Shadow Slave Cinema (reaction fanfic)-Chapter 22: Shadow of Godgrave

Everyone watched as the shadows stood in silence staring into the distance, waiting for the enemy's arrival. Inside the room the shadows stirred, seemingly equally impatient to witness their ruler's glorious prowess.

All except one shadow who looked at the scene with indifference, seemingly bored.

"These...he has all these powerful echoes?" Morgan murmured, her eyes twinkling with a hungry glint.

Revel stirred, leaning forward, "Are they even echoes? I've never seen an echo with such an aura around it, let alone one which wields abilities"

"Then...this is also an extension of his aspect?" Kai whispered in awe.

Nephis silently stared at the strangely familiar dark knight as flashes of her past resurfaced. The gruelling memories of her helplessness in her second nightmare, as she watched the stone beings she lived, get devoured by the darkness.

There was no mistaking it, the knight was indeed identical to the humble stone creatures, albeit more sinister and seemingly....completed.

"A survivor?"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

Effie glanced at Nephis, the aloof banter having left her face as she now analyzed the situation with seriousness. Her eyes passed over the daunting echoes, as she read Nephis's gaze.

"You recognise them?" she mumbled

Nephis briefly nodded, gathering her words.

"Yes....I recognise the knight, or I assume their name as Saint. I was surrounded by identical beings in my second nightmare"

She paused, her eyes dipping.

"I had assumed they were all massacred" she whispered.

Effie winced, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The jokes—meant to build camaraderie, to break the tension, to spark a laugh—suddenly felt like stones hurled into a quiet lake. She hadn't meant to strike a nerve. She also had a past she didn't look fondly upon.

Her smile returned, gentler this time. "Well... no need for rivalry, then. Guess that makes you sisters of a sort."

Nephis turned back toward the screen, her expression unreadable. But to Effie's quiet relief, she noticed the shadow in her friend's eyes slightly lifted.

"On top of having so many abilities, he also can create such creatures?" Jet mumbled.

Noctis snickered, "Well, he is of Shadow is he not, i'd expect only the finest of shadow creatures to serve such a treacherous fellow"

Heads turned in his direction, the attention causing his skin to seemingly brighten in the dark room, as he glanced around with a whimsical smile, seemingly waiting for questions,

Julius was naturally first.

"Shadow creatures you say? I am not quite familiar with these types of nightmare creatures"

Noctis looked at him with a comical smile, "Nightmare creatures? Bah! Shadow creatures are the worst of the worst!"

The faces of the audience dropped.

Telle weakly smiled, "Y-You mean...that they're far worse than Nightmare creatures? Like at the rank of Cursed and Unholy, or do they have their own rank?"

Noctis's face became even more confused, like a teacher unprepared for the module. Briefly, he glanced at his only assistance, Solvanne, but she didn't even acknowledge his existence nor look at him. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he turned around.

"Strange, as a civilization with wonders such as flying trains, I really liked that vessel, you seem to have neglected your education in history"

As the words left his tongue, Julius visibly became tomato red, his brows aggressively furrowing as he raised his finger. But as the respective elder, Noctis cut him off and continued:

"Shadow creatures are quite treacherous, huh, they're neither dead nor fully alive, as they wield abilities similar to living beings and do as they please"

Daeron frowned, "You speak as though you are greatly familiar with such creatures"

"Alas, I have," Noctis sighed, placing a dramatic hand to his heart. "Especially with one conniving horse who enjoys tormenting others with cursed tricks."

He let out a low chuckle. "In fact, I can easily picture our dear Sunny getting along with such a delightfully treacherous shadow."

He looked at Kai, his grin widening. "Who knows? Maybe they met in your second Nightmare."

A ripple of unease swept the room. Some couldn't help but glance at Kai, the reward title [An Eternal Nightmare] briefly flashing through their minds.

Then a calm voice cut through the tension.

"That's beside the point," Seishan said coolly from the third row, eyes narrowing at Solvanne. "What does this mean for these beings as shadow creatures? And why can they mimic others—"

She paused, glancing at the screen.

"—albeit in a crude and imperfect way?"

