Shadow Slave

Sleep was avoiding Sunny. For a while, he sat silently in the darkness, listening to the calming rumbling of the waves. In this rare moment of respite, memories of the past few days came flooding into his mind. However, he was too tired to seriously think about anything. He was warm, full, and relatively safe. For now, that was more than enough.

Soon, the rhythm of Cassia's breathing changed, indicating that she fell asleep. Nephis was guarding the camp, motionless and, as always, a bit distant. With her silver hair and fair skin, she looked like an alabaster statue.

Sunny sighed. He struggled for a bit, and then said quietly:

"Hey. Can I ask you a question?"

Nephis glanced at him and shrugged. The lack of an audible response clearly indicated that she remembered about his ability to see in the dark.

"Sure."

'Would it be too personal?'

Sunny hesitated.

"I thought you Legacies come into the Spell with a whole inherited arsenal of Memories. I mean, that's supposed to be your main advantage. How come you only had three?"

Nephis was silent for a few moments.

"Actually, I only had two. The rope came from Cassie."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. I see."

Realizing that her answer wasn't really an answer, Nephis thought for a while and added:

"We lost most of our Memories when my father passed away. The ones that remained were sold one by one over the years, to keep the family afloat. This sword and armor came from my First Nightmare."

So that's how it was. Sunny realized that the fall of the Immortal Flame clan might have been more thorough than he had thought. Still, something about it didn't make sense.

"Surely, with your clan's reputation and standing, there were other ways to make money."

Without any strong reaction, Nephis simply said:

"There were other reasons."

Then, she unexpectedly turned her head in his direction.

"Can I ask you a question in return?"

Sunny swallowed.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Nephis tilted her head.

"How did you know that I'm a Legacy?"

'What? That's it?'

"Simple. I heard Caster mention it. He was scolding other Sleepers to make them treat you with respect."

She gave him a nod and turned away. What thoughts were hidden behind her calm grey eyes, Sunny did not know.

courage to ask the question that he really wanted to ask. Before

ask another

getting a negative response, he

burdening yourself with

Star's

"Why? Wouldn't you?"

Flaw pushing the truthful answer out

"No."

last moment that the answer would be "yes". But one of the things

It's just that he knew with certainty that it was simply not something he could do. He was barely able to save himself,

but be

to judge him. She showed no

"Because I want to."

'Because… she wants to?'

Sunny expected to hear. He was pretty sure that she would either lecture him about virtue and compassion or disclose some obscure way to make Cassie's

was putting her life in danger, to the point of sacrificing

'Ridiculous!'

he dismissed her response as a non-answer. But the more he thought about it, the more disturbed he

it was actually

never really done things because he wanted to. Most of the time, he was doing them because he needed

of perspective? Nephis had certain advantages in her upbringing, but they weren't as ample as he had imagined. She had no wealth and no arsenal of relics to empower her.

to have the audacity to disregard need in favor of something as frivolous

helping a blind girl simply because that was what Nephis wanted

that mentality was the greatest

was the real barrier that separated Legacies from the rest

about. However, before Sunny could gather his thoughts,

"My turn."

she mean it's her turn to ask a

what she meant. Changing Star once again turned

know the

of a weird question

head. Then, remembering

"No."

sighed and turned away. A few

was a hero in an ancient war. In the legends, some humans back then had powers akin to the Awakened. Achilles with an Aspect of indestructible body, Diomedes that was so ferocious even the God of War was wary of him, Ajax who was as strong as a giant. Odysseus was

blinked, staring at

this come from? Why is she suddenly so

Meanwhile, Nephis continued:

end, Odysseus's cunning ended the war, and he prepared to sail home. However, the gods cursed him to endlessly wander the seas, never to return. Over the years, he survived one horror after

wistful voice resounded in the darkness, creating an enthralling

to her palace. For many years, they lived together in harmony. The island was like a paradise, filled with all kinds of wonders, delicacies and delights. As long as loving Calypso was by his side, Odysseus was even immortal. But… the longer he stayed, the more time he spent sitting on the shore, looking

Nephis smiled.

built a makeshift boat and abandoned the island, leaving all its delights, the beautiful fairy, and even his immortality behind. So,

Sunny blinked.

'What?'

Nephis was mocking him, but it didn't seem

'Weirdo!'

and then said

was because he was

fleeting smile appeared on

from

that, she turned away and lowered