Shadow Slave

Sunny stared at Caster with a grim expression. Despite the amiable smile and reassuring voice, he knew what the handsome Legacy was doing.

He grew up in the outskirts, after all.

Caster had said "I will help you."

But what he actually meant was "I will own you."

Because there was no better leverage than a gruesome secret. This help of his was going to come at a price.

But what choice did Sunny have, really? Unless he was ready to fight and kill Caster right there and then, thus silencing the only witness of his crime forever, he couldn't refuse.

Plus… what Caster thought was going to happen and what would really happen was not as set in stone as it seemed. As long as Sunny was alive, there was hope of turning things around, somehow.

He just had to get through this, one step at a time.

Sunny forced out a smile.

"Thank you, Caster. I won't… won't forget it."

Then, he glanced at the dead body lying at his feet and took a step back, escaping the quickly growing puddle of blood. His face remained calm, but a small, almost imperceptible shiver ran through his body.

"So… what do we do now?"

The proud Legacy lingered, then said in a solemn tone:

we can't let anyone see you like this. Wait here for a while. I'll bring

to stay anywhere near Harper, but

"And then what?"

Caster hesitated.

of the body. But… it won't be easy to do without being noticed, if not by slum rats, than by Guards.

could trust the Legacy. What was going to stop him from returning with a crowd of people? But no.

an eye on things after the handsome

floor, resting his

comforting darkness. Of course, he could still see the bloodied body lying motionless on the stones beside him. For the first time, Sunny wished that his eyes weren't able to pierce through

still open,

stuck with you forever,

even looking into the Soul Sea, Sunny knew that a new shadow had joined the silent ranks of every

he could do

Time slowly crawled.

needed without raising any suspicion. He had to avoid prying eyes and waste a lot

you seen Sunny?" Do

their lodge, sitting on the floor near the corpse of a young man he had killed, Sunny smiled darkly and listened to what kind of excuse the Legacy would come up

while, his thoughts began to wander. He listened to the sound of rain falling on the stones outside and

was always

Nephis, whose past was clouded in mystery and screamed of tragedy, he came from a simple background. His story was more mundane than tragic.

poor, but not destitute. His dad was employed by one of the numerous maintenance crews that took care of the city's outer barriers. His mom worked

in a work accident, which was not a rare occurrence among the city maintenance workers. Three years after that, his mother got sick and eventually passed away. Factory workers like her often got sick and died due to the harsh conditions,

Sunny, however, was older and had "behavioral problems", which made him pretty much completely undesirable. After enduring a few years in a series of increasingly vile foster homes,