Her question brought a rare smile to Solvanne's lips. Noctis visibly shuddered at the sight and quickly turned his attention back to the screen, forcing a grin.

"Shadow creatures are peculiar," he said. "They are singularities—unique beings that bind themselves to one they deem worthy. They grow with their master. Evolve. Reflect their power, just like a shadow should!"

A cold hush swept over the room.

Realization dawned on several faces, their eyes widening in quiet horror.

Seeing it, Noctis sighed dramatically and slumped back in his chair, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

"You guessed it! These beings rise in proportion to their oh-so-terrible master."

He pointed lazily toward the looming figures on the screen, voice dipping to a murmur.

"As if being a such a terrible calamity wasn't enough, the greedy shadow is harboring a growing force of calamities"

Finally, the Saints of Song finished their approach. Beastmaster was standing right in front of Sunny, still remaining a safe distance away — Lonesome Howl was to her left, while Silent Stalker was to her right. None of them had assumed their Transcendent forms yet, so Sunny could see their expressions quite well. Lonesome How seemed relaxed and impatient to fight, but there was a hint of sober caution behind her carefree squint.

Silent Stalker was cold and gloomy, looking at him with a dark, impenetrable impression. Her piercing gaze was sharp and heavy....Beastmaster, however, appeared to be in a good mood. She looked at Sunny with a beguiling smile and spoke in a calm, husky voice:

"The infamous Lord Shadow... it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you, after all. I hope that you know who I am?"

Sunny just stared at her silently, his figure radiating a sense of coldness, ruthlessness, and dread. Eventually, he answered with chilling indifference:

"No idea. Should I?"

Beastmaster's smile seemed to falter for a split second, but then, she let out a melodious laugh. "Allow me to introduce myself, then. I am Beastmaster, Princess of the Song Domain. I'll be in your care today."

Sunny tilted his head a little, not saying anything. After a few moments of silence, Beastmaster nodded gracefully. "A man of few words... how admirable. In fact, there are several qualities about you that I find worthy of admiration — quite a few, actually. So... I hope you don't mind that I have come to welcome you accompanied by others. Considering your great strength, you wouldn't have wanted Clan Song to humiliate you by only sending one or two Saints here... would you?"

Sunny grimaced behind the mask.

Actually, he would have loved to deal with a couple of Saints and swiftly move on to other parts of the battlefield, picking off the rest of them one by one. Alas, that was not meant to be. He lifted his chin a little.

"Indeed. I would have been enraged if your Queen only sent a few of her minions to face me. This, though... this makes me quite content. I only regret that you didn't bring more."

Beastmaster studied him silently for a few moments.

Then, her tantalizing smile widened a little. At the same time, he sensed her power assaulting his mind. It was not a full-out attack... for now. Just a little push to probe his defences. Well, could Sunny really blame this poor woman? She was so beautiful, so gentle, so... precious. And yet, her mother had sent her to face the vicious fiend of the Sword Army in a battle. A lovely flower like Beastmaster had to be treasured, nurtured, and protected — not put in harm's way. Protected by someone strong enough to shield her from the vile greed of this impure, wicked world. Someone like Sunny.

He frowned, and the shadows across the battlefield stirred in response.

As the scene and the dialogue progressed, faces of both Song and Valor began to frown, sometimes throwing brief glances towards the first row as if in anticipation of something happening.

Meanwhile in the 3rd row, the BloodSister were conflicted as they struggled between absorbing and analyzing the development of the situation. But every moment they tried to do so, Beastmaster's words seemed to punch them in the gut, as they felt an unusual wave of nausea.

Beastmaster herself was utterly enthralled, her wide eyes glued to the screen, a mad grin slowly stretching across her face.

"Charmer..." she murmured, voice dreamy. "A man with such a way with words..."

Silent Stalker frowned beside her, concern tightening her features.

"You say that," she said quietly, "while the two of you are moments from trying to kill each other."

Beastmaster turned toward her, lips forming a playful pout, head tilted.

"That can be a form of romance... for some."

From the row below, a coughing fit erupted. Telle slapped her chest, choking on popcorn, a look of equal concern on Windflowers face as she slowed down eating. The rest of the second row sat frozen in awkward silence, torn between following the intense scene and listening in on the even more intense drama unfolding nearby.

