Shadow Slave

Nephis held the shimmering crystals, looking at them with a heavy expression. Sunny was also staring at the shards, his head full of dark thoughts.

The remnants of shattered souls glowed softly in the dim twilight of dusk.

Around them, the inhabitants of the outer settlement were hurrying to get inside their pitiful hovels before the coming of night. The sun was already hidden behind the cyclopean silhouette of the Crimson Spire, drowning the world in its eerie shadow. The air was full of fear and worry.

He grimaced.

"What are you thinking about?"

Changing Star sighed and looked up. Her ivory face was harsh and thoughtful. She remained silent for a while, and then said in her usual calm tone:

"We need to split up."

Sunny couldn't help but laugh.

"You do know what usually happens when people split up in these kinds of situations, right?"

She stared at him with no humor in her cold, grey eyes.

"This is not a drama, Sunny. We have the means to provide two of us with food and shelter for a week. There's no reason to pass on this opportunity."

Cassie turned to her, a confused expression on her face.

"But… but what about the third?"

An uncomfortable silence hung between them, broken only by the whistling wind. Sunny looked at the blind girl, then at Nephis, and finally glanced at himself. Which one of them was going to remain hungry in the bitter cold while the other two would be eating their fill in the comfortable safety of the castle?

He thought that he had an inkling.

'What else did I expect?'

minutes since they reached the human civilization — well, whatever passed for one in this loathsome purgatory — and the tentative connection that had been established between them in the crucible of the Labyrinth was already coming apart at

he had expected, the nature of their relationship was going to change now that they weren't essentially the last three people in the whole wide world, with no one else to

had never managed to last long in any

out of control, Nephis sighed and handed him

"Here. Take Cassie inside."

her hand, then looked up

of emotions erupted in his heart. There was surprise, joy, concern… but at the same time, irrationally, a dark sense of shame and resentment. Not knowing how to deal with all these feelings,

"Why me?"

Shaking his head,

just curious why are you so kind all of a sudden. Is it out of some misguided sense of

him for a while, and

never been noble. I have

blinked, struggling with the desire to pinch Neph and make sure that she was

Star shrugged and

going on in the castle than I ever would.

pragmatical as he was? Once again, he

fact that she simply assumed that they were going to continue working together, as though it was a given,

looked at

spoils on the

'Trade? What trade?'

trade he had made with Changing Star to get her to teach him swordsmanship and hide the

But she didn't.

over, he felt a sudden pang of regret. It

sigh, he took the soul shards from her hand

you

say something else, but then just turned away. Stepping aside, he gave the

the blind girl, remained

"Are you ready?"

hesitated before answering. When she did, there was a hint of sadness in