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.

had no 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

didn't mind. In fact, this was one of the features

was his

his face to chase away the last remnants of sleep. His long, dirty hair was getting in the way,

'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 trying to learn how to control

over to a wall empty of engravings, he used the kunai to scratch a small line into the stone. All around it, there were dozens and dozens of similar lines,

since Sunny came to

had happened during that

***

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

the three of

they were no

the Forgotten Shore due to their strength or luck — were stuck there with no hope of ever returning to the real world. It was nothing but

first days in the castle, Sunny couldn't help but laugh out loud. Oh, what a fool he had been. So full of hope and newfound

he bent over

Good one, Sunny. What do you think about that,

reproach. Its silence only made Sunny laugh louder. He just couldn't

had gone a little bit insane some time ago. Probably around his third week of living alone in the city. He was more or less alright after leaving the castle due to

falling out. After finding his way to a secluded ditch and lying there for a few days, too weak to move and simply waiting

'Good times…'

Anyway, he survived.

from the ruins of