Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3039

Both Sunny and Nephis knew what awaited them in the near future — the dire and unknown peril of the Fifth Nightmare.

If all went well, they were going to enter it after six new Sovereigns ascended, leaving the duty of protecting the world in their hands until the Nightmare was conquered. If the worst came to pass, and their friends perished while attempting to rise to the throne of Supremacy...

They would still have no choice but to challenge the Fifth Nightmare. Only, this time, there would be far fewer champions left to defend humanity, and Sunny and Nephis would only be able to pray for something to remain by the time they returned.

The Fifth Nightmare was inevitable, but it made both of them feel wary.

It was a trial that no human had conquered before, and therefore, information about it was scarce. All the knowledge about it they possessed came primarily from two sources — some came from Eurys, while some came from the Dreamspawn himself.

According to what they had learned, the Fifth Nightmare was fundamentally different from all the rest, meant to bridge a far wider gap than those that existed between other Ranks. There were supposedly two elements to it — one personal, resembling the First Nightmare, and one meant to be conquered together.

More than that, their own Domains and powers would apparently become a detriment in the Fifth Nightmare, somehow. That meant that the very thing that allowed them to resist the apocalypse would be turned against them in the Nightmare.

And then there was the most worrisome detail — the fact that they would have to shed their humanity before becoming deities. That their very consciousness and sense of self would have to irrevocably and fundamentally change.

Needless to say, all of that made it seem like the Fifth Nightmare was an immensely difficult and perilous obstacle to overcome. So, they needed to prepare for it as thoroughly as they could. They needed all the strength they could muster and all the advantages they could collect.

That was why, even while the world was ending, Sunny and Nephis were willing to abandon their posts for a while and venture into the darkness of the Underworld — to make sure that Sunny possessed the full Lineage of the Demon of Fate before they had to challenge the Nightmare.

For Sunny, it was not too troublesome. He possessed seven incarnations, after all, so he did not have to withdraw from the fight against the apocalypse completely. All he had to do was decide how many incarnations he was going to send into the Underworld.

Neph's situation was quite different, though. She was not only one of the most powerful combatants humanity possessed, but also a living symbol of hope for all humans — the face and fire of the Human Domain. She always led the warriors of humanity from the frontline, her personal example and brilliant radiance inspiring them, so she could not simply vanish.

Her temporary absence had to be explained and accounted for, and for that reason, they had to spend some time laying the groundwork for the eventual departure.

In the end, though, everything was ready.

It was announced that Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan would personally lead an expedition into a previously unexplored Death Zone, searching for a source of mystical materials needed to empower humanity. That was not even a lie — the Underworld was indeed a potential source of incredibly valuable resources.

All this time, the efforts to bring back the powerful asuras of Mictlan had continued. However, asuras could not be built from just any stone — among various materials required to construct them, stone was the most important. The source people of Mictlan had used was long gone, but the stone of the Underworld, steeped for eons in true darkness, was a good substitution. In fact, it could very well prove to be a superior medium. The Stone Saints had been built from that stone, after all.

So, scouting the possibility of establishing a quarry in the depths of the Underworld was an additional goal Sunny and Nephis pursued.

Ananke stepped up her efforts to defend the Stormsea. In the east, Cassie was prepared to enter the battlefield personally. After some negotiations, Mordred had agreed to lend his strength to the defenders of the west.

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