MoonVeil leaned forward slightly, brows furrowed.

"Why do you keep holding onto this... obsession? You know he might've killed some of us."

Beastmaster looked at her, eyes dimming slightly. For a moment, she considered her answer.

"...Fate is still in shreds. The outcome isn't written yet," she said softly, voice more hesitant than before.

Revel shook her head slowly.

"He might have killed you. How would you feel about that?"

Beastmaster didn't answer immediately.

She looked down, her lips twitching—caught between a smile and something that almost looked like sorrow.

"I honestly... don't know how I'd feel."

The shoulders of the Blood Sisters stiffened, as some leaned back while others let out groans which sounded of a mixture of annoyance and pain. Amidst the ungraceful chorus, Seishan's voice sounded out as a whisper:

"Well, we wouldn't forgive, and neither would Mother"

To their delight, the screen shifted again as Sunny's voice sounded out.

Without moving a muscle, Sunny said coldly:

"...Stop flirting with me, wench. I'm taken."

If Beastmaster was taken aback, she did not show it. The mirth in her tantalizing eyes did dim a little, however, replaced with a hint of eerie interest.

 "I see." She sighed, and then moved her shoulders slightly.

"A pity. No one is perfect, I guess..."Sunny blinked. 

No, but why did even her insults have to sound so... exciting? 

At the words, the air shifted in the room, as Beastmaster sighed with disappointment, while below Effie pumped her fist in silent enthusiasm.

Even Cassie briefly glanced at Neph seeing a small, but sheepish smile.

The Cinema had teased them about the future lounge, and its implication of being relationship related. But now, it seemed who Sunny had given his heart to. The words brought solace to Rain, as she bent forward, clasping her hands.

Her voice a murmur, "Yep, yep...I always knew it, such a brother has to be a good role model"

If not for the atmosphere being built in the moment, she might have even shed a silent tear,

Strangely, even Mordret was smiling. However, the reason was more or so related to what was now changing on the screen.

In the next moment, however, his expression changed. Because he suddenly had a bad premonition.

And there, behind the thirteen Saints... three more figures emerged, moving forward with dreadful speed. The Reflections. All three had assumed the same form... that of a monstrous, towering creature that had a tail like that of an enormous snake, two powerful hands protruding from a human-like torso, and a bestial head with a long and toothy snout brimming with terrifying fangs.

The creatures looked quite familiar...In fact, Sunny knew their kind quite well.

They were like older and more dreadful, wingless versions of the Chain Worms — who were a tribe of Nightmare Creatures that populated the darkness beneath the Chained Isles. The Chain Worms bore that name because they fed on the heavenly chains that held the flying islands together... or on any metal, really, as long as they could sink their fangs into it.

The crowd glanced at Mordret, who had a whimsical smile on his face as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Of course the wretch could never have made a friend" Morgan echoed, her lips curling, "I wonder why I even thought it was a possibility"

Mordret only stared at her, his mood unaffected, "Friends can be complicated"

He chuckled, leaning forward.

"Besides, that's still one more friend than the zero you have"

Morgan's eyes ignited as her lips contorted into a snarl, only distracted by a shaky gasp from the first row.

Ling's eyes were wide, "Uncle Sunny is fighting so many strong people?"

Ananke, Jet and Effie stared at the child, throwing glances at each other as they briefly remembered how they had lost track of events and indirectly allowed him to watch more than he was allowed.

Without wasting a second, Effie scooped him up and covered him in her shirt as he wriggled and struggled to free himself beneath it.

"Saints..." Rain whispered, her mouth wide, "He really is fighting 13 Saints"

"Don't forget three of my reflections which are divine" Mordret chuckled, as the others threw him venomous glances.

Daeron shifted, his eyes laced with awe, "So this....is a divine....a Divine Shadow"

Before Sunny could finish the thought, one of the Song Saints seemed to unleash their Aspect Ability. The space around him suddenly shimmered, as if turning into glass. And when that glass shattered, Sunny and his Shadow were suddenly separated by a great distance. The Saints of Song were now apart, as well. The three Chain Worms were surrounding Fiend. Three Saints were surrounding Saint, and three more were surrounding Serpent.

