Shadow Slave

Sunny shuddered.

The voice he heard… was not his own. It sounded pleasant and calm, and seemed to have come from the darkness of the Sky Below itself.

'...Have I finally lost it?'

His first thought was that he had gone crazy again and was now hearing things.

His second thought was much less comforting…

'Damnation!'

Had he summoned some unholy titan from the depths of the Sky Below, after all?!

Sunny outstretched one hand, ready to manifest the Cruel Sight, but then hesitated.

If the owner of the voice was not a figment of his imagination, but some harrowing being of the void, was it really wise to agitate it? Would the silver blade even do anything against it?

'Calm down. Calm down. Maybe you just imagined the whole thing…'

As if to answer his thoughts, the void laughed softly.

"Ah, my apologies. I seem to have startled you."

Sunny gulped.

The pleasant voice seemed to belong to a young man, but no matter how hard he looked into the darkness, he couldn't see anyone… or anything… nearby.

He was reminded of his first meeting with Kai, only this time... this time, things were much more frightening.

"N—no worries. I just… didn't expect to hear another human's voice here. You, uh… you are a human… right?"

The void was silent for a while, then answered in a neutral tone:

to be

he couldn't even pinpoint the direction from which the voice

then

to? Then what

voice disappeared for a few

"...Lost."

Sunny blinked.

the hell does he

in lost in

darkness let out

in the

cold shivers run down his

am sorry. I haven't spoken to anyone in a long, long time. Instead of lost, It would be more proper to say that I am one of the Lost. My body in the waking world was destroyed, but my soul

One of the Lost…

were destroyed, leaving an empty body behind — there were also the Lost. People whose bodies had somehow died in the real world, leaving their souls stranded in the Dream

a little… not that he had any reason to believe that the stranger was telling him the truth. He could have been a Nightmare

Or something worse...

converse. The Lost, from what Sunny knew, were just like any other Awakened in the Dream Realm. It was just that they

not were disembodied voices

weight slightly, ready to… do something

that. But how is it that I am able to hear your voice, but can't

voice lingered for some time, that answered with a bit

is a

him to expand on that answer, but that seemed to be it.

Aren't you

voice

descending into the Sky Below?

couple of

falling into it. I got stuck on an island because of the Crushing, and sadly, that island broke off its chain. So, I had to

Then, he frowned.

dangerous? I haven't seen anything

voice lingered for a