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?"

as long

powerful creature I killed. I took it with

of anguish in it. The owner of the voice tried very hard to suppress it, but

it's dead. I

fell silent

After a while, he asked

angry with me for killing

resounded from the

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

from its creator — and eventually dying by his hand — was extremely lucky that the owner of the voice had become one of the

Then, he asked cautiously:

it, though? I have never seen

itself when it answered after a

say. I… I created him when I was just a

his head, then

do you mean, a kid?

The voice laughed bitterly.

that… I had my First Nightmare when I was twelve. It's rare, but does happen sometimes. Few

Sunny blinked.

at

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

that

cleared his throat,

any better, the creature tried to say something before it died.

essence… or whatever it was that

Sunny sighed.

to

how he chose his words, damn

***

more days 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

'Maybe it was?'

wasn't. He

Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer

the center of the treasure chest and training to better control the flow of

"...You practice archery?"

his eyes and glanced into the darkness,