While Sunny himself...

Was facing Beastmaster, Lonesome Howl, Silent Stalker, and four others. Beastmaster smiled.

"...I bet I can fix you, though. Lord Shadow."

Sunny snarled. Taking a step forward, he shaped the shadows into a sword and said in a chilling tone:

"When we are done, who is going to fix you?"

They surged forward without another wasted second.

His enemies were among the most seasoned warriors of humanity, as well. They knew how to cooperate with each other seamlessly, not making any mistakes he could exploit. There was not enough space for more than three of them to attack him at the same time, for example. So, instead of rushing forward all together and getting in each other's ways, four Saints fell back while three advanced at him with stunning speed. The three attackers were the obsidian jackal, the three-headed canine — Ceres — and Lonesome Howl.

It did not mean that the other four were doing nothing, though. In fact, they might have posed more danger than the melee vanguard. He could already see Silent Stalker nocking an arrow on the string of her sword, while Beastmaster spun a strange-looking sling. Two remaining Saints took to the sky — one of them was Siord, the harpy, while the second one was a gargoyle with a powerful stone body and wide wings. The Saint of Sorrow. Tamar's father was here, too. Sunny was going to have to deal with a barrage of range attacks pretty soon. 

But first...He had to survive the obliterating assault of three melee powerhouses. Ceres and Lonesome Howl were already tough enough to handle. It was the obsidian giant that gave Sunny the most pressure due to the sheer immensity of his size, though. The jackal towered above the battlefield like a dark titan, wielding an enormous polearm with a gold crescent blade.

That polearm... seemed great and sharp enough to cleave a small fortress in half. Watching the towering giant barrel at him with murder burning in his bestial eyes, Sunny felt like an ant. 

He was suddenly... annoyed. 

This scene reminded him of facing Goliath for the first time. Those were not happy memories. And although the obsidian jackal was truly blameless in that regard...He was going to pay for making Sunny remember something so unpleasant.

 'Let's see which one of us is the ant...'

As the bestial giant approached, Sunny was suddenly enveloped by a tide of shadows. And then, a colossal figure forged from pure darkness rose to meet the giant face-to-face.

Face became shocked as eyes widened, even Daeron showed a brief look of amazement. Jet noticed movement to her side, as she grabbed Ling, just as Effie shot up.

"Fuck! H-He's....he's copying my damn transcendent ability!" she yelled

"Is there any limit to what he can copy?" Cassie murmured.

Both Song and Valor stirred, the bodies of the seasoned and world-renowned Saints now slightly shaking. This....this was shadow? All the other lineages gave some boosts and abilities, but this.....this was just absurd.

They now understood what had been whispered in fragments of history. Why, in the cataclysmic Doom War, even gods and daemons had perished...

All but one.

Shadow had been the last to fall, and now it was clear why.

Morgan's eyes gleamed with hunger, "The lineage of shadow.....is quite marvelous"

"This is the result of his knowledge and experience, his lineage does not define his power and worth alone" Nephis murmured.

Julius brought his hand to his chin, his eyes narrowing, "Strange, I am not adept with the circumstance of combat, but isn't it peculiar we are not seeing him use his avatar ability?"

The air among the audience stiffened.

He was right, where were his other avatars?

"How...no, he's changed his battle style?" Saint Roan mumbled

A laugh resounded from the second row as Noctis slapped his leg, tears starting to form.

"Oh Gods! Of course he would do so, such an audacious fellow!"

Both Valor and Song stared at him in anticipation as Saint Gilead's voice rumbled:

"Explain yourself"

Noctis hurriedly wiped away his tears as he stared at the screen, his lips curling into an unrestrained smile.

"How many times must I repeat the conditioned term? Treacherous! He's treachery incarnate! He would rather mimic and steal his own opponents abilities than use his own, how fitting of a shadow!"

The room froze.

"Y-You mean..?" Rain whispered.

Noctis vigorously nodded, "Of course! Sunny has yet to go all out, instead he would rather the opponents fight themselves!"

