Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

A man walked across the white desert, his cane striking the earth beneath him with each step.

His long black hair flowed down to his back, and his deep black eyes scanned his surroundings, as though searching for something—or someone.

Around him, vile abominations lingered, but none dared to approach.

The man continued his journey, paying them no mind.

After a few hours, he stopped.

Before him stood a massive block of black stone resting between the white dunes. One end of the block was cracked and shattered. The entire structure radiated a familiar, ghostly darkness, marking it unmistakably as a Seed of Nightmare.

Raphael smiled faintly and summoned a circular table, surrounded by eight chairs. However, one of them stood apart—it was no ordinary chair, but a throne.

He strode toward the throne-like seat and sank into it, his gaze fixed on the Nightmare Seed before him.

Raphael let out a soft sigh.

His plan had worked—exceptionally well.

Now that the Sovereigns had lost parts of their domains, they were undoubtedly furious.

But they could do nothing. The forces of the Underworld were too overwhelming for the current humanity to oppose.

Their only choice now was to rebuild—to strengthen humanity and nurture the birth of new Saints.

This was precisely why Raphael had ensured the Saints were heavily injured but left alive.

On the other hand, the Ascended and Awakened had been mercilessly slaughtered. This wasn't an act of cruelty, but a calculated step to unite the Sovereigns, the clans, and the government against a common enemy—the Underworld and its Emperor.

Yes, Raphael had deliberately cast himself as the villain to unite humanity against their invaders.

The reason behind this was painfully simple: he would live forever, trapped as a prisoner within his own body.

When Nether inevitably awakened within him, Raphael wouldn't die. His immortality would ensure he remained alive—a fate far worse than death.

For someone who had already lost everything, whose last hope had been shattered, continuing to live was a far greater torment than the mercy of death.

And yet, the only way for him to die was to be slain by Death itself.

He had come to this conclusion through the description of his Sacred Aspect, Undying:

[You are one who deceived death, escaping its grip and breaking its chains. But beware, for death will not let you escape again.]

By escaping death, he had become immortal. But if Death came for him once more, it would inevitably claim him.

But Death, the Shadow God, had already perished in the Doom War. Yet, his successor still lived—Sunny!

This was the true reason Raphael had gone to Antarctica—to ensure Sunny survived.

He hadn't cared about the plot. His motives were purely selfish from the beginning.

Leaning back in his throne, Raphael closed his eyes.

All that was left now was to wait—wait until the cohort was gathered.

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Raphael opened his eyes and looked to his left.

A monstrous, winged abomination walked across the sand. Its powerful limbs and long tail were dwarfed by the size of the massive black stone block.

Raphael turned to the creature and smiled.

"You must be the Prince of Nothing… come, sit. But make sure to change your form before doing so."

The abomination opened its maw, and a small human body tumbled out onto the sand. A moment later, the creature dropped its massive head, lifeless.

The human body stirred.

The Prince of Nothing slowly rose to his feet.

Mordret approached the table and bowed toward Raphael.

"To meet the Emperor of the Underworld, what good deeds have I done to deserve this honour?"

Raphael chuckled at Mordret's words and replied:

"There is no honour in meeting me, Prince of Nothing."

Mordret smiled faintly and asked Raphael:

"What is His Majesty doing here?"

"Same as you—planning to conquer the Third Nightmare and achieve Transcendence."

Mordret rested his hand on his chin and asked:

"Why do you need to conquer the Third Nightmare? Couldn't you just escape through the Dream Gate behind you?"

Raphael smirked.

"Hmm, if you want to know, I must start from the beginning."

"Oh… please start. In this hell, what else is there to do?"

Raphael chuckled and spoke:

"If you insist, then let me ask you something: Why do you think the Underworld made a human their Emperor?"

"If I had to guess, it's because you've got Nether lineage?"

Raphael nodded and replied:

"You're half right. It's true I have Nether lineage, but I'm also the vessel for their true Emperor."

Raphael paused for a moment, his expression darkening.

"Of course, I don't plan to sit idly by. The only way to fight against Nether's will is by achieving divinity—and the Underworld doesn't want that."

Mordret glanced at Raphael, a sad expression flickering across his face.

"That must have been painful for you."

Raphael chuckled inwardly. 

'Look at him, trying to show sympathy even while he is ready to kill me.'

"That's not even the worst part," Raphael said aloud. "The worst part is when Nether fully awakens and takes control of my body. Thanks to my ability, I'll remain alive, imprisoned in my own body, with nothing to do… for an unknown amount of time."

Raphael noticed Mordret's face change briefly, only to return to normal.

