Shadow Slave

Sunny sat silently for a few moments, thinking.

'Sun God…'

So, the ruler of this land had angered the gods, and one of them struck down her kingdom. He could just imagine it — a vast pillar of incandescent white flame falling from the skies, piercing the ground and causing the whole region to fracture, its fragments falling into the searing inferno of the divine flame one after another.

Well… not all of them had fallen.

He glanced up, wondering if the Chained Isles were created to save the citizens of the destroyed kingdom from annihilation. If so… that prideful ruler must have been not so simple herself.

Who would be powerful enough to dare resist the wrath of the gods?

And what had that being done to provoke it?

But more importantly…

How the hell did the voice of the void knew so much about it?

A subtly suspicious expression appeared on his face.

"...Really? This is very interesting. And how exactly do you know all this?"

Sunny hesitated, and then cautiously added:

"Did you, perhaps, have something to do with that prideful ruler?"

The voice was silent for a moment, and then suddenly exploded with sincere laughter.

"Oh my! I wish! Wouldn't that be grand… but no, I am just an Awakened who had studied the Chained Isles, probably the same way that you have studied them in your travels. The ruins here are all but destroyed by the endless cycle of the Crushing, but if one knows where to look, there are still some answers left to find."

Sunny smiled.

"True. But I am actually a research assistant for the Wilderness Survival faculty of the Academy, and yet I have never seen any of the information you possess in the database. With the level of access that I have, that is very strange, isn't it?"

The voice chuckled.

"How am I supposed to report my findings to the Academy? I can't even leave the Dream Realm."

Sunny blinked.

That… actually made a lot of sense. Sort of. Lost or not, an Awakened still had to survive somehow in the Dream Realm, so they were bound to live in one of the Citadels. Probably. So, it wasn't like they had no contact at all with the real world, even if it was only through the other inhabitants of their Citadel.

not a

was just a

He frowned.

haven't heard a voice like yours anywhere in

lingered for a while, then

am not in the

Temple. But only those serving Valor were allowed to anchor there. Well…

have something to do

the Night

was

if he was even real —

Sunny sighed.

even more

could be more irritating than someone who had been almost literally raised by

"No manners! No decorum..."

***

would have to be more strategic with his words in

heavenly fire…

felt

was he supposed to withstand the searing heat of the

flame burn

it would be at least

Sunny a few weeks to reach the layer of the abyss containing the false stars, which meant

on his body. Sunny had no idea what he was going to find on the other end of the

to confront danger, and becoming starved and weak was not really

lingered for a while, then stared down, at the lid

to have

seemed

food was

'Right?'

the Covetous Coffer, took out his

"Tonight… we feast!"

mourn. And barf.

***

than they had been before. The sight of the black void littered with shimmering

sitting in the center of the plummeting treasure chest with an extremely miserable expression on his

mouth, he tore a piece of it with

I would miss the taste of synthpaste one