Shadow Slave

Sunny was tired of the silence, the emptiness, and the quiet dread. The fear of the unknown had been pressing heavily onto his heart, and for a short moment, he wanted for this burdensome uncertainty to end, no matter how violent and dangerous the resulting confrontation would be.

But then, he had to grit his teeth and remind himself that giving in to anger and frustration was a sure way to die. Without knowing the scale of the threat, he had to remain calm and keep a cool head.

His hand, already outstretched to summon a weapon, hovered in the air for a couple of moments, and then relaxed.

Sunny sent one of his shadows forward, and soon saw human figures emerging from one of the passages, some of them limping, the others carrying stretchers with those of their brethren who were too heavily wounded to walk.

The Lost… they were the remaining guardians of the Night Temple. In front of them, a woman in a black tunic was walking, her red hair dirty and damp with sweat. There was a grim, dark expression on her face.

'So there are survivors, after all…'

There were a dozen or so warriors who could still fight, although they didn't seem to be in the best shape. Several were carrying lanterns and torches, the orange flames pushing the darkness reigning in the great hall back. They were still too far away to notice Sunny and Cassie, but he had no doubt that they would be discovered soon.

'What to do, what to do… wait, or hide?'

A moment later, the decision was made for him.

As Sunny watched, one of the Lost suddenly approached Master Welthe and whispered something to her, then pointed directly at the shadow that was observing them from the darkness.

'Crap…'

Sunny was more or less certain in his ability to contend with one of the Ascended knights, provided of course that Saint and the Serpent were on his side. With the dozen Lost supporting the opponent, though… it was a fight he would have preferred to avoid.

Especially considering that what he needed the most right now was information, which the survivors possessed.

Soon, a lone figure separated from the group of battered sentinels and headed their way with measured, steady steps. As soon as Sunny saw who it was, his face darkened.

Master Pierce… the man was as rugged and severe as he had been when they first met, his steely eyes cold and hard. The stubble on his cheeks had turned into a short beard and his lusterless scale mail was damaged in several places, but other than that, he looked exactly the same. It was as though the weeks of bloody horror had no effect on him at all.

Now, the odds were really not in Sunny's favor.

still sure of his ability to at

Cassie with a heavy gaze. Sunny

we weren't sure

tensed. Knowing that she must have sensed something happening in the next few seconds, Sunny prepared for the worst. However, noting that the blind girl remained motionless, he

his

well. What do we

inwardly, and watched as ten human figures appeared from the sparks, surrounding them. In an instant, the number of their

though… he had to suppress a shiver. Their empty eyes, their empty shadows… no, they weren't humans at all. Instead, ten Echoes were staring at

stared at them

the two of you are

feverishly thinking about how to turn the situation

"Oh… about that…"

say anything, he noticed that Cassie turned her head slightly and glanced somewhere behind him, a small frown appearing on her face. Just

strange, considering that Sunny was always aware of what was behind his back thanks to the shadows, and couldn't

the next moment, when something cold touched his

"Don't move."

Sunny froze.

the female sentinel that was guarding the gates on the

obvious… the woman must have been able to don some form of invisibility

one

He pretended to tremble.

I am

no one spoke. Then, Cassie turned her face toward the

is happening. We barely escaped the cage you put us in alive, and being met with such hostility is not how we

her for a

you shelter? That is a good joke. Give

did not show any fear. Instead, she remained silent for a few seconds, and then said in a calm

and I might not be Ascended, but we did not receive our designations for nothing.

paused for a