the cohort didn't expect the group of hunters to burst out laughing though.

After a few seconds that stretched infinitely in the eyes of Sunny, who was wondering what could be so funny as to even stop the group's march, the hunters finally relented and with a sigh Tessai gestured them to move again, an easygoing smile on everyone's face.

"I'm sorry Nephis but we don't know that either, we're all just Sleepers here..."

That left only one place where the Gate could be... a shiver ran down Sunny spine as he threw a glance to the ominous Crimson Spire, was this what they had to fight? Simply to return to the waking world?

Tessai looked at Sunny worryingly before putting his hand on the young Sleeper's shoulder.

"Don't worry though, wait one year and you'll find out, 'He' will make it possible."

A look of respect, bordering on reverence made it's way in the eyes of the mature hunter's eyes. Nephis didn't miss that and pried further into this specific subject.

"I've heard it a few times but who is this 'He' you guys speak of."

This sent Tessai into a reminiscing loop, thinking of the past, he grunted a few time to clear his voice nefore addressing the subject in it's entirety.

"The King in Binds, a Sleeper just like us. But you might need a little bit of context to understand why and how everyone you will meet has been influenced by him."

"On his first day after his Winter Solstice here, he hunted a Fallen Monster."

'...?'

Sunny blinked a few times before confirming it a second time.

"You're saying, basically the first day of his arrival, he hunted a creature two ranks and one class above him?"

"Yes, that alone would have been impressive. Then he hunted almost a third of the City's Fallen population along with hundreds of Awakeneds, in a month..."

Surely it couldn't get any more monstrous than this, whoever that man was, he not only had the ability to lead people but also to fight, unfortunately the reality was even more real.

"Most of the time by himself."

'Oh come on for Spell's sake!?'

What kind of entity had decided to wear the disguise of a Sleeper and help humans reclaim more of the City? Sunny refused to believe such a being was actually of the same race as him.

As a member of Tessai's cohort whispered something in his ears the man smile turned wry while he started rubbing his nose.

"I might have been wrong on one part though, he WAS accompanied by his cohort, who helped him find the creatures and battle them in peace."

"That doesn't make him any less strong."

One of the companions of Tessai voiced out and Sunny found himself agreeing. Hopefully this was all they would hear about him before encountering him.

Even Nephis seemed shook to the core.

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"A Corrupted Demon? A Corrupted Demon!?"

"We all had the same reaction so I can't blame you, but you'll understand when you see him I guess, he has a certain aura that calls out to people."

Tessai bid then farewell as he returned to hunt with his cohort. The hunters having graciously led them to the doors of what was called the Bright Castle. The trip had taught the cohort quite a lot about the Forgotten Shore while in itself being uneventful outside of the occasional cries that Sunny would yelp out, the King in Binds was all in all an impossible existence.

He learned that the man arrived only two months ago, at the same time as them before doing all these feats, becoming the fourth Lord after only a month before taking only another to almost completely clean the City from the Fallen Masters that had once terrorised it.

He also wasn't afraid to share his techniques, ones Sunny was almost greedy to take in, with his agreement with Nephis ending as she had said. He had no one to teach him, and while he didn't think he required further teachings he saw the way Nephis eyes sharpened when it was mentioned that he used swords.

It seemed she too had an inkling on who it was, but even then it was something Sunny could barely believe in.

As they entered the Castle the cohort was met with an almost military vibe, everyone seemed to be moving with a purpose, preparing for something. It seemed that what Tessai had told them wasn't a lie everyone seemed filled with not only hope but also conviction.

This was a year long preparation for the conquest of the Crimson Spire.

One Sleeper among the hundreds noticed the confused cohort that seemingly didn't know where to go. Not all Sleepers in the Castle knew each other, after all they numbered around one thousand but faces as striking as the one in front of him would have been talked about, that served as enough of a reason for him to approach them.

"Hi I'm Harper, you seem lost so... may I help you?"

The man smiled warmly at them, his powerful physique gave off the image of a gruff barbarian if it wasn't for his meek face. The contrast between both throwing even Nephis off her foot.

"Yes, would you happen to know where the Fourth Lord is?"

Nephis asked gently but her eyes remained sharp, Sunny could feel it, she would judge herself if the ruler of the Bright Castle was deserving of her help. They had the same goal but there was no guarantee that what was said about the man was real. If he was not just a charlatan the cohort would gladly work under him for a time.

Harper expression turned troubled for a moment before changing into an amused smile.

"Alright then. He's probably sleeping in the throne room since he's been kicked off his room by Lady Athena some time ago."

