Shadow Slave

Sunny wanted to deny her words, but in the end, simply turned away to look at the city streets flying by.

Master Jet knew, of course.

She had long known that he had the capacity to be a killer because of the cruel past the two of them shared, and more than that, she had access to the records about the events of the Forgotten Shore that the government agents had compiled.

Out there, Sunny had killed his fair share of people. He had not been the most active participant in the civil war for the throne of the Bright Castle, but his hands were covered in blood, too. There were very few survivors of the Dark City who, like Aiko, managed to go through that morbid ordeal without staining themselves with human blood.

And then there were other lives that almost no one knew that he had ended — Caster, Harus, the hunters who had kept Kai locked in the dark well… and Harper.

Even before that, he had killed the old slaver, Shifty, Scholar, and Auro of the Nine without batting an eye.

…Honestly, it was not a big deal. Except for maybe Harper, Sunny never lost sleep over any of the humans that had died by his hand. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that some of them he even enjoyed killing, a little.

And it was precisely the fact that he didn't think of it as a big deal that proved Master Jet's words. Sunny was a killer, and not in the sense that he had killed before or had been taught how to. He had an innate aptitude for that sort of thing, and there were not a lot of people who did.

In fact, he only knew three. The first one was himself.

The second was Nephis. She was the one who had taught him about murder, after all.

…Maybe that was one of the reasons why Changing Star had chosen to impart her family battle style to Sunny. Maybe she had recognized that the two of them were similar… that both of them had seen and known the truth of this world. That he would be able to understand.

The third one was Master Jet.

Sunny suddenly realized that he didn't know much about her, apart from her Rank, her past as a kid from the outskirts, and her role as a government operative. Everything that he thought he knew about Master Jet had come from what others told him about her, painting an intimidating and imposing picture of the fearsome Soul Reaper.

That picture, however, did not reveal the real human hidden behind the loud nickname. In fact, it only served to obscure her more.

What nightmares Jet herself had survived on her path to becoming a Master? What were her hopes, her convictions? What were her goals?

He had no idea.

it, Sunny hesitated for a while, and then

Jet? Can I ask you

glanced at him briefly

"Sure."

before formulating a question. In the

are you not

her voice full of

question. You say it as though becoming

not willing to

of them can compare to you in terms of talent and power. The fact that you chose to challenge the Second Nightmare proves that you have ambition. So why

spared him another glance and asked with an easy

What have

Sunny shifted uncomfortably.

'Crap...'

a Nightmare with you because of your… problematic

Her smile turned wider.

heard those before. Huh… I like

remained silent for a bit, and then

value as an inexperienced Sleeper, but after the Forgotten Shore, that statement doesn't seem to make sense. Sure, it is important to trust those who you enter the Nightmare with… but at the end

did not speak for a while, concentrating on the road. Eventually, she answered, a hint of darkness finding its way into

lot. Plus, some of these things people only learn after reaching a certain

at him, the smile

simple, really. Basically, you need the right people to help you become a Master. But to become a Saint…

did now ask, a deep frown appearing on

right people… to not obstruct

hinting at, of course. He knew enough to come to the

told him was that to become a Saint, one had

it wasn't too hard to realize