Shadow Slave

Nephis stared at him for a few moments, then turned her head to Cassie and said:

"Follow behind us."

The three of them cautiously approached the entrance to the tower and lingered there, uncertain of how they should proceed.

In their minds, there were two outcomes to this unexpected situation.

One, the mysterious young woman would turn out to be a local Awakened. In that case, all their problems were going to be solved. If an Awakened happened to meet a group of Sleepers in the wild reaches of the Dream Realm, it was customary to guide them to the nearest human Citadel.

Of course, exceptions happened, but in general, Awakened strived to take care of Sleepers — in this alien land, humans had to band together. It was not only a moral obligation, but also in their own best interest.

Two, the stranger would turn out to be a Nightmare Creature. In that case, they were going to have a tough fight on their hands. Since the rank and class of the enemy were unknown, it was impossible to predict the result.

They just had to risk it.

Drawing a deep breath, Sunny followed Nephis into the cool darkness of the tower. Immediately, the appetizing smell of roasting meat hit his nostrils.

…His stomach growled.

'Crap!'

Before Sunny could react, a piece of bone flew past his head and hit the wall with enough force to shatter into tiny pieces. Belatedly, he raised the Midnight Shard and assumed a defensive stance.

But it was a little too late. The young woman had already been alerted of their presence.

Raising her head, she bared her teeth in a wide grin and murmured:

"Is someone hiding in the shadows? Why don't you come out to play…"

Her voice was deep, smoky and had a raspy huskiness to it. But what mattered the most was that she was speaking in the human language.

She was human!

Probably…

The stranger was still sitting in a relaxed pose, but Sunny didn't miss the subtle tension in her carved muscles. He had no doubt that the alleged Awakened could explode into a whirlwind of violence at any moment.

It was better not to provoke her.

he followed her example and dismissed his sword. Then, the three

them in

"Humans? Huh! Unexpected."

and

are my

that, she lightly rose to her feet. The white fabric of

Sunny blinked.

he realize how imposing her true height was. The woman stood considerably taller than even Nephis,

had no choice. If he were to just

meanwhile, wiped her dirty face with a forearm

you like

polite invitation, they hesitated. After several seconds passed in awkward silence, Nephis finally took a step forward and asked the question that

her voice uncharacteristically tense and full of suppressed emotion,

are

stranger stared at her with a blank expression, then blinked a couple

else would I be?

back and laughed loudly, amused by her own silly joke. Nephis and

the young woman giggled a few more times and looked at them with sparks

Why are you even asking? Anyway, come sit. My neck is tired from looking down on

the fire and assumed a relaxed pose. Nephis, Sunny and Cassie finally approached and lowered themselves to the stones, looking at the tall girl with hungry

over,

guys around. Are

gave her a

We have just

her endless attempts to improve her social skills had not been in vain. If Sunny didn't

The young woman grinned.

that case, my condolen… wait. You guys survived for two whole

whistled and looked at them with

real feat.

a few seconds, then

Cassia and Sunless. We are Sleepers who came here during the winter

gave them a wide,

Effie. Well, at least that's what people

not an Awakened, just a Sleeper like them. Strangely, he didn't remember

silent, he leaned forward and

the castle? There are