Shadow Slave

Washed in the ghostly light of the nascent dawn, Sunny and Kai were walking through the ruins of the cursed city. The night was slowly crawling away. Its retreat made one of them feel safer, while the other one grew uneasy without the familiar veil of darkness hiding him from the world.

'I have almost forgotten how mournful this place looks when the sun is up.'

Somewhere in the distance, the waves of the dark sea were halting their eternal assault on the stone walls of the ancient city. These walls had withstood thousands of years of wear and abuse without allowing even a single drop of black water to seep through. Sunny suspected that they would stand unbroken for a thousand years more.

Suddenly uncomfortable, he turned his head west and found the distant silhouette of the Crimson Spire. The menacing structure was looming over the Forgotten Shore like an evil omen, spelling doom to anyone who would dare approach it.

'...Maybe not.'

Sunny had chosen a complicated and meandering route to reach the castle. Kai, who was less familiar with the cursed city, simply followed behind. The charming young man was alert and collected, his bow ready to send arrows flying at any moment.

They had to circle around many areas where especially terrifying creatures were known to dwell and hunt, making slow progress. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

At some point, Sunny raised his hand, gesturing for his companion to stop. He peered into the distance with a deep frown on his face.

Kai glanced at him and whispered:

"What is it?"

Sunny brought a finger to his lips before answering:

"Shh. Listen."

Soon, they heard an eerie sound that resembled stifled, heart-wrenching weeping. It was as though there was a crying woman in the fog ahead of them, slowly drawing closer. Her trembling sobs made both Sleepers shiver.

Kai looked at him and asked without much confidence:

"What are the chances that it's actually a human girl?"

Sunny gave him a crooked smile.

"Low."

cold stones, Sunny sent his shadow to climb the

Sunny glanced at him and

"Where are your arrows?"

man hesitated,

of the best blacksmiths in the castle. But the

him an amused

bow of yours is

lingered for a

have arrow-type

"How many?"

archer lowered his

Will that be

a bit, and then answered in a

think that will be

there in the fog, his shadow was looking at the

was not a

of its ribs through the holes in the rotting hide, the unnatural darkness hiding behind them, and the powerful jaws of the partially bared dog-like skull that were

horrid

looking, the beast opened its maw and produced another long, human-like sob, then stopped and listened, as though waiting for an answer. When nothing happened, it lowered its head and slowly continued on its

hiding spot was somewhat close, it wasn't actually on its path. If nothing changed, the

Sunny sighed.

to stay here for ten minutes, at

Kai didn't ask anything, simply taking Sunny's word for it. It seemed as though his strange ability to

quality to have, as

Sunny summoned the Endless Spring and took a few sips of cold, sweet water. Noticing that Kai was staring at him, he

though someone dying from thirst. Come to

little guilty, Sunny

last time

detached himself from the bottle, wiped his

ago, I think. Thank you