Shadow Slave Fanfic: The Song of The Shadow Beast

After the initial shock, Revel realized one thing, she had vastly underestimated just how deep the secrets surrounding the man in front of her ran.

At first, she had believed that, with his Flaw and their growing friendship, she would have the chance to pry valuable secrets from him.

But now, she wasn't sure if she wouldn't lose her mind in the process. With seemingly every interaction they shared, her grip on reality slipped further. The chasm between them was too vast for her to even begin to comprehend the true nature of this man.

'I hope he doesn't plan on telling me anything more outrageous… Gods, his poor sister. The girl must be terrified of him.'

She watched him intently, struggling to steady herself. Beside her, Seishan shifted uneasily, radiating nervousness that was almost tangible.

Before, it had been bloodlust.

Now, it was fear.

Revel couldn't blame her, she felt the same. And yet, the man sitting before them now bore no resemblance to the one she had feared so deeply that her body had nearly frozen in terror.

Seishan looked up from her hands. She had been trying to avoid his gaze, his onyx eyes were too similar to the empty voids of his mask.

"You know," she said, voice strained, "I expected anything behind that mask, but not in a million years would I have guessed that Nephis' boyfriend was hiding behind it."

She caught a glimpse of his eyes. His charming, almost reassuring smile unsettled her in ways she couldn't describe, it flattered and terrified her at the same time.

Sunny observed her, feeling the turmoil in her shadow, the way it tried to distance itself from him. The thought alone was amusing, but seeing the woman he had known for far longer than she realized shrinking in on herself was truly a sight to behold.

'There was a time when I was terrified of her. How the turns have tabled… wait, no… that's not how it goes, right?'

He shook his head slightly, dismissing the thought. He needed to say something, anything, really, to calm them down. He already had enough problems to deal with; having them skittish like frightened cats all the time would only make things harder.

But he had to be careful. If he sounded hypocritical, they wouldn't just fear him, they would come to despise him. More than they despised the Lord of Shadows.

"I think we all know there's a clear difference in power between us. I won't pretend that's not a fact we're all aware of. That's why I chose to face you as Master Sunless. It would have been much easier that way."

He exhaled softly, turning to face the window. His voice was calm, almost melodic, like a lullaby.

"But now that you know… there's nothing I can do to change that. This place…" He looked around thoughtfully, memories flashing through his mind, the times he had greeted guests here, chatted with old friends who had long forgotten him. Painful memories, but important ones.

"…It's my home. Just as much as the Nameless Temple is my home. Neither of them is a façade. There's no lie to uncover about me. The version of me that you've met so far…" He turned to Seishan, whose breathing was slowly evening out, the fear in her eyes fading.

"…especially you, Seishan, is just another part of who I am. I am the Lord of Shadows, true. But I'm also Master Sunless. I'm a survivor of many disasters. And those have left their scars. So, in the end, you shouldn't ask yourself who I am or who I'm not, but what my intentions are."

They listened.

Revel had already seen this side of him, the calm, collected Master Sunless. She had also faced the Lord of Shadows. A fiend greater than any horror she had encountered before. A calamity of death.

When she compared the two, there was not a single detail that connected them. At least, in hindsight.

She mustered a small smile. It was difficult to fight through the fear and frustration, but she did so anyway.

"I get it. You're… what I would call a puppeteer. All your Incantations, they serve different purposes, so you designed them to fit the task they were meant for. At first glance, they seem too different from one another. But in the end, they are all you."

She took a deep breath, feeling her body relax as her heartbeat slowed.

"If you were truly just the Lord of Shadows and Master Sunless was only a lie, you wouldn't have spared us. You wouldn't have even brought us here. And even if you had, the Lord of Shadows would have left us rotting in a dark cell, mourning in fear and sorrow. But you didn't. Instead, you tried to make the best of the situation. You have a big heart… as you just demonstrated with the matter regarding Silent. Yet, in an instant, you can be commanding and sinister."

