The colossal shadow of a titan advanced across the sand dunes. With each step, the dunes reshaped. Even though its former power had faded, its presence would not vanish instantly.

  Yet, like a flickering torch, a trail of soul essence was left in its wake, a sign of its soul being corroded. There, where only shadows exist, death would soon consume it… or so it once had.

  Swift figures moved forward like a blur, disappearing from sight only to reappear ever closer to the enormous figure. One, two, five beings shrouded in true darkness crossed the wastend like predators.

  The shadow, devoid of any reasoning, continued its march, oblivious to the imminent danger that approached. The first of the figures, an amalgamation of limbs with enormous, hand-like wings, soared high into the sky, only to swoop down upon the creature's neck.

  Though roughly the size of a bee or a human, the titan succumbed to the impact. The scavenger's heavy jaws smmed into its neck, bending its skull unnaturally. Instantly, it lost its bance, seemingly finally reacting to an external stimulus.

  The impact raised a cloud of sand visible for miles around. Even so, its predator paid no attention to any of this; instead, its jaws tore chunks of the shadow's soul apart, one after another, without pausing for a second.

  Around the creatures, the other four figures pounced with the same ravenous gluttony. Like piranhas, they ripped through the titan's flesh, trying to consume as much of the shadow as possible.

  They weren't partners, they didn't work together, they cked the intelligence to formute strategies; they were merely monstrous hounds competing with their own kind for food.

  When one drew too close to the other, a small battle would break out before hunger forced them back to their feast.

  Saint could recognize them even when their very essence had been corrupted. In the great war between gods and demons, these beings formed the front-line hounds of the goddess of beasts. A gift from the goddess of storms to bolster the might of her armies.

  They were not intelligent, but they were exceedingly ferocious. Like a living curse, these creatures would be capable of following you anywhere in the world and pursuing you relentlessly.

  She herself had fought some of them in the early skirmishes of the great war, when such creatures still abounded in the awakened and ascended ranks for thousands.

  Unlike what many experienced at the height of the battle, this conflict was more gradual, affecting all levels of power.

  The strength of each demon or God was tested to gauge their true intentions. She herself was sent to the front lines under the command of a transcendent warrior of her race.

  Of course, this didn't st long. Once the true conflict erupted, the small skirmishes became unnecessary, and the gods themselves led battles that tore through the very fabric of time.

  Now, like her, her species was completely extinct… but in the same way, those who survived… even in that form, had grown in power. Great beasts… all fighting within a pack to devour every st piece of that shadow. They didn't need it; beings like them only needed the presence of true darkness to survive. Instead, they performed this act purely for pleasure. Repulsive…

  Saint, who was hiding several kilometers away, turned icy, but she never dared to look the scavengers directly in the eye. No, these creatures had the senses of true hunting hounds and the speed to catch her. An encounter with them would be worse than facing the Ash Stalker… and yet, she needed to kill them.

  Not out of anger, nor out of necessity, but because they represented the best path to achieving her goals. One more test to forge herself, a challenge to strengthen her, a worthy trophy for her transcendence.

  But like any battle, she wouldn't be swayed by banal feelings; instead, she would use the only weapon at her disposal in which she was completely superior: her mind.

  Beside her, the shadow of her master rubbed its hands together while feigning hysterical ughter. She ruffled his hair. It was good that he had recovered his old humor, for his shadow would be the main bait.

  The shadow of his master froze, shifting from surprise to utter horror. Suddenly, he wondered if he could find a new employer.

  …

  The eternal darkness remained unchanged, with breezes of soul essence swirling across the skies.

  The group of rge creatures advanced with a slow but determined gait. Their st meal had vanished only recently, but they were already setting out in search of their next prey.

  Suddenly, their steps halted. Their ever-changing forms froze, as if their entire bodies awaited a signal, which soon arrived.

  In a burst of speed, the group of five scavengers shot off in a specific direction. The mountains blurred as the group covered kilometers in seconds until their senses registered their target. A shadow.

  But not just any shadow; every part of them sensed it. This one was deeper, anchored to the very world, like those Shadow had so carefully tended in the past. Their pupils, hidden by a veil of darkness, narrowed into slits.

  The shadow wasn't the strongest they had consumed, but none shone so brightly with the fme of divinity. A remnant, a fragment, a true divine shadow marked by Shadow.

  Their minds weren't developed enough to have such thoughts, but their senses were. With a force beyond their physical form, they instantly severed the space between themselves and the shadow.

  The shadow didn't even have time to react before its jaws tore it apart, severing its entire arm with a single bite. A tide of shadows spilled from the missing limb like a tide of blood.

  His vision blurred as the tide of shadows engulfed him, igniting with the will of the divine fme. Even so, it was useless. With the arrival of another creature, the chaos intensified as it collided with the first, causing them both to fall and extinguishing the tide in the process.

  The creatures regrouped, but when they tried to locate their target, they discovered it had moved several kilometers away… and was now escaping.

  Instantly, they set off, beginning their pursuit, unaware that they had already fallen into the trap.

  …The days were a blur without beginning or end in that realm. Time seemed to have stopped, as if even it had perished under its own weight.

  Nether had once remarked that Shadow was a strange being, even among gods and demons. He remained almost entirely detached from both worldly and divine affairs, a synonym for indifference. For this very reason, his realm seemed to reflect that trait, and all who rested within it adopted this calm.

  But that calm had been shattered long ago. Those scavengers had been chasing his shadow back and forth across the entire kingdom, their eyes wide open by its seemingly fleeting appearance at the st moment. No matter how fast they ran, how many kilometers they could cover in minutes, when his shadow vanished, it moved farther and farther away from them.

  And yet, they continued their relentless pursuit. This was the terrifying essence of the scavengers of the abyss. They didn't need to sleep, nor eat; they lived to keep moving until they found their prey, no matter how many years it took.

  But they were at a disadvantage due to a single ability of Saint's… or rather, his shadow's. The ability to leap from one point to another using shadows.

  An absolute skill in that terrain teeming with them. But not without a cost; with each journey, a vast amount of essence was consumed, and a piece of her own soul was torn away.

  She was resilient, yes; she possessed the soul essence of terror, yes. But each journey brought her closer to a dangerous point, especially since she had to risk allowing her shadow to be wounded so that her pn could proceed.

  [Shadow Fragments: 7381/10000]

  The runes once again reminded her of her decision with a silent weight. She had managed to saturate her shadow long ago, granting her a fourfold increase in strength compared to what she originally had access to. While she could continue accumuting them, the truly important ones were already there.

  Even now, she felt the phantom pain of seeing her soul fragmented. This damage had been different from before. More raw, more powerful.

  But even so, she did not regret it. Because that sacrifice was worth it.

  In the eyes of his shadow, he could see the pack of hounds approaching. Once again, his master's shadow stood firm, watching the five figures with a malicious smile. He was no longer afraid, and instead waved to them before vanishing into the shadows.

  However, this time he stopped midway, far enough away to react, but with barely enough sight to take in the spectacle.

  The creatures halted instantly, growling angrily at the heavens, but before they could advance further, one of their members fell to the ground.

  The rest turned, seemingly bewildered, but their actions, far from showing any camaraderie, were merciless. They pounced on it as if it were nothing more than food.

  Teeth and cws met the flesh of the creature of darkness as its cries were silenced by its imminent death. To add insult to injury, the creature's shadow emerged from its body the next instant, only to be devoured in the same manner.

  The pce fell into a deathly silence, but this was soon broken by the heavy footsteps of the scavengers as they continued their journey.

  Even so, the shade of his master smiled, for he could see small bck beetles moving among the remains of the meat.