Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3218

The Underworld and its eternal darkness were terrifying... but they were not nearly as terrifying as the endless expanse of white mist above the mountains.

And yet, Shadow disliked the Underworld much more.

The white mist robbed him of his senses and quietly eroded the very foundations of his existence. True darkness merely robbed him of his senses, so in theory, Shadow should have felt better once he and Snuggle escaped the white mist and dove into the depths of the Underworld. But in practice, it was quite the opposite.

Shadow felt deeply uncomfortable.

Maybe it was because the mist was a natural force — a literal manifestation of absolute absence — while true darkness felt... alive. Not only did it feel like a living being, but like a being that was a natural predator of shadows.

Shadow felt like he marched into the belly of a hungry beast of his own volition.

"What... is up... with this creepy place?"

Snuggle's squeaky voice broke the silence, and a moment later, her small figure ignited with a brilliant radiance, chasing away the darkness.

Even if her light only illuminated a small area — far smaller than it usually did — Shadow immediately felt a little better.

He lingered for a moment, then glanced at a radiant doll who stood on his shoulder.

"This is the Underworld, where elemental darkness dwells. Most people have never encountered it, so they mistake shadows, which are the absence of light, for true darkness. However, true darkness is not an absence — it is a presence. It is an element opposite to light, and therefore an enemy of shadows."

Snuggle scratched her head.

"Ah, I remember. It was born from the blood of a Void Being. No wonder it's so creepy."

She hesitated for a moment before asking:

“So, what kind of dangers can we expect to meet in the Underworld?"

Shadow had to consider his response for some time.

Indeed, what kind of creatures populated the Underworld in this era?

The Stone Saints would only be created many centuries later, so there was no civilization in the Underworld at the moment. Nether might have explored this dark realm already, but had he claimed it as his own?

Shadow was not sure. He couldn't quite remember when the Demon of Destiny was supposed to have a falling out with Storm God, go to war with her realm, and then retreat into the Underworld to sulk in solitude. Even if their spat had already happened, the Underworld was vast. Chances were, they would not encounter Nether.

That only left the original inhabitants of the Realm of Darkness.

He sighed.

“There are probably some Creatures of Corruption hiding in the darkness. There are probably Creatures of Darkness here, as well. The former are quite dangerous, while the latter... are not necessarily hostile, but will undoubtedly try to kill the two of us in particular."

Snuggle turned to him in dismay.

“What? Why us in particular?"

Shadow gave her a sideways glance.

"You're a walking lamp, and I'm a shadow. There are two kinds of beings that Creatures of Darkness will attack on sight, and we're both. Do you really need to ask?"

Snuggle tilted her head.

Currently, they were standing in a cave that wasn't that different from the one Shadow had inhabited for countless years — apart from being filled with true darkness, of course. Further away, the walls of the cave narrowed into a natural passage that was only wide enough for one person to walk through, as long as their shoulders weren't too wide.

Shadow did not really want to push through that narrow passage, but he had no choice. Letting out a sigh, he walked forward.

This time, he had entered the Underworld from the bottom of a deep gorge, at least, as opposed to from the peak of a hollow mountain. So, they were going to reach the middle stratum of the dark realm directly, perhaps even the lowest stratum, without having to descend from great heights.

“How are we going to survive all those terrible creatures, though?"

Snuggle did not sound very confident.

"I mean... don't get me wrong! Even if Noctis is not here, I can still fight off plenty of abominations! But I am only a Transcendent, after all. More than that, I've only been a Transcendent for a few years... so if something truly ghastly attacks us, we'd better run!"

Shadow smiled.

As one of the Princes of the Underworld, the Prince of Darkness had been a member of the first generation of his people — those like him had been created by the Demon of Destiny himself, as opposed to being born from unions among the Stone Saints. Therefore, he had witnessed the Underworld as it had been before the Stone Saint civilization blossomed in its depths. Even if Shadow remembered only fragments of that life now, it was still enough to build a detailed map of the Underworld in his mind. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