Shadow Slave

Sunny slowly rolled on his stomach, then rose to his knees. He was breathing heavily, and his whole body felt as if it had just gone through a meat grinder. Master Roan, on the other hand, looked almost unperturbed.

The rider was already on his feet, tying the blue scarf around his neck with a relaxed expression on his face.

The forest around them let out an almost human sigh of relief. The ancient trees creaked and cracked, rising their brancher back toward the sun. Those that had broken remained on the ground, adding to the nearly impenetrable layer of deadfall.

Sunny glanced at the older man with a bit of envy, then stood up and tried to shake off his exhaustion. After spending a few minutes resting and drinking greedily from the Endless Spring, he almost felt alive again. Glancing at the tall man, he asked:

"How are you able to fly up there on your griffin? I mean… no offense, but that seems like something only a crazy person would do."

Roan laughed.

"I don't rise too high unless I really have to. Usually, you can fly above the descending islands without experiencing too much pressure. After a while, you develop a sense of how much your body can handle, and for how long."

He massaged his broad shoulders and added, a note of pride in his voice:

"Plus, I am a Master, after all. I can withstand much more than an Awakened would. You did exceptionally well, however. To be honest, I was pretty sure that I would have to abandon my patrol to bring your bleeding body back to the Sanctuary at full speed, then throw it into the Gateway. I guess it's true what they say about you Forgotten Shore kids."

Sunny blinked a couple of times and asked cautiously:

"...What do they say?"

The older man smiled.

pain and fear, strong… almost scary. Scary children, that was the exact phrase I

lingered for a

bravery gets them killed. As for pain, no

Master Roan gave him a strange look, Sunny raised

"Uh… what?"

tall man shook his head, then scratched his chin and said in a wondering

are you doing here on the Chaines Isles? Shouldn't you be having a nice time in a

looked away in

that, actually. Not the least of which

then lowered his voice and

won't believe it, but the government actually pays you money for writing down things about the Dream Realm. And since the Chained Isles are largely unexplored, they pay me premium for going around dusty ruins here and scribbling down a thing or

at him with an

strange fellow, you know

Sunny shrugged.

anyone about what I've just said. I don't

man blinked a couple of times, then

to take you back to

thought for a

that far, anyway. If I make haste, I'll be back before morning and

and patted Sunny

be on my way. It's been nice meeting you, Sunless. If you need

the figure of the mighty griffin. The winged beast towered above Sunny like a gargantuan mix between a lion, an eagle, and a pure nightmare. Slowly, it lowered its head, staring