He grinned and continued, "When Nether awakens in my body, he'll seek to regain his former strength. Unlike us, his way of becoming stronger is by devouring something—or someone."

Raphael's grin became more hideous as he added, "Guess who he'll go to first?!"

For the first time, Mordret's mask of benevolent decorum cracked, revealing the hideous face of hateful madness beneath.

Mordret charged at Raphael, slashing his sword across Raphael's neck, severing it cleanly.

Breathing heavily, Mordret looked down and sighed, regaining his composure. He'd lost control.

Suddenly, he heard laughter from his left.

Raphael's body casually walked over to his severed head, picked it up, and placed it back onto his neck.

"You've truly lost it, Prince of Nothing. Hahaha!"

Mordret frowned at Raphael.

'Was it an illusion?'

Raphael sighed and spoke calmly:

"There's no need for us to fight. We both want the same thing. You don't want Nether to awaken because you want to kill your father with your own hands. And I… I don't want to be imprisoned for eternity."

Raphael walked toward Mordret, a faint smile on his face.

"To achieve these goals, we have to conquer the Third Nightmare."

Raphael stopped in front of Mordret and extended his hand.

Mordret sighed and reluctantly took Raphael's hand.

Raphael smiled and gestured for Mordret to sit at the table.

Now, all they had to do was wait for the Cohort.

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Five days had passed since Mordret arrived at the Nightmare Seed.

Raphael sat at the circular table, his gaze fixed on the horizon. In the distance, six humans were running toward them across the white sands.

He rose from his seat and gave Mordret a nod.

A few minutes later, the Cohort finally reached them.

Effie glared at Raphael and spoke sharply:

"What are you doing here?!"

"Conquering the Third Nightmare and achieving Transcendence," Raphael replied calmly.

"After what you've done?! You killed thousands of people!"

Raphael's expression didn't waver.

"So did the clans in Central Antarctica, abandoning the government to handle it all on their own. Ask Sunny if you don't believe me."

Sunny remained silent, refusing to respond.

Raphael's gaze swept over the others as he spoke:

"Enough talking. We don't have time for this. Besides… you've brought something with you."

The Skinwalker was breathing down their necks, so there was no time to hesitate. 

Sunny reached Mordret and looked at him with a scowl. 

"You better not pull anything once we're inside." 

The Prince of Nothing lingered for a moment, then grinned: 

"Ah, you took the words out of my mouth. Sunless… let's survive." 

Sunny nodded, then turned to his companions. 

What was there to say? 

He forced out a smile and shouted: 

"Everyone… stay alive! We will return as Saints!" 

With that, he spared each of them one last glance. 

There were sparks of white flame dancing in Neph's eyes. Cassie was pale, but full of unbreakable resolve. Kai was looking at the black stone with a sense of resigned trepidation. Effie seemed grim and determined. Raphael had the same expressionless face like every time. Jet… was smiling.

She shook her head lightly and grinned. 

"Life is sure unpredictable… who would have thought that I'd end up challenging the Third Nightmare, after all?" 

Soul Reaper laughed as she looked at Sunny. 

"Sunny! Thank you!" 

He stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. 

'What a lunatic.' 

Raphael took the lead, walking ahead, and the others followed him in silence.

His plan was straightforward: conquer the Nightmare in the very first loop. He couldn't be sure if the loops would reset Nether's progression to the state it was in when he first entered the Nightmare.

Raphael wasn't willing to take that risk. All that mattered was conquering the Nightmare as quickly as possible.

One step, two… three… 

Slowly, the white inferno of the raging sandstorm disappeared, and all that remained was boundless darkness. 

In that darkness, Raphael heard the voice of the Spell: 

[Ascended! Prepare for your Third Trial!] 

Its words echoed in the void. 

[Thirteen million, seven hundred thousand, and seventy eight brave ones… welcome to the Nightmare!] {1}

Inhale.

'Let's do this!'

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{1} A huge misunderstanding in the Shadow Slave community is the belief that the number represents the amount of loops the Cohort has gone through in the Nightmare. This is incorrect. The number is shown before they even enter the Nightmare, meaning the loops haven't started yet. Instead, the number indicates how many people have attempted to conquer the Nightmare—whether it was King Daeron's people, those who came before him, or those who came after.

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Finally, it happened! We've reached the Third Nightmare—the best arc in Shadow Slave. I'm so excited to finally write what I've been envisioning since the first volume.

Also, please leave a review on this chapter and the fanfic, and drop some power stones so more people can discover it. Your support means everything!

See you again next time👋