Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3219

A black gondola moved across dark waters. There was a little doll sitting at its bow, her clumsy figure shining with a soft radiance that reflected from the surface of the river. At the stern, a young man with porcelain skin and lightless eyes held the oar, guiding the boat forward with smooth motions.

All around them, there was only darkness. The silence of this dark world was broken only by the soft splashing of water and the steady murmur of the flowing river, creating a peaceful, but ominous atmosphere.

For some reason, Shadow felt an impulse to hum a peculiar song.

However, he held himself back.

After a while, however, he spoke softly:

"I think I met a man once. That man was nothing but a broken skeleton, but he could still talk and sing."

Snuggle turned to look at him, a confused expression on her face.

“A singing skeleton? What about him?"

Shadow hesitated for a moment.

"That man was the worst man to have ever lived."

Snuggle tilted her head a little, struggling to understand what Shadow was talking about. Her little face was not very expressive, but still, he could just hear what she wanted to say...

What the hell are you saying?

Something like that.

He smiled faintly.

He wasn't quite sure himself.

"It's true. From the day the world was created until the day it was destroyed, no one had caused more suffering and devastation than that heartless man. Perhaps that was why Shadow God cursed him, taking his death away. Even when the man became a broken skeleton, he still couldn't die."

Shadow remained silent for a while and then sighed.

"Just like me. So, I wonder sometimes... what crime did I commit to end up the same way? Was it worse than what that man had done?"

He glanced down, feeling lost in his endless memories.

“Maybe that broken skeleton I remember is me."

Snuggle stared at him for a long time, then chuckled suddenly.

“Shadow... do you even have a skeleton? Aren't you a formless ocean of sentient darkness under that shell of yours?"

He gave her an offended glance.

“Of course, I have a skeleton. In fact, I have several skeletons."

Snuggle laughed.

“See! By that logic, you'd be a group of broken skeletons, so that inferior man who only had one cannot be you."

Shadow lingered for a bit, then nodded with a slight smile.

"Your argument is quite reasonable."

Snuggle grinned.

"Naturally! I am nothing if not reasonable. Someone has to be, after all."

She sighed heavily, as if lamenting the sheer lack of reason all her companions seem to share.

One was an ancient Titan who had all the common sense of a primordial natural disaster, and the other one was Noctis.

"Ah, woe is me! I really suffered a lot!"

Shadow smiled, then glanced ahead. His expression turned a little troubled.

"You'd better prepare. There is another one nearby."

As if in response to his words, the sound of a loud splash reached them from somewhere far ahead. Snuggle covered her face for a moment, then jumped off the bench and scurried over to Shadow.

Looking up at him, she said:

“You... you watch over my precious vessel well this time! Understand?!"

Shadow frowned.

“When have I ever not watched it well?"

Snuggle stared at him in dismay.

"W—what?! Do... do you have any shame? The last time I returned, I was soaking wet! Do you think it's pleasant for a doll to be wet? Huh?"

Shadow considered his answer for a few seconds.

“I wouldn't know. And no, I don't have any shame. Why would I care to have something like that?"

Wasn't shame something only humans felt? He paused for a moment.

"In any case, that was your own fault. Try not to rock the boat so much this time."

Snuggle glared at him some more, then humphed.

"Look away!"

Snuggle blinked a couple of times, then laughed. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