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:

human? I used to be a human once,

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

tensed, then

what are

for a few moments, then sighed.

"...Lost."

Sunny blinked.

the hell does

in lost in the

darkness let out a sad

in the Sky

cold shivers run

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 continues to exist here, in the

One of the Lost…

— there were also the Lost. People whose bodies had somehow died in the

these lost souls made Sunny relax a little… not that he had any

Or something worse...

Lost, that didn't explain how they were able to converse. The Lost, from what Sunny knew, were just like any other Awakened in the Dream

were not were disembodied voices

to… do something

to hear that. But how is it that I am able to hear your

that answered

is a good

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

Aren't you going to

voice suddenly

are you descending into the Sky Below? This is a

a couple of times, then

the Sky Below as I am falling into it. I got stuck on an island because of the Crushing, and sadly, that island broke off its

Then, he frowned.

place? Why is it dangerous? I haven't seen anything dangerous anywhere in

lingered for a while, then sighed with