Shadow Slave

Rain looked at him with a serious expression, thinking.

Inwardly, Sunny sighed.

He still didn't know how to change her mentality and make her vicious enough to survive the Dream Realm. He didn't even know if he wanted to, and if that was the right thing to do.

At least she seemed to understand a little bit more about the truth of the world after surviving the Gate opening. For now, that was going to have to be enough.

And this conversation was his attempt to make the lesson stick.

After a while, Rain said with uncertainty:

"Survival?"

Sunny raised an eyebrow, looking at her with surprise.

What were the chances that, despite their different life experiences, his sister would answer the question the same way he had, all that time ago, in the desolate hell of the Forgotten Shore?

He remained silent for a while, remembering those terrible, wonderful days. Then, he shook his head.

"No. The essence of combat is murder."

Rain shivered slightly.

"M—murder?"

Sunny nodded.

"Of course. What else would it be? You have to kill your enemy, or die. Either way, someone ends up murdered, and someone ends up as the murderer. So, the purpose of combat training is to make sure that you're the murderer. It is really that simple."

He paused, and then added:

"Survival is important, of course… but that can't be your primary goal. Such a goal is a terrible one to have. Even in life, it is not enough. You have to survive to continue living, but if you only live to survive, then what is even the point? More than that, if you don't strive for something bigger, something better, then you will only ever do what is required and nothing else. Which will make you weaker than those who want and dare to do more, and that weakness will cost you your life…"

trailed off, and Sunny suddenly fell

"Uh… Sunny?"

blinked a

"Yeah. Sorry. So…"

it's true what they say, the best way to

impart some wisdom, little as he had, on his attentive student, Sunny had accidentally stumbled on a truth about his own desperate desire to grow stronger. Everything Sunny had told Rain could be applied to himself. He had long ago abandoned his singular

free and with dignity really comparable to Neph's passionate, immolating obsession? Would he really

a lot to

at Rain, and then

body, and mastery of the mind. Your body can be trained through exercise, but your mind… is much more tricky. If you can understand the true essence of combat, however — truly grasp it with your very core — then you

***

himself understood them — to Rain. In the end,

tumultuous education, Sunny couldn't really blame her. It was hard, or maybe even impossible, to really understand battle without experiencing it. He had met Nephis after surviving the First Nightmare and

no carapace centurions around, and Sunny certainly wasn't going to run

was going to have to

basic stances and katas of Saint's style, and watch her struggle to replicate them. The progress was slow, but she was really a talented kid. For now, what held

that was okay. One couldn't expect a teenage girl to be as strong as an Awakened. Her body could be trained… of course, Rain was never going to be

and lean build, he couldn't compete with people like Caster or Master Roan in terms of physical

the great equalizer. The purpose of a weapon was to reduce the amount of force one needed to apply to deliver a lethal blow. Unless one planned to beat their enemy to

style could make that inherent

not do her any good. He gestured for her to stop and placed

glistening with sweat.

Is that a

tilted his

why are

Endless Spring and studied it from all sides,

get it! I've never seen a real Memory up close before. It… it feels

stared at

is real. What are

drank the water greedily, and then handed the Endless Spring back with a

after defeating some terrible monster? Or

hesitated for a