"A battle art?" Kai muttered, earning another laugh from Noctis.

"No! No! Gods, the strings are laid bare...."

He looked up, a mad grin on his face.

"This fight is simply beneath him, thus he would rather shadow his opponents than his use his real abilities"

He clapped his hands, the image causing the light to shift on his face.

"In other words.....he's toying with you"

As the words echoed in the room, they starred at the image. The towering Jackal now struggling to escape as the sinister shadow giant held it by the throat, before stepping forward and slamming it into the ground, causing a miniature earthquake.

It broke off, keeping the momentum as it surged forward

The obsidian jackal brought his crescent polearm down. His devastating slash seemed powerful enough to slice the very fabric of the world apart, but its momentum broke a moment later.

Sunny had long known how the enemy Saint was going to attack. Having read his intentions in the movements of his body, of his shadow, and of his essence, Sunny had grasped the very core of the enemy's sophisticated Transcendent Battle Art and learned the enemy's intentions far in advance.

So, he fearlessly stepped into the range of the Jackal's weapon, avoiding the crescent blade, and grasped the shaft of the polearm with one armored hand. There was a loud thunderclap and a devastating shockwave the moment the wooden shaft came into contact with the onyx gauntlet.

As its momentum was instantly drained, Sunny's feet were suddenly enveloped by a crimson haze – the blood smearing the surface of the ancient bone had absorbed the dire force of the impact and evaporated, turning into a scorching cloud. Sunny himself – the conduit of all that destructive energy – had not even flinched, though. He just held the crescent blade in place, unmoving, like a black mountain. He was not satisfied by simply blocking that first strike, either... of course.

As soon as his left hand grasped the shaft of the crescent polearm, his right arm was already turning into a fist, ready to crash into the skill of the Jackal like a fortress-toppling ram.

'Let's see how tough you are...'

However, before Sunny had a chance to strike the jackal, a swift and massive shadow lunged at him from the side, and his right hand was suddenly caught in the crushing vice of a monstrous wolf's jaws. Lonesome Howl had timed her attack to coincide with the fall of the crescent blade.

Her fur was bristling like a black palisade, and furious red flames were burning in her enormous, bestial eyes. Saint Ceres was not far behind, either. A split second later, she lunged at Sunny from the left, one of her heads biting him into the shin, a second sinking its fangs into his knee, and the last one tearing into his thigh. There was an ear-piercing sound of sharp fangs scratching against the stonelike metal. Sunny was momentarily immobilized. His left hand was holding the Jackal's weapon, preventing it from cleaving his shell apart. His right hand was caught in Lonesome Howl's eviscerating jaws. The enormous three-headed canine was trying to pull his leg apart, using all its infernal strength to topple him.

Curiously enough...

The Onyx Mantle withstood the fangs of Saint Ceres. It shattered under the fangs of the stygian she-wolf, though – Lonesome Howl had bitten his gauntlet, shredding the hand and wrist of the Shadow Shell with vicious fury.

Silent Stalker had already released an arrow, and Beastmaster had already sent a piece of bone flying from her slingshot. Sunny barely had time to register the two projectiles, which were flying in his direction with terrible speed. He did not like the look of either of them. Both the arrow and the piece of bone were destructive Memories, no doubt. Clan Song was sparing no effort in trying to bring him down today... so, they would use heavy artillery from the start.

If either of the projectiles found its mark, his Shadow Shell would probably be mangled quite badly. The usefulness of Shadow Step was limited by the shattered space around them, and there were not enough wild shadows on the battlefield to reform the giant Shell if it was badly damaged....

But it did not matter.

Sunny possessed an Aspect that possessed many strengths, but its greatest one by far was its versatility. Even bound by so many restrictions, he still had a sea of tactics to choose from, and a rich treasure of devious tricks to employ.

That was what made him so dangerous.

Sunny pushed away the golden crescent, making the bestial giant stagger back. With his left hand now free, he struck down, delivering a terrifying blow to one of the canine heads that were trying to mangle his leg. The blow did not quite crack the creature's skull, but Ceres was definitely dazed and in pain... well, at least a third of her was dazed and in pain. A torrent of blood flowed from one of her crushing maws, and her hold on his thigh grew weak. Using the chance, Sunny grabbed the hill-sized canine by the scruff of her neck.

