Stone Saints

Stone Saints (Nether's children) were proud beings who ruled the Hollow Mountains' caverns. The Stone Saints had been known to command true darkness, each inheriting a spark of divinity from their creator, Nether.^[1]

Rune Description

[Deep in the cavernous halls of his dark domain, the last child of the -unknown- had created them from stone to quell the fire burning in his resentful heart. However, that fire only grew hotter. Designed to bring peace, they were instead born into an endless war.]

— Rune description of Stone Saint,
Chapter 105 Living Stone

Description

A living statue with a body extremely durable and capable of withstanding truly devastating amounts of damage. The stalwart stone warriors were also disciplined, proficient in the use of weapons, and utterly deadly. They were able to perfectly coordinate their movements, using strategy and tactics to silently overwhelm opponents whose power far surpassed their own.^[2]

The Stone Saints were a race of heavily armored warriors whose defining characteristic was their ability to retain their armor and weapons after death. Unlike humans who became soldiers of the Shadow Legion—whose Memories and mundane weapons were lost upon death—the Stone Saints remained equipped with the same armaments they had wielded in life. This was suggested to be either due to the unique way their armor and weapons were forged or because they shared a special relationship with their armaments, making them a part of themselves. As a result, the shades of the Stone Saints continued to appear encased in impregnable plate armor, wielding sublime weapons and, in most cases, carrying indomitable shields, making them considerably more formidable than ordinary shades.^[3]

Abilities

The Children of Nether were described as powerful, supremely skilled, and fierce. Their fighting style was a grounded, methodical, and indomitable battle style.^[4]

Tainted Saints

Main article: Tainted Saints

Tainted Saints were Children of Nether who had become Nightmare Creatures through Corruption.^[5] They were a group of powerful Children of Nether serving under a Great Devil.^[4]

Crown of the Underworld

Nether bestowed seven suits of armor, known as the Mantles of the Underworld, upon his most flawless creations. These armors were both a gift and a trial, and Sunny believed that those who completed the trial would have been acknowledged as the Princes of the Underworld, heirs to Nether's legacy, such as the Prince of Darkness, the Titan of Tainted Jade. Sunny himself had completed the same trial, recognizing it as the enchantment responsible for tallying his victories.^[6]

However, the original Princes of the Underworld were all dead, having either been destroyed in the endless war started by their creator or consumed by Corruption. The last of the seven Princes was slain by Saint, making her, ironically, the one who ultimately proved herself worthy of inheriting Nether's legacy. Unlike Nether's favored creations, Saint never received one of the Mantles of the Underworld. Instead, she forged her own armor and chose her own path, walking among the shadows through true darkness and nothingness, which Sunny considered fitting for someone created by the Demon of Choice.^[6]

Despite inheriting the crown, the kingdom it represented no longer existed. Her people were extinct, the cities of the Underworld lay in ruin, and Nether himself was dead. As a result, the crown was described as "an empty promise"—a symbol of a long-forgotten past that carried great weight but offered very little to its wearer. Sunny speculated that the Attribute might grant practical benefits, such as recognition among the creatures of the Underworld or better control over Nether's ancient sorceries, but he believed that its primary function was as a symbol of Saint's authority—a spiritual mark proclaiming her status as a Tyrant.^[6]

Background

Nether created a whole race of living beings, Stone Saints, after he lost a war against the Storm God and secluded himself in the Underworld. Despite his many failures he succeeded.^[7]

Nether forged seven splendid suits of armor (Mantle of the Underworld) for his favored creations.^[8]

Trivia

Stone Saint were first seen by Sunny in the ruins of Dark City in Forgotten Shore.^[2]
Onyx Saint's visage reminded Sunny of the Storm God statue in the Ebony Tower shrine. Nether had drawn inspiration from this statue when creating the Stone Saints.^[9]
In Chapter 2404, Sunny embraces the perilous Fifth Step of Shadow Dance to assume the form and indomitable nature of the Stone Saint. A complete transformation of body, mind, and spirit.
In Chapter 2829, it was mentioned that Nether, the Demon of Destiny, created the Stone Saints by placing sparks of his own flame into them.

References

↑ Chapter 1611 Nameless Temple
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Chapter 102 Stone Saint
↑ Chapter 3086 Saint's Army
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Chapter 3071 Limits of Strenght
↑ Chapter 3072 Stalwart Beings
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Chapter 3116 Princess of the Underworld
↑ Chapter 1257 In the Darkness
↑ Chapter 975 Marble Shell
↑ Chapter 1906 Dark Armor