Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3017

Sunny fled the waking world and escaped the unbearable pressure of its draconian laws.

At the same time, a different incarnation of him moved from shadow to shadow, slowly scaling the walls of the Castle. There were thousands of excited people crowding its many courtyards, and the sun was high in the sky, illuminating the sprawling vista of Bastion.

Bastion had always been the most prominent human settlement in the Dream Realm. It had been the first foothold humanity had established in the frightening world of the Nightmare Spell, connecting the isolated Citadels located in its heartland both to each other and to the Stormsea. And even if the basin of the River of Tears developed swiftly later on, Bastion never lost its exalted status.

After Godgrave, it became the seat of Immortal Flame's power as well...

But it was only today that Sunny felt that he was looking at the greatest stronghold of humanity — at its beating heart.

The Ivory Tower drifted among the clouds above the Mirror Lake. Some distance away, on the other side of the Castle, the Night Garden cast a shadow on its battlements. And somewhere far away, the brilliant Dream Gate towered above the lively streets. Today was a special day when the Dream Gate connected Bastion to Ravenheart. People could travel freely between the two Great Citadels, ostensibly turning them into one colossal city.

Mundane people, Awakened, Echoes, enthralled Nightmare Creatures — all of them flooded the streets, serving as an unmistakable reminder of how powerful humanity had grown. The four Great Citadels seemed to have become one, lending their immense weight to that feeling of strength.

Looking at it, one could just believe that humanity could really withstand the apocalypse.

"Ah, damn it..."

On top of the main keep of the Castle, Effie was standing alone on a secluded rampart, her tall figure contoured beautifully against the brilliant sky. When Sunny arrived, she was engaged in a strange ritual.

There was a scattering of small white balls on the stones in front of her, and she was holding an odd alloy weapon in her hand — not quite a war hammer, but not quite a mace either. As Sunny emerged from the shadows, she swung the weapon in a graceful arc and sent one of the balls flying into the sky with a thunderclap.

The ball glistened like a tiny meteor and disappeared into the distance, never to be seen again.

Sunny stared at all that with a confused expression.

"Who are you trying to kill? And why are you using such a strange method?"

Effie inhaled deeply, then turned to him and smiled.

"Hey, Sunny."

She used her odd weapon to roll another ball into position and looked into the distance.

“I am not trying to kill anyone. Just... trying to relax. This here is an ancient ceremony from before the Dark Times — something called golf. I read in a book that people performed it to relax."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"Really? So what's the purpose of this ceremony?"

Effie hesitated.

“To get the ball into a small hole, I guess? Wait!"

She opened her mouth, her eyes glinting with mischievous light, but then just sighed.

“Ah, forget it. There are no golf holes in Bastion, so I am trying to get the balls into the Stormsea instead."

Sunny looked into the distance.

"There are hundreds of kilometers between Bastion and the Stormsea."

Effie grinned.

"Exactly!"

With that, she swung her club again, producing another thunderclap. The ball disappeared behind the horizon.

Effie watched it fly away, then shrugged.

“Honestly, I sort of get it. I don't think that the goal even matters. It just feels nice to give something a good whack sometimes. Wait!"

She opened her mouth again, but then just shook her head again.

"Wanna try?"

Sunny considered it for a moment.

Could he get the ball into the Stormsea? Honestly, it was not impossible. He had bombarded the Winter Beast with heavy javelins from at least twenty kilometers away as a Saint — he wasn't a Saint anymore, and the golf balls were way lighter than those javelins had been. So, there was no telling how far they would fly.

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