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 could,

a powerful creature I killed. I took it with me,

of time. When it finally spoke, there was a hint of anguish in it. The

dead. I

fell silent

tensed. After a

going to be angry with me for killing your pet,

resounded from the

you? You are not to

responsible for the Mirror Beast becoming separated from its creator — and eventually dying by his hand — was extremely lucky that the owner of

Then, he asked cautiously:

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

of itself

A kind of an Echo, you can say. I… I created him when I

tilted his head,

you mean, a kid? A kid with an Aspect

The voice laughed bitterly.

It's rare, but does happen sometimes. Few children survive the

Sunny blinked.

into the Nightmare at twelve…

the Awakened had been, for example. And there were cases of this anomaly to this day, even though it usually happened to someone older than the norm, not someone

that I was

cleared his throat, then

feel any better, the creature tried to say something before

respond. It seemed that its owner had once again spent all of his soul essence… or whatever it was

Sunny sighed.

even have time to ask

with how he chose

***

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

'Maybe it was?'

it wasn't.

had changed slightly. Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer and brighter, but it also felt as if the air was

to better control the flow of shadow essence. On the

"...You practice archery?"

eyes and glanced into