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.

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

was one of the features

was his best

to chase away 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 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 fingers while trying to learn how to control the

engravings, he used the kunai to scratch a small line into the stone. All around it, there were dozens

had already been four months since Sunny came to this

things had happened

***

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

people. However, they weren't Awakened, as the three of them had hoped.

they were no Gateway in

of the Forgotten Shore due to their strength or luck — were

laugh out loud. Oh, what a fool he had been. So full of hope and newfound

bent over

What do you think about that,

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

ago. Probably around his third week of living alone in the city. He was more or

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.

that he had scavenged from the ruins of