Shadow Slave

Eventually, the four of them were invited into the room where Nephis slept… this time on a hospital bed instead of inside of a closed coffin of a sleeping pod. The administrators of the Academy wanted to avoid any more damage, so asking the members of Changing Star's cohort for help was a logical step.

Seeing familiar faces first after waking up would probably calm her down. And if not… having four Masters at hand would be enough to deal with any unforeseen complications.

Most likely...

Sunny stood in the corner, looking at Nephis with a somber expression. Her pale face, her silver hair. For the past two years, he had often seen her through the transparent lid of the sleeping pod, bathed in its ghostly light. Now that she was out and returned to the real world, Changing Star seemed much more… material. And strangely vulnerable.

She was truly back.

He sighed.

Cassie was sitting on a chair beside the bed, while Effie and Kai were resting on a sofa. None of them knew when Neph was going to wake up, and they had already spent a couple hours waiting. Without having to discuss it, all four decided to stay quiet. So… by now, they were pretty bored.

Sunny, on the other hand, was filled with more and more tension.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

'This anticipation is killing me. It's pure torture.'

all the clever ways he had

been one of the reasons why he had chosen to kill the Mirror Beast instead

not help but feel a hint of

shook his head and moved slightly. Then, without being noticed by

and then called upon Nightmare. A vast shadow appeared near him, all around him… this was the dark destrier in his true, shapeless

and then gave it a silent

done this a few times in the past, and each time was as strange.

waiting, Sunny had decided to travel to Neph's dreams. There was no sense in prolonging his anxious anticipation,

Sunny found himself

him was a vertical slope, with furious waves crashing against the cliffs far below. Some distance away, a tall and beautiful lighthouse stood, illuminating

studied it for a while, and then nudged Nightmare to walk along the edge of the cliff. Sitting in the saddle, he rode the black steed and

a strange place. They did not adhere to the logic of the real world and were

and Sunny. The threats contained within them might not have been real, but by invading this subliminal space, the uninvited guests had to treat them

abomination as if it was real. However, not only dreadful fiends posed a

nightmares were bound to be

of a ruined city appeared from nowhere. With a bit of apprehension, Sunny recognized the familiar shapes of the stone buildings of the Dark City. However, they were

some distance away, its armored frame bent and riddled with

Nightmare's back. After hesitating for a moment, he bent down and looked inside

inside, all wearing mundane clothes. Most disturbingly, these people lacked faces, and instead looked like smooth-faced

the surroundings. It did not take him long to notice a trail of