Shadow Slave

Sunny stared into the void suspiciously.

"Yeah? And how come you are so concerned about my well-being?"

The voice remained silent for a bit, then answered wistfully:

"I haven't really spoken to anyone in a long, long time. It would be a shame to finally find someone to talk to, only for them to die soon. Don't you think?"

'That guy is definitely not just a simple Lost… what is his deal, really? Is he actually a human or only pretends to be one?'

Sunny thought for a bit, then said:

"I guess. And since we're on the topic… how is it exactly that we are able to talk?"

He expected the voice to change the subject or ignore the question, but to his surprise, it actually answered:

"I am not really sure. This has never happened to me before, either."

After a while, it added hesitantly:

"Have you… have you perhaps found a piece of a broken mirror somewhere?"

Something clicked in Sunny's mind.

"Broken mirror… Mirror Beast… Beastie…"

The Ascended Reflection! The shard of a mirror that the strange creature had left behind was still inside the Covetous Coffer… smeared with his blood…

'Crap!'

So the owner of the voice was the creator of the murderous Reflection Sunny had encountered on the Reckoning. That… that gave him as many questions as it had given him answers.

He couldn't really think about it right now, though, because the pressure of the Flaw was already building in his mind, forcing him to speak.

"Now that you mention it, I did, indeed, recently find a piece of a broken mirror. With the word "Beastie" written on it in a child's handwriting."

The voice remained silent for a while, then asked quietly:

"Oh? How exactly did you find it?"

for as long as he

behind by a powerful creature I killed. I took it with

time. When it finally spoke, there was a hint of anguish in it. The owner of the voice tried very hard

it's dead. I

fell silent once

tensed. After a while,

angry with me for killing your

deep sigh resounded from

you? Why would I be angry with you? You are not to blame for what happened

— and eventually dying by his hand — was extremely lucky that the owner of the

Then, he asked cautiously:

I have never

voice seemed more in control of itself when it answered after

when

his head,

a kid? A kid with an

The voice laughed bitterly.

I was twelve. It's rare, but does happen sometimes. Few children survive

Sunny blinked.

at twelve… of course very

entire first generation of the Awakened had

that I was

throat,

your loss. If it makes you feel any better, the creature tried to say something before it

didn't respond. It seemed that its owner had once again spent all of his soul essence… or whatever it was that allowed him to communicate with Sunny… and

Sunny sighed.

it! I didn't even have time to ask him how

with how he chose his

***

plummeting into the void. By now, he was having trouble remembering what it even felt like, to not be falling. The darkness seemed to be eternal and everpresent, as though he had always been here, in

'Maybe it was?'

it wasn't. He was

had changed slightly. Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer and brighter, but it

sitting cross-legged in the center of the treasure chest and training to better control the flow of shadow essence. On the surface of the lid near him was a dark longbow and a

"...You practice archery?"

opened his eyes and glanced into