This picked the interest of Sunny, was there an individual more powerful than him in the Castle?

"For what reasons would that be?"

"She caught him sneaking off at night to go hunt Corrupted Monsters."

That absurd statement solidified the idea that he had to see the man himself before jumping to conclusions, fortunately they were just in front of the doors of the throne room, the inside of it instantly made them wary though.

As they entered Sunny asked one last question to Harper.

"So how the hell exactly are we supposed to wake him up?"

In the center of the room was an entity fitting of the title of King in Binds. The individual was completly wrapped in nebulous black stripes of fabric that extended to corners of the room, all to hold him in the air, Sunny's question however, would stay unanswered.

The door was shut with a loud bang as they heard Harper running off to another part of the distance, seemingly afraid of what he himself had woken up.

'Curses, I knew this place was too good to be true, I mean a Corrupted Creature slayed by a Sleeper? Yeah right.'

He summoned the Midnight Shard while Nephis summoned her sword both ready to act if something happened. The cocoon of binds stirred, trembling with unseen might before a human hand emerged from it, this bizarre scene was taken in by everyone, the hand was scarred beyond measure, something that shouldn't happen for Awakeneds as they were blessed with a potent body ridden of imperfections.

But the hand was scarred as if flames had licked it throuroughly, even then it appeared ethereal for a burn scar. They were known to leave gruesome wounds on mundanes after all.

The hand searched around, seemingly looking for a surface to touch before it grabbed at the air, from inside the bundle of clothes a groan could be heard before the strands that covered the room retreated back to the embrace of the cocoon, wich itself changed into clothings.

Finally, a familiar face emerged from inside the cocoon, the radiant man known as Baldr had woken up from his slumber, he rubbed his eyes while looking around the room, his gaze finally settling on the cohort before he spoke, an amused smile on his face

"You guys really took your time huh?"

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Sitting at the principal table in the mess hall, the Lord and the cohort shared a meal as they discussed of various things.

"I have more more memories and had more time to study the history of this place, I'm telling you the Starlight Legion wasn't only composed of humans!"

"And how would that make sense!? The only individual who could have not been human is the stranger, and as far as I remember he distinctly has a human shape like the others."

"But we've never seen his face in any depiction right?"

That held meaning, as long as Sunny didn't know that it wasn't possible to see any of the Heroes faces due to the Fallen Terror's actions. But that was something he'd fuss over later, for now Baldr had won this argument.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, the cohort members eating with gusto as the food here was better than anything they had in months, including the one at the Academy.

"So what's the plan? For the Siege next year."

Nephis asked him eyeing him with curiosity, it was after all a good question, how would they beat the Citadel?

"Unfortunately I can't just cut it down as it would release the Dark Sea onto the world and at my current level it would be like a slab of meat unlocking a tiger's cage."

With that said Baldr eyes turned serious, demanding the full attention of the cohort.

"And surely not while missing an arm. Nephis, I know you can heal people, if I want to go hunt Corrupted creatures I really need my arm back so name your price."

Sunny and Cassie didn't even have the time to be surprised as Nephis immediately responded, her voice releasing no hints of emotions.

"Your sword, I want it."

This made Cassie and Sunny choke on their food so hard they had to stop for a moment while Baldr wheezed the whole time, the perpetrator looked around confused at the reactions of the ones at the table.

"Let me rephrase this. Teach me, Sunny and Cassie, personally."

This made the man blink for a few seconds before his grin widened even more than before, turning malicious enough to turn the warmth Sunny had felt at those words into horror.

'Oh no! I can already tell he's an harsher teacher than Nephis.'

"Alright then, the first lesson starts today then! You guys come with me, I know just the place."

With that the group moves toward an area of the Castle hidden deep underground. This seemingly served as a prison but had been repurposed by Baldr into a training area.

Baldr approached Nephis after they arrived, simply to receive his end of the deal.

"So do you need time or can you already heal my arm? If needed I kept the one that was cut, it might have rotted a bit on the inside, but it's otherwise pristine."

Nephis simply shook her head before extending her hand, flames covered Baldr stump, but rather than burning it his flesh slowly regenerated under it's effects slowly forming into a perfect replica of the one he had before, simply adjusted to his current size and muscle. That was fortunate at least.

'Such a cheat...'

Baldr couldn't help but think as he strectched his fingers and extended his arm, basking in the feeling of not being one armed. After a while he looked at the cohort with a dangerous smile.

"So shall we get to it?"

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As I said glaze chapter, next one is a bit more serious.