Shadow Slave

It took some time for the members of the cohort to digest Neph's story. Sunny, especially, felt like she did not tell them even a fraction of what had happened to her.

But then again, was it even possible to describe two years of neverending struggle for survival with just a few words? Not even considering the things that Changing Star might have wished to keep to herself — and he was sure that there were plenty — she would have had trouble describing even the things that she wanted to share.

It was going to take time.

As for the actual secrets… while he was dismayed and uneasy, Sunny himself was known to keep a lot of things close to his chest. More than that, they all had to be cautious about what they said. The room provided to Nephis by the Academy might have been safe, but that did not mean that it was not monitored.

That was the reason why both Effie and Kai remained mostly silent despite the fact that they clearly had a lot of questions. Unlike Sunny, they did not possess a good understanding of Changing Star's Aspect and current Class. All they knew was that she possessed a Divine Aspect, just like Sunny and Mordret did.

Eventually, Cassie broke the silence:

"It is fine. Now that you are back, everything is going to be fine."

She paused, and then added somberly:

"However… our current situation is very delicate."

Nephis looked at her and frowned, the white sparks in her eyes becoming a little brighter.

"Were there any… complications after you returned from the Forgotten Shore?"

She was alluding to Caster, the great clans, and the Sovereigns that wished her dead, of course.

Sunny finally spoke:

"Not immediately. But we ran into some trouble not long before venturing into the Second Nightmare."

Changing Star's frown deepened.

tell me what exactly

He shrugged.

you up to speed later, in a more private setting. For now, let's just say that there was supposed to be a negotiation with the representatives of the great clan Valor today. Which fell through…

paused for a moment,

know are… let me think, actually. Uh… I am a renowned academic and an instructor at the Academy now. Cassie leads the Fire Keepers. Oh, Fire Keepers are the Forgotten Shore survivors whom you saw outside. They are basically your groupies. Right, you are famous now! Very, very famous. There is even a movie about you, with a very well-received romantic subplot. What else… we have a flying ship and an exclusive Citadel in the Dream Realm, Effie moved

turned paler and paler. Finally, she couldn't take it

Kai, is this

glanced at her

is

meanwhile, looked

the best.

Nephis blinked.

"A… a dragon?"

Sunny grinned.

and I killed a couple of Saints, too. I even killed the same one twice. First time

raised her second

think I need a moment. Wait, can you start

expression suddenly appeared on

say something about a

***

with the four of them, and the waking world, during her absence. There was a lot of ground to cover, but he chose

into a bottomless abyss for a month straight on top of a dead demon, being burned by divine

was confined to a wheelchair in the waking world, only to see her leave it behind after conquering the Second

a Corrupted Monster to get their hands on a shipwrecked flying

obliterate an entire

list went on and

a while, Neph

need a break. Can you guys give

the night. It was dark outside the window, with only pale moonlight and powerful beams of defense turrets illuminating the