Shadow Slave

He sat back down, waited for a while, and then turned to Cassie:

"Did you take a look at her Attributes?"

She sat down, too, and sighed.

"Yes. Her, the four Lost with her. Sir Pierce, too. I also saw the name and Rank of their Aspects."

Sunny frowned.

"What? Since when can you read Aspects, too?"

The blind girl shrugged.

"Since my Awakening."

He stared at her for a bit.

'What a useful Ability…'

In worse news, if she had not known some of his secrets before, she surely knew them now.

'...How infuriating.'

Sunny grimaced, lingered for a bit, and then said:

"Good. Chances are, we'll need that information before all of this is over."

He didn't press her for answers yet, since there was a lot he had to think about.

Some more time passed with both of them remaining silent. After a while, the door of the chamber opened once more, and the familiar four Lost entered. The one with a bandaged head was carrying a tray of food and a waterskin.

He studied them for a few moments, a cold expression on his handsome face, and then threw the food and the waterskin through the iron bars without approaching the cage.

Sunny suppressed his anger and opened his mouth, assuming the persona of a cowardly researcher:

"Hey! Sir… uh… sir Awakened! Can you tell us what is going on? Please, we don't even know what is wrong!"

The sentinel glanced at him darkly and spat in a commanding tone:

"Silence!"

voice was clear and strong, full of arrogant confidence… and deep animosity toward the

Lost left, once again locking the

lowered his gaze and glanced at the food that rolled down

he threw his head

gods! Never thought I'll be eating

the blue glow of the runes, two

their shape

***

a synthetic paste that had the consistency of mud and tasted about the same. Still, this vile invention was cheap to produce and

not missed the damned sludge at

the easiest food to get was called a "universal ration pack"... or simply a rat pack. It contained a tube of synthpaste, a cheap water

Such irony...

and weak without the essence sustaining their bodies,

against each other. With nothing but two layers of thin fabric

chilly, but at least his

lay in silence for a while, trying to

did, however, Cassie suddenly

"Sunny…"

voice was quiet and

she doing?

kept his eyes closed and remained silent for a few moments, then

a devil already.

and didn't say anything

night outside — he suddenly woke up, disturbed by a sudden change in her breathing. Through the thin fabric of their clothes, he could feel the blind girl's body tense up, her breathing

hesitated, then turned around and looked

in a tortured

lingered, not knowing

and that like most of her visions, this one was painful and terrifying. Was he supposed to wake her up? Or

he could decide, she suddenly sat up with a stifled yelp. Her chest was rising and falling wildly, and there was a panicked expression on

blind girl raised her hands and tried to feel her

making

it. You're in a cage

iron grip. After a

"...I'm alright."

up the mostly empty waterskin, and put it

and closed her