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 thought of to undermine her absolute authority as his master. There were always ways... owning an unwilling slave was not an easy endeavor. Especially one as powerful and resourceful

to kill the Mirror Beast instead of

could not help but

while, he shook his head and moved slightly. Then, without being noticed by anyone, Sunny silently merged

hesitated for a few moments, and then called upon Nightmare. A vast

himself to be enveloped by the larger shadow, and then gave it a silent command. What happened

time was as strange. It was a bit like traveling to the Dream

to Neph's dreams. There was no sense in prolonging his anxious anticipation, anyway. He had to see if

found himself

cliffs far below. Some distance

nudged Nightmare to walk along the edge of the cliff. Sitting in the saddle,

They did not adhere to the logic of the real world and were always flowing, always changing. The more powerful a dreamer was,

Sunny. The threats contained within them might not have been real, but by invading this subliminal

returned wounded from his travels. If an Ascended dreamt of a powerful abomination, the dark destrier had to battle the abomination as if it was real. However, not only dreadful fiends posed a threat. His opponents

her nightmares were bound to be terrible, as

apprehension, Sunny recognized the familiar shapes of the stone buildings of the Dark City. However, they were simultaneously the alloy towers of the

wide road was littered with burning debris, and a luxurious PTV lay overturned some distance away, its armored frame bent and riddled with holes. Blood was spilling on the melting asphalt from

back. After hesitating for a moment, he bent down and

clothes. Most disturbingly, these people lacked faces,

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