

Shadow Slave: Purgatory
Trapped in a realm of crushing gravity and torturous air, Sunny and Nephis, fresh from surviving the Forgotten Shore, face an impossible choice: starve or hunt unseen horrors that defy their senses. With their powers newly awakened but their bodies pushed to the brink, they must navigate a landscape of black sand and molten rivers, where even the shadows conspire against them. Will their bond endure the torment, or will this brutal new purgatory finally break them?The world was white. Then, a crushing impact. Sunny found himself splayed on a surface of jagged rocks, every muscle screaming in protest. His shadow surged, evolved, and took shape, but the pain, both physical and mental, was overwhelming.
He had lost Nephis. Or so he thought.
“So are you just going to lie there?” a familiar, flat voice cut through his agony. It was Nephis, leaning against the cave walls, exhausted but whole.
They were in a cave, surrounded by endless obsidian, the air thick with an oppressive, unseen force. “Please put something on, Sunny,” she added meekly, and his eyes widened in horror. He was naked.
As he fumbled for his shroud, Nephis illuminated their surroundings with a pristine flame. The crushing gravity was relentless, every breath a struggle. They were Awakened, their powers newly unlocked, but trapped.
“I found it. I found our way out of here,” Sunny declared, pointing to a massive boulder blocking the cave entrance. With a violent slash, Nephis cleaved it, and fresh, albeit torturous, air rushed in, filling the suffocating space. Relief flooded him, but it was short-lived. The outside world was a wasteland of black sand, jagged mountains, and a sun swallowed by an eternal eclipse.
