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.

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

this was one of the features of his secret

his best

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

'Let's make some breakfast.'

But first things first…

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

used the kunai to scratch a small line into the

been four months since Sunny came to this loathsome,

happened during that

***

in the 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

the castle was full of people. However, they weren't Awakened, as the three of them

they were no Gateway in the

the lethal hellscape of the Forgotten Shore due to their strength or luck — were stuck there with

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

hysterically, he bent over and slapped his

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

staring at him with reproach. Its

of living alone in the city. He was more or

was that on his third week, that damn bastard of a 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

'Good times…'

Anyway, he survived.

the ruins of a library and glanced at the grey