Shadow Slave

Sunny remained motionless for a while, then took a look into his Soul Sea. It didn't seem lifeless and drained anymore. The three black suns of his cores loomed above in a perfect triangle, burning with furious dark flames, and the tranquil sea was in turmoil, replete the raging energy.

He glanced at the shadow of the sentinel that had joined the silent ranks of his brethren, made a grimace, and closed his eyes.

His body was still weak and on the verge of shutting down, but now, satiated with essence, it was not completely useless anymore. He concentrated, then summoned the Soul Serpent and circulated the essence through its coils, feeling strength return to his aching muscles. His lethargy receded a little.

Finally, Sunny opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Cassie. The blind girl was laying on the floor beside him, just outside the circle of runes, completely spent. She must have retrieved the keys from the sentinel's corpse, unlocked the door, then dragged him out of the cage. Sunny didn't know how she had managed to carry him all the way in her terrible condition, but she had.

Now, Cassie was barely breathing. However, the color was slowly returning to her face — she was regenerating her soul essence, too.

Just the effort of turning his head made Sunny feel dizzy. He rested for a few moments, breathing heavily, then summoned Saint.

The taciturn knight appeared out of his shadow, her ruby eyes burning in the darkness. He stared at her from below for a second, then gave a silent command:

'Close the door. Guard us.'

The demon silently turned and walked away, her steps echoing in the silence of the stone cell. Sunny rested some more, then gritted his teeth and tried to sit up. He succeeded on the third try.

Water, water… he needed water… all of his being lusted for a single drop of the precious liquid…

A swirl of sparks danced around his hand, and then, the most glorious thing he had ever seen appeared in it.

It was a dazzling, beautiful, sublime bottle made out of patterned blue glass.

soon as the first drops of water fell into her mouth, the blind girl opened her eyes, flinched, and then drank greedily. At some

own throat spasming in pain. Finally, he wrestled his hand free and drank his own

more euphoric than being reborn during the Awakening, and much more rewarding by far. With each sip,

these moments, he was probably the happiest he

fell to the floor, dead tired.

before

***

in a rather bad shape and weak from hunger, his stomach pulsing with pain, but

more water, and looked around

was still sound asleep, laying on the cold stone floor. She looked to be in a worse condition than him, but there was color to her face, and her breathing was calm and steady. Even though the blind girl did not possess the miraculous Blood Weave, she was still a powerful Awakened. Her body

in a couple of days, both

that nothing

the

at the cage and the corpse of the sentinel laying near it. His face

one of his shadows to take a look outside the door. The long corridor was empty and submerged in darkness. Nothing moved there, and nothing seemed to pose any threat. The only thing he saw was another corpse — this one belonging to

while, then

outside was

eyes. She sat down and groaned quietly, then slowly turned her head