Shadow Slave

For a moment, Sunny froze. However, a second later he continued to behave just like before, as if nothing had happened.

The first rule of haggling — never let the enemy see that you're interested in buying something. And Sunny was dead set on haggling until Stev's ears started to bleed today.

Pretending as though he had not noticed the dusty armor, he walked around a bit more, slowly approaching the corner where it was displayed. Judging by the neglect with which the armor was kept, the master of the Memory Market did not know its true value.

Sunny really wanted to keep it that way. Because, if he was right… that armor was much more valuable than anything else here.

He didn't know for sure, but suspected that it was nothing short of a true treasure.

Because he recognized it.

The suit of ancient plate armor was jet black in color, its design intricate and solemn. It radiated a feeling of dark resolve and stalwart, adamantine grace. All parts of it were perfectly fitted to one another, creating an almost seamless barrier of impenetrable steel.

…Or rather, stone.

Because the dusty armor was almost exactly the same as the one the Stone Saint was wearing.

Of course, there were some differences. For starters, this one was somehow more… impressive. It felt as though it had once belonged to a creature of higher status than the steadfast Shadow. While Shadow's armor was made out of dark granite, this one was cut out of pure black onyx. Its glossy surface seemed to absorb and devour any light that fell on it.

And that was just in its dormant state. Once it was animated like that of the Stone Saint… who knew how fearsome it would become?

Why was this treasure gathering dust in a badly lit corner of the Memory Market?

Sunny frowned. Yes, he was most likely the only person in the Dark City who had seen the formidable living statues up close. But still, everything about the onyx armor screamed of how incredible of a Memory it was. What was it doing here, neglected and seemingly forgotten?

He had a lot of questions.

he managed to reach the armor without showing how interested in it he was. With a false expression of boredom on his face, Sunny raised a hand and absentmindedly

later, his mask of boredom

to the core. The weave of ethereal diamond strings inside it was… was

even that of the Puppeteer's Shroud. Which was not surprising, considering that there

and brighter

Sunny gulped.

in dust, was an Ascended Memory of

'Jackpot.'

***

noticed that there

seamlessly, they floated in the darkness, untethered from each other and the nexuses. The whole thing was a

any logic or purpose in the weave. It

Sunny frowned.

stay damaged beyond repair? That didn't make any sense. Memories were supposed to repair themselves inside the Soul Sea as long as

Unless…

of understanding appeared

his idea, Stev chuckled and put

an awesome armor, right, my dear friend

leaned forward and

Stev had approached him several times to describe the most alluring qualities of his wares or simply to chat. He was obviously bored out of his mind in this

stared at him and blinked a couple

kind of a priceless treasure

crap in this market of yours, this one is by far the most outrageous. I can hardly believe that you had

he meant that it was genuinely the best Memory in this whole room, if not in the whole castle — except

though he was blaming Stev for being shameless and trying to sell people an utter piece of crap… well, he

Stev sighed.

but I can't really disagree this time. This armor, no matter how awesome it looks, is indeed absolutely useless. It has been here from long before I was put