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.

ingenious system of mirrors that was supposed to bathe the

this was one of the features of his secret

was his best

the last remnants of sleep. His long, dirty hair was getting in the way, so he moved it

'Let's make some breakfast.'

But first things first…

the invisible string that connected his wrist to the ring-shaped pommel of the kunai. The throwing dagger jumped into the air and landed on his palm. This was a trick that had taken Sunny quite some time to master: in the beginning, he almost lost a couple of

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, grouped neatly

been four months since Sunny

happened

***

west, they indeed found a vast, ruined city surrounded by tall walls, with monsters wandering its narrow streets. And in the center of the city, there was a hill with a magnificent castle standing

the castle was full of people. However, they weren't Awakened, as the three of them had hoped. Instead, they were, each and every one of

they were no Gateway in

Forgotten Shore due to their strength or luck — were stuck there with no hope of ever

out loud. Oh, what a fool he had been. So full of hope and newfound faith in humanity… where's that faith now,

he bent over and slapped

funny! Good one, Sunny. What do you think

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

be honest, he 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

knight had almost disemboweled him, leaving 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

'Good times…'

Anyway, he survived.

a table that he had scavenged from the ruins of a library and glanced at the grey