Shadow Slave

A few days passed in tense anticipation. Sunny spent them doing the same things he had been doing before: training and preparing mentally for what was about to come.

He had a lot of things to do.

First came his technique, which was based on the flowing battle style that Nephis had taught him, with elements of Shadow Saint's grounded style added to its adaptive foundation. His skill was growing sharper and sharper, slowly being elevated and solidified at the level that his current understanding of combat allowed.

Sunny was not a novice anymore. He survived hundreds of deadly battles, and each left him stronger and more experienced than he had been before.

But perfecting his technique was still not easy, because he had to make himself indomitable first, and then turn that firmness into flexibility.

Now that Sunny finally had free time, he also used it to adapt his style to the new reality of his improved physical limits. Many things that had not been possible for him before the journey to the Hollow Mountains became possible now. The way he approached combat had to change, too.

All of it took effort and a lot of thought to achieve.

Second came the Shadow Dance. Sunny was still at the stage where he was slowly forming a practical set of moves to train in that elusive style. He felt as if he was now only one final step away from turning his vision of the Shadow Dance into reality. However, he seemed to be lacking some crucial ingredient. He needed one last push, one moment of inspiration to make that final step.

Still, his exercises weren't useless. Until that moment of inspiration came, they helped condition his body and mind, make them adaptable and malleable like shadows. When the last revelation appeared, they would be able to receive it.

After each intense training session, every muscle in his body ached, and a wave of mental fatigue washed over him.

Third came the most important task. He had to turn his mind and soul into a fortress that would withstand the shock of the future.

He had to achieve the type of clarity that would allow him to emerge victorious on the other end of it all, and for now, this task was turning out to be the most unattainable.

was so much harder to do the same with one's soul. However, this was exactly

that, six

in dirt, dust, and dried blood. The quiver of arrows he had taken with him was now empty, and there were shallow cuts on

had kept watching the skies above the Bright Castle all this time, so

served as Neph's council chamber, Kai was already there, sitting by the fire and

him, Kai

"Hey, Sunny."

a bit, then approached the beautiful young man

"Hey, Kai. Welcome back."

an opportunity to catch his breath and waiting for the

after another, Cassie, Caster, and Seishan appeared in the room and greeted Kai. Nephis was the last

down near Kai. After hesitating for a few moments, she

"How many?"

slowly appearing in his eyes. Finally, he turned away and sighed.

"...None."

small room, making the faces of people gathered there

sign that a Sleeper passed there recently. But there were none. There was no one alive and no bodies, not even a single fresh

won't the next one, too.

Sometimes, it was nice to

more. Eventually, hundreds of Sleepers had been arriving in the Dark City after each winter solstice… up until last year, when only four of them — Sunny, Nephis,