A writhing mass of ravenous, serpentine flesh crashed headlong into the forefront of the Shadow Legion.
The sprawling, once-pristine plaza erupted into a torrent of flying stone fragnts, only to be instantaneously knit back together—then smashed apart anew in endless, violent cycles.
Each fallen immortal wielded the might of a Great One, warping reality itself at whim through their blasphemous resolve. Yet their adversaries were no less formidable. At the vanguard of this titanic clash, the spectral ranks of the Black Millipedes and the Ember Queen surged like an obsidian wave, unleashing a relentless onslaught against the monstrous invaders.
Bound to the Puppeteer by strands of ethereal black silk—and through the Puppeteer, to sunny himself—the millipedes moved with uncanny unity.
In an instant, Sunny sensed and directed countless segnted abominations. Ard with myriad razor-sharp limbs and a desperate frenzy of jagged mandibles, he tore savagely at the flesh of the immortal horde.
Prisoners of the Eternal City were undone and reford in rapid succession. Endless shades fell, absorbed once more into the shadowy depths of Sunny’s soul. Then, the tide of millipedes shifted tactically. No longer did they surge forth as a wild tempest; instead, they ford an impenetrable bulwark of gleaming black chitin. Those among them imbued by higher-tier entities rose above this stout rampart, hurling streams of corrosive jet at the advancing immortals.
For a brief span, acrid smoke swallowed the plaza whole.
Then, jagged gaps appeared in the chitin barrier as it was shattered, and chaos resud its brutal rhythm.
Sunny surveyed the conflict through myriad eyes—including his four pairs of piercing ones.
“I'm noticing sothing unusual,” Jet spoke evenly, her voice oddly serene despite the carnage unfolding.
Sunny arched an eyebrow.
"Go on."
Her gaze swept over Saint, Slayer, Nightmare, the colossal Serpent coiled about a Dark Castle turret, and the hulking Fiend below.
"You're holding back.”
A wry grin surfaced on Sunny’s face.
"I'm gauging a baseline—to asure how quickly these shades fall before such foes. Once I know, future battles will be better strategized.”
She frowned, concern shadowing her features.
"Are your casualties justified?”
He winced.
"That's yet to be determined."
Though hungry for vital data, Sunny was cautious; sacrificing too many shades was unacceptable—especially the Ember Queen and her elite warriors. So, as the chitin wall neared collapse, he shifted to the next phase.
Three of his manifestations erged from the shadows, rging with him, amplifying his strength.
“Ah... this feels right.”
The peak of his power since the climactic showdown at Godgrave surged within him, and for a fleeting mont, Sunny felt whole again. Reveling in this fierce vitality coursing through his veins, he redirected his focus.
With the reuniting of his four embodints, four of the Curse's chains fused in tandem. The surge in power was imdiate—and overwhelming.
He paused, stunned.
“Ah, now I understand.’
The [Absence of Light] enchantnt was activating. Designed to empower him amid the deepest shadows, its effect was maximized here—in darkness denser than any sunlight had ever touched, at the Stormsea's abyssal depths.
Perhaps nowhere was shadow more profound than the Shadow Realm itself.
Briefly absorbing the enormity of his resinous might, Sunny inhaled deliberately and unleashed two of the Curses core enchantnts: [Shadow Fla] and [rcy of Shadow].
imdiately, the boon he enjoyed flowed into the champion shades of the Black Millipede tribe. Simultaneously, his lethal resolve radiated even more fiercely through their ranks.
The tempo of battle shifted accordingly.
Far below, the pace at which his shades fell escalated sharply—but so too did the rate at which the fallen immortals were annihilated. The source of thɪs content is novelfire(.)net
Though not a critical setback, as they revived swiftly. Sunny’s brow furrowed.
The effect was potent... but only because relatively few nightmare immortals surrounded the city's fringes. Deeper within the Eternal City's labyrinthine streets, clashes would swell, dulling the Curses relative impact.
still, this insight held value—it clarified which conflicts to avoid and which to force.
Jet exhaled softly.
"Done gathering intel?"
sunny lingered a heartbeat, then sighed.
"For now.”
It seed Slayer had awaited those words; almost instantly, she nocked an arrow, its tip glowing with a fierce, blinding light.
At once, Saint transford into a shadow torrent, rushing into the fray. Nightmare bounded skyward, while Serpent slithered down like a flowing river of obsidian scales. Fiend vanished into the shadows beneath them, stepping through the gloom to reappear just beyond the swarming legion of Shadow Millipedes.
Before he could fully disappear, Sunny’s voice rang out, edged with urgency:
"Don't devour them!"
His initial plan to contain the fallen immortals had included feeding them to either Fiend or Mimic. Yet the dread evoked by the Eternal City's denizens made him hesitate— swallowing one might taint his Shadows irreparably.
Watching the Shadow Legion ready themselves, Jet's tone was steady:
"So... shall we join the fray too?"
Sunny t her gaze with a smile.
"Of course. Missing a mont like this? Unthinkable.”
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