SHADOW SLAVE: CROWN OF HOLLOW SCORN

Some time later, they were sitting on the western edge of the stone platform, with Sunny and Nephis looking at the scavengers below and Valen with Cassie.

Sunny's shadow was busy scouting a path to the next high landmark.

"Were there always that many?"

Sunny glanced at Nephis and shook his head.

"No, there were much more. They seem to be almost done with the carcass. I doubt it will last until nightfall."

Which meant that, by tomorrow, all these beasts would be roaming the labyrinth, making it hard for the three Sleepers to make any progress. It would be best to leave today and put some distance between themselves and the horde before the scavengers were done with their feast.

However, without scouting a path in advance, there was a chance of not making it to safety in time. Both options were risky.

Nephis frowned, seemingly thinking the same.

After a while, she said:

"I don't want Cassie to spend another night near this statue. Let's leave now."

Sunny thought for a while, then opened his mouth to offer his own opinion. However, a sudden commotion below prevented him from speaking.

Down at the bottom of the disappearing sea, amidst mounds of broken coral, the carcass of the giant shark-like monster — the remaining half of it, to be precise — was almost stripped of meat. And between its white bones, something was shimmering in the mud.

Two extremely large, luminescent crystals.

Sunny's eyes widened.

"Are those…"

"Yes. Shards of two transcendent soul cores."

Transcendent… two of them…

Suddenly, he was simultaneously filled with greed and fear. Greed because of how rare and precious transcendent soul shards were; fear because the giant shark turned to a be a corrupted devil, at least.

One corrupted devil, if not stopped by a Saint or a large number of Awakened, could potentially destroy an entire city. Sunny belatedly realized that he was much closer to death on that first night than he had previously thought.

"Should we…"

"Wait and listen."

He stared at Nephis and then obediently listened to the distant, barely audible clamor of the scavengers.

After a while, he noticed some disharmony in it.

Nephis suddenly tensed up.

"There."

She pointed in the direction of the labyrinth. After concentrating on it, Sunny was finally able to notice two massive shadows stepping out of a particularly wide passage.

A second later, the creatures casting those shadows appeared in sight. Sunny gulped.

'Damn.'

The monsters looked like the scavengers, but not quite. To start with, they were much larger, towering above the surroundings at more than three meters of height. Their carapace seemed to be thicker. It was colored in deep black and scarlet, like an ancient armor drenched in blood. Here and there, vicious-looking spikes were growing out of the carapace, making their every move much more dangerous.

Additionally, instead of heavy pincers, their upper arms ended with long, curved, terrifying bone scythes.

Sunny felt cold sweat running down his spine.

"What the hell are those things?"

Nephis tilted her head.

"Monsters, I guess."

Nightmare Creatures with one soul core were called "beasts". They were dangerous and strong, but mindless. If they were able to develop or were created with a second core, they became "monsters". Monsters were much more devastating and possessed some rudimentary, warped form of intelligence. They were the next step in a Nightmare Beast's evolution.

And these two seemed to be bigger, deadlier versions of carapace scavengers.

Sunny and Nephis watched as the two monsters approached the carcass. The scavengers were visibly afraid of them, rushing to get out of the way. Those who were two slow were mercilessly thrown to the side or cut apart by the bone scythes. Rivers of azure blood were flowing into the mud.

'What are they doing? Did they come to absorb the soul shards?'

Finally, the monsters reached the carcass. Each of them took one of the shards. However, instead of absorbing them, they simply turned around and carried the precious crystals away. The scavengers made way, following the shards with their little, hungry eyes.

Sunny blinked and looked at Nephis.

"Do we still leave now?"

Changing Star frowned and hesitated. A few moments later, she shook her head.

"No. We'll go tomorrow."

Then, she turned west and observed the retreating monsters.

"...Get your shadow to follow these two back."

***

"Don't worry too much..."

Valen's voice was soft, almost bewitching. His tone carried an unusual warmth—one that Cassie wasn't sure she had ever heard from him before.

She turned slightly toward him, her hands clasped together on her lap.

"I… Aren't you scared, Valen?"

"Of what?"

"Of everything," she admitted, her voice quiet. "We're stuck in the middle of nowhere, no citadel in sight, surrounded by this endless sea of horrors… An-and—"

"I get it," Valen cut in smoothly. "You're scared. And to be honest with you….so am I. Everyone is."

Cassie tilted her head, listening closely.

"Sunny, Nephis, me," he continued. "The difference is what you do with that fear."

She stayed silent, feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of his breath beside her. (and listening to the greatest philosopher ever.)

"Fear can be a motivator, you know? Everyone is a slave to it, whether they realize it or not. Even in everyday life—people study because they're afraid of failing, they dress well because they're afraid of judgment. It's everywhere."

Cassie pressed her lips together, absorbing his words.

"But in situations like this," Valen said, his voice turning lower, "you can't let it control you. You ignore it and do the best you can."

For the first time, she felt like she was truly hearing him. There was something in the way he spoke—calm, certain, unshaken. It was… reassuring.

Yet, as he finished speaking, Cassie's instincts caught something else.

A tiny pause. A shift in his breathing. The briefest hesitation.

It wasn't fear.

It wasn't worry.

It was… something colder.

It was gone so quickly she almost convinced herself she imagined it.

Then Valen exhaled lightly, almost amused.

"So yeah, I guess I'm scared too," he said.

There was a faint smile in his voice.

"Don't tell anyone, though."

Cassie chuckled softly, the tension slipping away. "You don't seem so cold now."

"Hmm?"

"N-Nothing!" she stammered, flustered.

Valen let out a low, easy chuckle.

"We should go talk with the others if you're feeling better," Valen offered.

Valen shifted slightly, his presence beside her shifting just enough for her to notice.

"I-I don't feel so good right now," she murmured. "Maybe we should stay like this for a bit."

They sat in silence, the distant sounds of the sea filling the air.