Shadow Slave

No matter how curious Sunny was about what would happen if he and Nephis woke up one day and decided to battle to the death, he had to admit that he was badly matched against her dark copy here in the Underworld.

If he was wielding all his powers... he honestly did not know what the outcome would be. Sunny was an immensely powerful being himself, but his true strength lay elsewhere. His Shadows were immensely powerful, and he commanded a deathless legion of shades. He was also a master of sorcery. Of course, if his Domain were to be included, then Neph's had to be included as well.

Which meant that the question wasn't really who would win in a fight, him or Nephis. The question was who would win in a war — Sunny and his legion or Nephis and all of humanity.

Sure, his Shadows were powerful... but so were the people who pledged their loyalty to Nephis. Kai, Effie, Cassie, Morgan, Seishan, and the rest of them — hundreds of Saints, all the Legacy Clans, countless Masters, billions of mundane humans. Was his Shadow Legion stronger than all of humanity?

Sunny wasn't sure.

Of course, he was tempted to believe that he would win. There were simply too many tools in his toolbox. While Nephis was a force to be reckoned with, given enough time, Sunny could probably weave something to defeat her. But then again, there were countless sorcerers serving her, as well, and human ingenuity was endless. So who was to say that she would not create something to deal with him, too?

At the end of the day... Sunny was still most likely poised to win, simply because of how insidious his Domain was. The longer a war continued, the stronger the Shadow Legion became. So, unless Nephis learned how to fully destroy shades, humanity would fall to the tide of shadows sooner or later.

Ah, but then...

After their trip to the Tomb of Ariel, Nephis possessed the Knowledge of Corruption. So wasn't she capable of turning Sunny into a Nightmare Creature by simply whispering a few secrets into his ear?

Luckily, Sunny did not need to find out, because they were one and the same now. A war between them was no different from the right hand trying to kill the left hand. And since he was limited in what he could unleash here in the Underworld, the best decision he could make was to augment Nephis and lend her his strength in the battle against the Creature of Darkness.

It was like two hands holding the hilt of a sword — no different from the first lesson in swordsmanship Nephis had given him. One hand pushed, the other pulled. That was how the blade could move with deadly speed, slaying the enemy before they could react.

So, now, Nephis was empowered by his embrace, facing the dark copy of herself... who was augmented by the remaining incarnation of his copy.

What was it that Nephis had said? That the Creature of Darkness was playing with them?

No matter how uncomfortable it made Sunny feel, he had to admit that she was probably right. After all, if that thing was powerful enough to create nearly flawless copies of two Supreme wielders of Divine Aspects — as well as make a puppet out of a Great Titan — then it most likely did not need to mimic them.

Had it created the dark copies simply for its own amusement?

If so... Nephis was going to make that thing take them seriously.

She had always been strong-willed and determined, facing each battle earnestly. How could she not, if for her, fighting meant burning herself alive? But now, Neph's resolve reached a truly frightening level. Her mind was focused and clear. Her Will was absolute. Her killing intent was scorching, burning in her eyes like a merciless inferno.

She thought she recognized the creature... the same creature who had haunted her nightmares ever since she became a Master. Facing it as a mere Sleeper had been the greatest shock and humiliation she had ever experienced. Nephis was strong, Nephis was proud... but out there in the depths of the Nightmare, she had been forced to kneel and beg.

It had taken her years to recover from that humbling defeat. She had only regained her confidence — and her flame — in the ruins of Twilight, facing the ghastly visage of the Soul Stealer. And even if the wound only made her stronger in the end, she had never forgotten the bitter pain of losing it all to the abyssal horror.

Now, the same abyssal horror — or a being eerily similar to it, at least — was right in front of her. She wasn't a powerless Sleeper anymore, either. Instead, she was Supreme — she was Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan, the living goddess of humanity. The woman who had slain the Sovereigns and conquered the world despite coming from nothing.

The radiant blade of the Blessing flashed as it cut the world, scorching the terrifying darkness surrounding her. Her brilliance was like an endless tide, burning the very thought of defeat away. Her body moved with the grace of a dancer and the precision of a natural-born killer, and her heart was utterly ruthless — both to her enemy and to herself.

Sunny wanted to activate the [Dark Embrace] enchantment of the Curse to soothe her pain, but Nephis refused it. She did not mind the pain — she welcomed it. Pain was the purifying fire that cleansed her mind and fueled her Will, reminding her of what was at stake.

The battle between Nephis and her dark copy was chilling. Neither of them worried about preserving themselves, only caring about ensuring that the damage their bodies received did not hinder their movements. As a result, their clash was perhaps the most brutal Sunny had ever witnessed — their bodies were pierced, cut, and scorched, waves of white and black flames dancing across their figures and mending the damage, only for their healed flesh to be cut and mangled a moment later.

It was utterly inhuman, only made more disturbing by the fact that Neph's focused expression never changed, while her copy's smile never faltered.

The dire forces they unleashed wreaked havoc across the district of the ancient city where the battle was taking place, and the entire city quaked, enormous slabs of stone falling from the distant ceiling of the colossal cavern and plunging into the deep mist below.

And throughout all of that, Sunny was observing the dark copy of Nephis intently. Figuring out the ways in which it was inferior to the real deal.