Shadow Slave

"Wake up, Sunless! Your nightmare is…"

"Shut the hell up!"

Trying to remain in the blissful embrace of sleep, Sunny hissed through his teeth and stubbornly closed his eyes tighter. He was warm and comfortable under the blanket, on his own bed, where all the problems of the world seemed less serious and dire.

For a moment, there was silence.

'That's better…'

"Wake up, Sunless! Your…"

'Goddammit!'

Thrusting one arm from under the blanket, Sunny summoned one of his Memories. Immediately, a triangular leaf-shaped throwing dagger appeared in his hand, only to be thrown blindly at the source of the irritating voice. Missing its mark, the kunai clinked against the stone wall and fell to the floor.

However, the voice did fall silent.

Sunny sighed. It was already too late. He was awake.

Far in the distance, the waves were starting to crash against the city wall. The night was coming, so it was time to get up.

Opening his eyes, Sunny sat up and looked around.

His room was beautiful and spacious. The stone walls were engraved with intricate patterns, creating an atmosphere of sanctity and elegance. The furniture was made out of pale polished wood, with several mismatched pieces that Sunny had scavenged from different places himself.

windows, however, there were light wells cunningly hidden here and there. Sadly, the ingenious system of mirrors that was supposed to bathe the hidden chamber in sunlight was long destroyed,

of the features of his secret lair

his best

rubbed his face to chase away the last remnants of sleep. His

'Let's make some breakfast.'

But first things first…

This was a trick that had taken Sunny quite some time to master: in the beginning, he almost lost a couple of fingers while

to scratch a small line into the stone. All around it, there were dozens and dozens of similar lines,

been four months since Sunny came to this

had happened during that

***

found a vast, ruined city surrounded by tall walls, with monsters wandering its narrow streets. And in the center of the city,

three of them had hoped. Instead, they were, each and

no Gateway

luck — were

in the castle, Sunny couldn't help but laugh out loud. Oh, what a fool he had

hysterically, he bent over

that's funny! Good one, Sunny. What do you think about

didn't respond, staring at him with reproach. Its silence only made Sunny laugh louder. He

in the city. He was more or less alright after leaving the castle due to that unfortunate falling

Sunny no choice but to crawl away while using his own two hands to stop his intestines from falling out. After finding his way to a secluded ditch and lying there for a few days, too weak to move and simply waiting to die, with not

'Good times…'

Anyway, he survived.

from the ruins of a