She couldn't believe it, but she found herself feeling sorry for him. The horrors he must have endured were beyond her comprehension.

The result? A man who was both cruel and caring. Sinister and soothing. Terrifying and treacherous.

She didn't know how, but somehow, she had ended up here, face to face with such an extraordinary existence.

And she was equally grateful and terrified that it was him she had been placed before.

Sunny chuckled softly. "It's true, I can change my demeanor and my train of thought in an instant. It's become a habit to see things from different perspectives."

He paused, then added, "I know what it's like to be utterly powerless. I haven't always been strong, you know? Quite the opposite. I come from the outskirts of NQSC, a scrawny, malnourished kid with nothing but death waiting for him. When the Spell chose me, I assumed I was done for."

Suddenly, the shadows stirred.

Revel and Seishan gasped as their surroundings shifted, and they suddenly found themselves standing before a magnificent tree.

Sunny wore a proud expression as he walked toward its mighty trunk, gesturing to a specific spot, something they had missed the first time they arrived here when he had been leaning against it.

"These three lines, I carved them into this tree. Originally, it stood in the outskirts of NQSC. Do you know what they represent?"

His gaze shifted to them, watching as they tried to understand.

Revel stepped closer, running her fingers over the markings. The first two were old, but the last one seemed more recent, added years after the others.

Uncertain, she spoke in a quiet voice.

"I don't know… but the last one was added much later than the first two. What are they?"

Sunny took a deep breath. This was perhaps his most personal connection of all.

"It's a grave. The first two lines represent my parents. I added the third when I got infected. People from the outskirts… they don't have the money for graves. So we outskirt rats come up with alternatives. It's the best I could do."

Seishan had been unusually quiet the whole time. First, she had been scared. Now, she was simply confused. Flabbergasted.

"Who would've thought…" she muttered, "that the Lord of Shadows came from the outskirts."

She exhaled, shaking her head. "It's hard to believe how far you've come. From the lowest rung of society to possibly the strongest Saint in existence. It's not just remarkable, it's outright mad."

Her frustration grew, not because she was being held captive, but because she couldn't fathom how such a person could exist.

And yet, here he was. Standing before her.

"But… how did you rise to such power without anyone noticing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Saints don't just pop out of nowhere. Especially not at that level of strength."

She studied him, curiosity shining in her eyes.

She had always enjoyed unraveling secrets, uncovering the unknown.

But the secrets of this man… they seemed to hold a dangerous kind of knowledge.

Knowledge one could lose themselves in, if they delved too deep.

Sunny knew she wouldn't remember his answer. After all… they had met before.

Not on a friendly level, of course, but their paths had crossed more than once.

"You're right, it seems impossible for someone like me to just appear out of nowhere. The truth is, I didn't simply come into existence. I was forgotten. My fate was stolen by a Cursed Terror, after all."

Seishan frowned. For a brief moment, something seemed to click in her mind, only to slip away the next second. She just stood there, her indifferent expression making it clear that her thoughts had been obstructed by fate.

Revel, on the other hand, stood frozen, mouth slightly open, eyes twitching.

Sunny recognized the look, stunned disbelief. He had expected her to be able to retain the information. After all, he had never met her before, and as it turned out, she had never heard of him either.

So, despite being fateless, despite everyone having forgotten him, she could still hold on to the knowledge of him. Because there was nothing for her to forget in the first place.

She continued staring, unable to say anything, as he once again shattered her perception of reality with an impossibility spoken in the most casual manner.

Her gaze flicked to Seishan, who remained oddly silent and unimpressed. Confused, Revel reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Shan? How are you not freaking out about this?"

Seishan met her gaze, frowning before crossing her arms as if she were offended.

"What? He just said it's a grave. What's so hard to understand about that?"

Revel let out a shaky breath. That was when she realized something.

And it left her in an even worse state than before.

She turned to Sunny, who simply chuckled.

