Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Chapter 47: Master of Lies



Nephis gritted her teeth—everything had gone wrong.

She and the others had planned to attack Verge after killing the Dread Lord and the Soul Stealer.

Sunny had left to claim his freedom, abandoning them to face Verge and its forces alone.

The Cohort didn't resent him for it, not at all. They understood how much Sunny longed to be free.

But in the midst of the battle, the corrupted Sunny appeared out of nowhere.

He corrupted all her friends and companions—only she survived, thanks to her ability.

'Why did everything end like this?'

She didn't know, but she was sure someone did—Cassie.

When Nephis first saw the corrupted Sunny, Cassie hadn't panicked; it was as if she had already known this would happen.

'Damnation.'

Her essence was nearly depleted, and she barely managed to escape from the corrupted Sunny.

Looking around, she saw nothing but gray mist stretching endlessly.

When corrupted Sunny appeared, the Cohort fought him to buy her time to flee, allowing her to reach the Chain Breaker and escape into the mist, hoping it would shake Sunny off her trail.

Nephis glanced at the ground, shame filling her heart. She had fled, leaving her friends to their doom.

In the distance, an enormous black edifice loomed. It resembled a rough, irregularly shaped, giant sphere of black stone hovering in the void—eternal and indestructible. Its surface was adorned with strange mountains rising from its hollow interior, like a massive stone heart nestled between jagged outcroppings. Beneath its shadow lay a vast valley filled with the wreckage of countless broken ships.

Nephis' eyes widened in horror.

She recognized the ships—how could she not?

Some were Chain Breakers, and others were Ananken ketches.

Upon reaching the Estuary, Nephis leapt from the deck of the Chain Breaker and set foot on the ground.

Summoning her sword, she began climbing the mountain.

It didn't take her long to reach the summit.

Lying down, she took several deep breaths before forcing herself to her feet.

As she walked toward the peak, she stopped abruptly.

Something—or someone—was standing there.

She moved stealthily toward it.

'What… is this?'

In front of her stood an inverted cross made of silver. Nailed to it was a humanoid creature—a monster, perhaps? Its skin was black as night, and its face had no features. Long black hair cascaded down its back, reaching the ground.

The creature was bound tightly with black chains that coiled around its entire body.

Nephis frowned.

'Why is there a creature sealed here?'

Suddenly, the creature's face twitched.

Nephis gripped her sword tightly, ready to strike at any moment.

The creature's face opened, revealing a single bloodied eye.

It stared at her for a few moments before speaking in a broken, monstrous voice, even though it had no mouth.

"N…Neph..is."

Nephis' eyes widened in disbelief.

"What are you?!"

The creature remained silent for a moment.

"What am I?… I don't…know."

It paused again, as though speaking caused it immense pain.

"But I know who I am…I'm the Black Emperor."

Nephis' sword dropped to the ground, the sound echoing through the Estuary.

"Raph?!"

"What happened to you? No—why are you here in this… state?"

Raphael didn't respond. His gaze shifted past her, toward the Great River.

"You…brought…someone with…you."

Nephis' body trembled.

She didn't need to guess who was coming—she knew it was the corrupted Sunny.

He was chasing her, intent on killing her to secure his freedom.

She turned back to Raphael, her voice trembling.

"Cassie, Effie, Kai, and the others… they're all dead or corrupted. Why did this happen?"

She stumbled toward Raphael and sat down beside him, burying her face in her knees.

"I don't want to die… hic. I still haven't avenged my father. Those bastards are still alive. I… I can't die here!"

She lifted her tear-streaked face and looked at Raphael.

"You always knew so much. I'm sure you can help me, right?!"

Raphael remained silent for a moment before finally replying:

"If…I could help you, I would have helped myself a long time ago..."

"Ah… I see."

Nephis' fragile hope shattered. In the end, she was destined to die at the hands of her lover.

The two sat in silence for several minutes until the sound of footsteps broke the stillness.

Both turned toward the source of the noise.

There he was—the Mad Prince in blood and flesh.

Nephis stumbled backward, her heart gripped with dread.

"Sunny, please—I beg you, stop."

But the Mad Prince ignored her pleas and continued forward.

Nephis tried to run, but a shadowy sword pierced her heart.

She turned to Sunny, her voice weak.

"I… wish we had never met."

The Mad Prince laughed over her lifeless body.

Raphael glanced at Nephis' corpse, his face void of emotion.

After centuries of torment, his body's transformation, and the corruption of his soul, he had become numb.

He turned his attention from Nephis to Sunny.

Though she was dead, Nephis had unwittingly delivered him a valuable gift.

With Nephis gone, Sunny was without a master, which meant Raphael could enslave him and use him to secure his freedom.

Raphael opened his mouth to speak but froze.

It wasn't guilt that stopped him—no, not at all.

In the distance, beyond Sunny, a figure stood.

Their form was obscured by a black mist, as if they were both an illusion and reality itself.

The figure's face was hidden behind a mask of black lacquered wood, carved into the likeness of a ferocious demon with four protruding fangs and seven twisted horns rising like a crown.

Within the dark chasms of its eyes, there was nothing but pure, consuming darkness.

Raphael locked eyes with the masked figure.

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown.

And Raphael saw it—the Unknown.

"Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Raphael screamed, tears of blood streaming down his face.

Even he, who had endured the agony of death itself, was on the brink of collapse.

He was terrified beyond comprehension. The the "thing" he saw in the eyes of the entity before him was beyond human understanding.

The figure didn't move, watching Raphael's torment in silence.

The corruption within Raphael's soul intensified, but so did the Daemon of Destiny.

The "thing" Raphael saw pushed both to their limits.

His soul began to fracture under the strain.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Raphael regained consciousness.

He frantically looked around for Sunny but found no one—only the mysterious figure remained.

It didn't take long for Raphael to recognize the being before him. The mask was unmistakable.

The Firstborn of the Unknown.

Master of Lies.

Weaver, the Daemon of Fate.

"How? How are you here?!" Raphael demanded.

Weaver remained silent, its gaze unwavering.

Raphael asked countless questions, but the Weaver didn't respond.

Finally, the Master of Lies spoke:

"You were born into this world for no purpose...

Your existence doesn't matter...

Don't remember... don't remember why you were born, Raphael."

With those words, the Daemon of Fate began to vanish.

Raphael gritted his teeth. Was he born for a purpose? Did his existence matter? He couldn't make sense of Weaver's words, but he knew one thing—this was his chance for freedom.

"Wait! I can help you. You don't want Sunny to escape fate so you can control him, right? If you free me, I swear I'll help you."

Desperation filled Raphael's voice. He was on the brink of collapse, unable to endure his torment any longer.

Weaver looked at him and replied:

"You are correct. It was never part of my plan for him to escape fate."

And with that, the Daemon of Fate disappeared.

Raphael stared at the spot where Weaver had stood and began to laugh—a crazed, maniacal laugh.

From the beginning, everything they had done to change their fate was futile. They had always been puppets of fate, moving as it willed.

His laughter echoed through the Estuary.

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Please welcome, The Master mind, The Embodiment of Deception, and my assistance. Weaver, the Daemon of Fate! Two chapter left for the Volume end were everything will be revealed.

If you have any questions, you can find me in the official Shadow Slave discord. just go to the Fanfiction room, and search for mine, it's named after the FF name.

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