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 hidden chamber in sunlight was long destroyed, leaving

didn't mind. In fact, this was one of the features of his secret lair that

his best

stood up and rubbed his face to chase away the last remnants of sleep. His long, dirty hair

'Let's make some breakfast.'

But first things first…

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 fingers while

he used the kunai to scratch a small line into the

months since Sunny came to this loathsome, godforsaken

things had happened during

***

out to be true. Far 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 was a hill with a magnificent

they weren't Awakened, as the three of

they were no

luck —

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

he bent over

What do you think about that, eh

reproach. Its

around his third week of living alone in the city. He

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

'Good times…'

Anyway, he survived.

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