Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3216

Chapter 3216: Divine Choice

In the morning, Snuggle and Noctis woke up as if nothing had happened. Listening to their bickering, Shadow did not show that he had conversed with a deity while they slept, either.

He was generally quiet and reserved, so they did not notice his inner turmoil... Noctis did not, at least. Snuggle might have sensed something, but tactfully chose to play along with his silence.

A myriad of thoughts swarmed in Shadow’s head.

Had he met a god before?

Across his countless lives, he must have. Yet at the moment, he did not remember — perhaps he had not, after all. The only image in his mind was the harrowing scene of Beast God devouring a Void Creature.

He had been far, far away from that titanic clash, though. Both of those beings were simply so colossal that they could be seen from a vast distance. If Shadow had been any closer, he would have been obliterated by the violent horror of the divine confrontation.

The daemons were not equal to the great gods, but by now, they were Divine. So, for Shadow, meeting Hope was no different from facing true divinity for the first time.

Needless to say, she had not disappointed his expectations.

Even if Hope had been suppressing her deific presence to the point that it was all but impossible to sense her existence, her visage had still left a profound impression on Shadow. He could not even describe the feeling she had invoked in him... it was simply too compelling, too poignant.

Unknowable.

And he was a vast being on the precipice of becoming a deity himself, at that. Shadow could not even imagine the awe those lesser than him would feel in her presence.

Perhaps that was why she concealed it and obscured her visage — because she wanted those whom she met to feel emotions other than awe. To look past her divinity and see her instead.

Unlike Shadow, who hid because he didn’t want to be seen.

Beyond the shock of witnessing the Demon of Desire, though, were the words that she had spoken.

Shadow was surprised to learn that Hope was such an... optimist.

Perhaps there was a seed of profound wisdom in what she had told him, but he felt reluctant to accept it. That was because Hope did not know the future — but he did.

She had told him that if daemons could live alongside the gods, then humans could too. And yet, all of existence was doomed to be destroyed in a war between the gods and the daemons.

Didn’t that make Hope’s conviction misguided and naive?

As Shadow and his companions departed from the inn and left the city, Shadow contemplated deeply.

’No... perhaps not.’

Hope did not strike Shadow as someone who could be naive, let alone misguided. So maybe what she meant was not that the daemons and the gods were coexisting splendidly, so humans could too. Because they were all the same. Because they were all children of the Flame.

Maybe what she truly meant had to do with everything she had said before.

Maybe it was that daemons had a choice, just like humans... just like the gods.

And that she hoped they would choose wisely.

...However, in the end, her hope was destined to be crushed.

It was destined to be crushed by Nether, the Demon of Choice.

Who chose war.

As Shadow was jostled lightly on the coachman’s bench, he sighed.

’Well. It’s not like that has anything to do with me.’

Shadow seemed like a vast and unfathomable being to someone like Noctis or Snuggle. But to beings like Hope or the great gods, he was no more than a little, transient shadow.

Gods were great, but Shadow was small. He had no business concerning himself with the fate of the gods and the choices of daemons. All he wanted to do was keep a promise he should have given a dear friend, but never had — and then, maybe, find a way to end his tedious existence.

’It is quite ironic, isn’t it?’

The Demon of Desire, who called herself Hope, was destined to have her hopes crushed.

And Shadow, a creature of death, wanted to die but did not know how.

’We really are quite a pair.’

Perhaps that was why he had sensed a hint of affection in the way Hope spoke to him.

"What are you thinking about, Shadow?"

Snuggle’s squeaky voice pulled him out of his contemplation.

Pulling slightly on the reins of their horse, Shadow smiled faintly and shook his head.

"I was wondering if the Demon of Desire likes me."

Both Noctis and Snuggle stared at him, their mouths agape — one of their mouths, at least.

In the end, Noctis exhaled slowly and gave him a thumbs up.

His hand seemed to be trembling.

"Please forgive me, Brother Shadow. I did not know that you are a man of great ambition. This junior still has a lot to learn... I’ve never even dared to think about aiming that high..."

Snuggle seemed to have regained her composure, as well. She looked at him tearfully.

"Our Shadow is all grown up! He likes girls now... well, primordial deities, at least..."

Shadow sighed.

"You two are fools."

Snuggle giggled, while Noctis exploded with laughter.

"That we are, that we are..."

***

Their journey north was uneventful.