At the same time, he dismissed several elements of the Onyx Mantle, thus escaping from her remaining two sets of terrifying fangs. Suddenly, Ceres was being pulled into the air, her pillar-like paws losing contact with the ground.

Deep within the Shadow Colossus Shell, Sunny smiled coldly. And then, he hoisted the three-headed canine up with one hand, placing her enormous body between himself and the two incoming projectiles at the last moment.

His enemies were far too outstanding to wound one of their own so foolishly. Even though there was only a split second to react, both Beastmaster and Silent Stalker managed to dismiss their Memories in time, so all that hit the enormous canine were two swirling streams of radiant sparks.

So, Sunny did not hesitate to continue with the momentum of lifting her up... and slammed Ceres into the ground with all his dreadful might. The battlefield quaked, and a pitiful whine escaped from all three of her bestial mouths. At the same time, Lonesome Howl jerked her head sideways, tearing off his right arm with one powerful motion. A river of shadows flowed from the stump, pouring down like a dark waterfall.

'Ah...'

And the obsidian jackal had already recovered by then, bringing his golden polearm down once more. Only, this time, Sunny had no time to dodge it, and no opportunity to block its descent. So, he did not. A moment before the crescent blade cleaved the Shadow Colossus apart... it simply fell apart on its own.

His onyx armor parted, and the inky-black body beneath parted, as well. For a few moments, there was a wide chasm separating the right side of the Shell from its left side. The polearm plummeted through this chasm, not dealing Sunny any damage. And the Shadow Shell simply mended itself as soon as the golden blade passed.By the time it plunged into the crimson haze and crashed into the surface of the ancient bone with a deafening thunderclap, the Shadow Colossus was as good as new. Well... it was still missing a hand. But otherwise, his body was whole and undamaged.

'...Finally.'

Sunny had always been a bit envious because of failing to learn how to perform this trick. Fiend had used it against him all the way back in Antarctica, after all, but despite having slain him there, Sunny – the vengeful imp's new master – never managed to figure out how to partially turn his body into an incorporeal shadow himself. Granted, this time, he had not just turned a part of his Shell intangible – he went a step ahead and created a physical breach in it. Otherwise, there would have been little sense in doing it at all.

Sunny possessed plenty of ways to cut intangible enemies, and the Saints of Song would have their own ways, as well. Regardless...

Now, finally, Sunny could do what he had wanted to do from the very start. The Jackal had not expected that his weapon would meet no resistance at all, so he had put a lot of force into his strike. As a result, his balance was broken, and he wasted a moment too many trying to regain it. So, Sunny punched him in the snout with all the might he had. The force of the impact was so fierce that there was actually a blinding flash. 

A moment later, the bestial giant toppled and fell in the thunderous boom of a violent thunderclap, causing the entire battlefield to tremble. A few of his fangs rattled on the ancient bone, each large enough to crush several humans. 

Sunny felt amused at the sight of them.

'I wonder if those will remain after he transforms back into a human...'

They watched in awe stricken silence as the battle continued to rage on. They watched as the ground quaked from their steps, as the sky shook from their blows. As the Lord of Shadows tore into them alone while they struggled to even make him bleed.

Did he even bleed?

More importantly they were stricken in fear at the realization...that he wasn't even trying to kill them. In combat, everything is accounted for; the rhythm of breaths, the tension of muscles, the coordination of steps, the flow of moves. But in the end, a fight was the result of one person having to die while the other lived.

Even if someone had no combat experience, simple moves could indirectly end a life. A misplaced kick to the neck, a punch to the throat. There were so many ways someone could be killed whether indirect or direct.

Which is why it was tantalizing, because nothing was more difficult than fighting with the intention not to kill the other.

Not to mention that it was others, and these others.....were Saints.

"H-He...he could have killed us so many times" Silent Stalker whispered.

Luster's face paled, "S-Saints....he's toying with a bunch of Saints!!!"

