The Broken Halo

Sunless remained inside the crimson barrier, screaming.

Her scream was no longer as loud as before, but it was far more disturbing. It sounded like the cry of a wounded beast, the shriek of a tortured soul, and the furious roar of a Demon King mixed together.

The black Chaos Flames continued to burn the withered tree.

It did not burn quickly, but every inch it consumed caused Sunless’ body to tremble violently.

The half of her body that was made of shadows twisted and writhed like it wanted to escape from her. The remaining flesh half of her body was covered in sweat and black blood, and dark golden energy still flickered along the wounds Lilith had left behind.

Her remaining eye was bloodshot.

The shadow eye on the other half of her face was unstable, sometimes appearing, sometimes disappearing, and sometimes splitting into several smaller black eyes.

"KYYYYYAAAAARRRHHH!"

Sunless grabbed her head with her only flesh hand and staggered backward.

The ground around her cracked.

The crimson barrier trembled.

The shadows in Blackwind Valley continued to writhe strangely, twisting like worms thrown into fire. Even the shadows of the frozen corpses and broken trees moved as though they were in pain.

"Blackmoon..." Sunless hissed through gritted teeth.

Her voice trembled.

Not with fear, but with pain and fury.

"Blackmoon... Black... moon..."

She stumbled, then her expression suddenly twisted with madness.

"I’ll kill you. I’ll peel your soul apart. I’ll make you wish you were never born. I’ll make you run until your legs break. I’ll make you hide until your mind breaks."

Her words became slightly strange toward the end.

Her gaze became unfocused for a split second, and her shadow eye rotated as though it was looking at something that was not there.

"The maze... that damn maze... that damn Scientist..."

Sunless shook her head violently.

"Get out of my head!"

BOOM!

Her killing intent and aura erupted once again, but it was unstable.

The shadows around her rose, then collapsed, then rose again. Several shadow blades appeared around her, but they immediately broke apart before they could be released.

Sunless staggered again.

The black flames on the withered tree burned a little deeper.

"AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!"

The crimson barrier suddenly cracked further.

A deep crack opened on its surface, and at that exact moment, a black figure flashed through it.

True Night appeared inside the barrier.

His condition was terrible.

One of his arms was completely gone, and the stump was covered in faint dark golden lines that kept burning through his demonic energy.

His face was pale, his breathing was slightly rough, and his remaining hand held a short dagger.

But the moment he appeared, he did not hesitate.

His eyes landed on the burning parts of the withered tree, and his expression changed.

He vanished.

SHING!

Several cold shadow lights flashed around the withered tree.

The burning branches were cut off.

The parts of the bark that had been touched by the black Chaos Flames were also sliced away with frightening precision.

The severed pieces fell to the ground, still burning with silent black fire.

True Night’s expression became cold, and his remaining hand moved again.

He waved his hand, and a powerful gust of wind blew away the burning pieces from the rest of the tree.

The Chaos Flames continued burning the pieces of the withered tree, but then they slowly died out when there was nothing else to burn.

The moment this happened, Sunless’ scream stopped.

Her body trembled one last time, then her knees almost gave way.

True Night appeared beside her instantly and caught her with his remaining arm.

"Night Sovereign."

Sunless’ breathing was heavy.

Her remaining eye moved slowly and landed on True Night.

For a second, she seemed confused.

Then her gaze cleared slightly, but only slightly.

"Where..." She paused, then her face twisted as though she was struggling to focus her thoughts. "Where were you?"

True Night lowered his head.

"I was trying to purge the strange power from my arm, Night Sovereign. That demoness’ power was still inside my wound, and it would have continued spreading if I did not suppress it."

He glanced at the cracked crimson barrier.

"I also could not enter the barrier until a crack appeared. I failed to protect you."

Sunless slowly looked at his missing arm.

The stump was still covered in faint dark golden traces.

The power Lilith left behind had not been completely removed.

Sunless stared at it for a while, and her expression became even uglier.

"That bitch..."

Her voice was low.

"That useless... dragon... bitch..."

Sunless had realized a while ago that Lilith was a dragon, especially because of her golden draconic eyes and because of her knowledge.

She paused again, and her gaze became distant. For a brief moment, her remaining eye lost focus, as though she was looking at a corridor only she could see.

Then she suddenly shook her head and clenched her teeth.

True Night raised two fingers slightly, and a large shadow hand rose from the ground.

He carefully placed Sunless on the palm of the shadow hand, allowing her to sit.

Then he knelt before her.

Sunless sat on the shadow hand with her half-flesh and half-shadow body trembling slightly. She looked like a corpse that had been forcefully dragged back from death.

But she was still Sunless.

She was still the Night Sovereign.

And the hatred in her eye was still alive.

"True Night."

"Yes, Night Sovereign."

"Place a hit list on them."

True Night lowered his head even further.

"Blackmoon, Sonya, Akaza, and Merath."

Sunless’ shadow half twisted violently when she said Blackmoon’s name.

"I don’t care where they are, even if it’s in one of the six kingdoms. I don’t care where they hide. I don’t care who protects them."

Her voice became colder.

"Find them."

True Night’s gaze sharpened.

"What priority should be placed on them?"

Sunless’ remaining lips curled into a hateful smile.

"Blackmoon."

She paused.

Her eye flickered, and for a second, her words seemed to tangle in her throat.

"Black... moon... Blackmoon..."

She grabbed the side of her head.

"The maze... His mental energy..."

True Night’s expression changed slightly, but he did not speak.

Sunless slowly lowered her hand.

"Blackmoon is the top priority."

Her killing intent surged once again.

"I want every Shadow Blade, every Veilmaster, every Whisperer, every slave, and every dog of the clan to know his name."