"Don't bother," he said smoothly. "She won't remember anything I tell her about myself from before I lost my fate. It's impossible. But you can, because you hadn't known me before. So, I'll explain it to you."

He gave her a small nod.

"But first… let's go back."

A heartbeat later, she was back in the dining room.

The way he transported himself, and them, so effortlessly was unsettling. Even among spatial abilities, the sheer casualness with which he warped reality was staggering.

Once seated, Sunny leaned back, regarding Seishan with an indifferent look.

"So… what are you going to do now that you know the truth?"

She let out a tired sigh and turned toward the stairs. Her voice was raspy when she finally spoke.

"I'm going to check on Silent. Convince her to keep quiet about this. There's no need to worry the rest of our sisters." She hesitated before adding, "Sometimes, knowledge is a burden. I think you know that better than most."

Without another word, she trudged up the stairs…her mortal enemy.

This time… she didn't fall.

Sunny and Revel watched her go.

Revel knew the conversation ahead would be one to haunt her for days, weeks, even, but for now, she had nothing but time.

"So…" He exhaled. "Let's get started. Coffee?"

Revel nodded.

The shadows beside him stirred, and suddenly, a figure clad in onyx armor and a demon's mask emerged, carrying two mugs of coffee.

The armored figure placed them on the table, then gave Sunny's Incarnation of Master Sunless an empty stare before speaking in a dark, sinister voice.

"I'm not your butler, you know."

Master Sunless chuckled, taking a sip.

"In a way, we are both butlers, no? I mean… the original body is still in Nephis' bedroom." He smirked. "Now piss off back to Godgrave. We're very busy, as you know."

The Lord of Shadows let out a sharp hiss before vanishing back into the darkness.

Revel just stared, expression unreadable.

Sunny met her gaze, holding back laughter as she slumped into her chair, trying, and failing, to process it all.

"That's what it's like to live multiple lives at once." He grinned. "You really think I wouldn't go a little insane doing this?"

At last, she just chuckled, accepting it.

There was no point in questioning anything weird about him anymore.

That much, he had made perfectly clear.

She took a deep breath, bracing herself, mentally preparing for what was to come.

"No, it's fine. Let's just start." She hesitated, then muttered, "But… please be gentle. I can't take much more stress right now."

Sunny mused softly, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"I'm always gentle."

She scoffed.

"Yeah… I think we have very different interpretations of that word."

"Maybe." He smirked. "But sure, Nephis would agree with you."

Revel choked on her Coffee.

Hours passed.

Revel had endured his barrage of impossible truths for as long as she could. But in the end, she could feel her mind short-circuiting over and over again.

Now, she lay sprawled across a couch, utterly spent.

When some of her sisters came to check on her, she had given them a simple excuse, she was tired.

Not a lie.

She was tired.

Tired of feeling so infinitely helpless in comparison to him.

Like she had just started her journey as an Awakened.

Like all the experience she had accumulated over the years had suddenly been rendered meaningless, her achievements reduced to the fumblings of an innocent child in the face of what he had just revealed.

And that's just what he was willing to share.

She swallowed.

'How had he not broken under the weight of such a life? Impossible.'

Then again, she knew he had broken before.

He didn't brave the Hollow Mountains because it was fun, after all.

And yet, here he was.

Still standing.

A madman.

A survivor.

A nightmare.

'Who would stop him if he ever decided to destroy our Domain? Mother is strong, sure. But killing a human Supreme was far different from killing one who had gone mad, a monster reduced to a Great Beast.'

She wanted to deny it. Wanted to believe in the impossible.

But for him, the word "impossible" simply didn't exist.

He has the will and the strength to lead humanity.

Yet, he chooses to put someone else on the throne.

'Is that… what real love is? Putting the other person first?'

She exhaled, staring blankly at the ceiling.

A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Reality dawned on her.

And in the silence, she barely whispered the words that had begun to claw at her mind.

"…Mother… needs to die."