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?"

answer for as long as

I took it with me, thinking that it might turn out

of anguish in it. The owner of the voice tried very hard to suppress it, but his pain seemed to be too deep to not

it's dead. I

fell silent once

After a while, he asked

be angry with me for killing your

resounded

with you? You are not

becoming separated from its creator — and

Then, he asked cautiously:

what exactly was it, though? I have never seen a creature

control of itself when it answered after

him when I was just a lonely kid. We were together for a long time, before… before

his head, then

kid? A kid with an Aspect

The voice laughed bitterly.

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

Sunny blinked.

Nightmare at twelve… of course very

by the Spell were outside of the usual age range. The entire first generation of the Awakened had been, for example. And there were cases

thought that

throat,

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

of his soul essence… or whatever it was that allowed him to communicate with Sunny… and was now

Sunny sighed.

it! I didn't even have time to

with how he chose

***

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 its empty embrace, and

'Maybe it was?'

it wasn't. He was almost

the void had changed slightly. Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer and

in his usual spot, 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

"...You practice archery?"

his eyes and glanced into the darkness,