The Blood Sisters had accepted and wanted to view the massacre in hopes of learning so they could adapt and change the resultant outcome in the near-future. But now.....wasn't it all just hopeless?

If he wasn't even trying to kill them, let alone go all out....

Then what chance did they have?

"A true warrior" Daeron murmured, a proud fatherly smile on his face.

The brawl continued as the eyes of Song became more and more gloomy, while Valor seemingly glowed in reverence. Even Mordret had a gleeful look on his face, seemingly not able to get enough.

Nephis tilted her head, her voice a murmur, "No wonder we were able to survive up until now"

"H-He hasn't even acknowledged taking any real damage..." Kai whispered.

"We'll see about that" Jest sighed, pointing his finger up.

Everyone followed its direction as they noticed something falling from the sky, causing the clouds to swirl.

Out there, in front of her, Siord and the Saint of Sorrow finally delivered their first attack. 

Plummeting from a great height — as great a height as was safe to ascend to here in Godgrave — both delivered terrible blows, which were assisted both by their tremendous acceleration and gravity. Siord tossed a bronze javelin down, while the Saint of Sorrow simply used his stone body as a missile. It was as though the Lord of Shadows had known of their attack in advance. Even slowed down by Bin's mind attack, he moved his towering body just far enough to avoid the mighty gargoyle, as if performing a step of a dance. As for the javelin...

He simply raised his face to the sky, allowing that dreadful mask of his to receive the blow of the javelin. There was a flash, and then a devastating roll of thunder. For a moment, it seemed as if the entire world was drowned out by pure whiteness, and as a violent tremor ran through the battlefield, a pillar of flame rose into the sky. When the flash subsided, though...

The polished black surface of the wooden mask was whole and unblemished, without even a scratch on it, as if it was far more durable than even the fearsome onyx armor the mercenary Saint wore...

"...He didn't even blink," Ananke whispered.

"W-What.....h-how! He didn't even receive a scratch!" Telle yelled

"Some damage is unseen," Tyris said flatly.

Saint Cor nodded, "We have no idea the strain and the internal damage he's receiving"

The shoulders of Song slightly lowered at the words in relief, only to once again raise as a whisper broke out from the bottom.

"I think it just pissed him off" Rain whispered shakily.

Revel pressed forward, her voice low, "And why is that?"

Morgan briefly turned, a maniacal smile on her face, "Seems he's getting a little serious now"

The air became chilly, as on the battlefield Sunny's laugh sounded out, deep and warped. Beneath the dust, his figure contorted and began to change to the horror of everyone.

The figure of the beautiful onyx colossus suddenly shrunk a little, becoming a few meters lower. At the same time, it changed, shifting into something far more bestial. Black horns rose from his head like a crown, glistening darkly in the blinding light of the radiant sky. A long tail with an onyx spike on its end whipped through the air. His knee joints seemed to reverse, and his feet grew, enormous claws scratching against the ancient bone. 

Most importantly of all...

His severed hand seemed to regrow, and two more arms shot from his torso, each covered by the onyx carapace of the enchanted armor and ending with sharp claws.

A few moments later, a towering, terrifying dark demon was standing on the battlefield instead of a colossal human warrior...

Chaotic murmurs began to ring out among the crowd.

"....What the hell is he?"

"Is this the power of the forbidden lineage?"

"Weaver....you lucky bastard!"

"M-Monster....he's a fucking monster"

Noctis clapped his hands, spreading his arms dramatically, "Truly fitting for such a terrible Divine Shadow!"

"This.... is this his real Transcendent ability?" Cassie murmured.

Jet snorted, "We've already seen it"

A grin grew on her face, as her eyes became a bit maddened. On the screen, the Daemon dropped on all its limbs as it charged towards the startled Saints, its eyes mad.

"Seems like he gave up playing human"

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Used to relate to Sunny, but now he got unlimited aura and Nephis ˙◠˙

Still got quite a lot to go through in this whole segment

Also....I might start writing another ff on the side

Got a bit bored, and had a fun idea which nobody has done yet.

And compared to Cinema, I have much cooler ideas and plans for it.

A ff more entertaining than a reaction ff? Impossible! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

Maybe or maybe not, who knows?

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