Shadow Slave

Visible only to Sunny, the diamond weave beneath the surface of the gate ignited with ghostly light. Almost immediately, a thin vertical crack appeared in the ancient stone.

Then, the gates silently opened, and a gust of wind hit Sunny in the back.

He took a few steps away, hiding behind Saint, and cautiously looked over her shoulder at the dark entrance.

Nothing was moving in the darkness. From what he could see, the interior of the Obsidian Tower seemed quite mundane. As soon as the gate opened, his Shadows Sense could finally penetrate the invisible barrier surrounding the graceful pagoda — it didn't detect any danger, as well.

It really did seem safe.

He waited for a few moments, then coughed and waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get the soot that had flown into the air away from it.

"Ah, well. Nothing to worry about, then. Let's go!"

Sunny glanced at Saint, lingered for a second, and added in a polite tone:

"...Oh, ladies first."

The taciturn demon turned her head slightly, stared at him with one ruby eye, then simply walked forward and stepped over the threshold of the ancient tower. Sunny waited for a few moments, and followed.

Tightly gripping the handle of the Moonlight Shard, he dove into the darkness that reigned behind the tall frame of the entrance, made a dozen steps forward, and found himself in a wide corridor that seemed to encircle the entire first level of the pagoda.

The corridor stretched both far to the left and to the right. Here and there, Sunny could see large doors leading to differently sized rooms that were situated in the direction of the tower's outer wall, all the way to the bends of the corridor. And right in front of him was an intricate wooden gate decorated with beautiful engravings.

was the central hall of

hesitated for a bit, then pushed the wooden gate, which opened easily and revealed a vast chamber on the other

'That smell…'

His eyes widened.

on its walls, filling the interior of the Obsidian Tower with ghostly blue light. There were various things in the hall, all of which

scattering of beautiful soul crystals on its black surface. A stone wall with mysterious schematics cut into it, the

reminded him of astronomical instruments, but also

even his own house in the real world was… despite the thousands of years that must have passed since the Obsidian Tower was

but slightly different. The shapes of the handles of all the tools were slightly strange. The way the pieces of furniture and equipment were arranged in space filled him with a slight feeling of unease, even though he didn't know

Neither did his gaze linger on

wooden table. And on it… was all

glass jars of exquisite wine, beautiful pots full of steaming tea, all of it waited for him, as if served only a

Sunny's mouth watered.

is this possible? This has to

left black marks on the pristine floor of the hall. Arriving at his destination, Sunny reached out

goblets clattered to the floor,

it any attention, Sunny gulped down the sweet wine and laughed, sending breadcrumbs

this is

preferred something without alcohol, but then again, this wine tasted

but also dirty traces left by

really hits