Shadow Slave

Soon, two bowls of delicious steaming ramen were on the table in front of them. Sunny had never invited anyone to taste his ramen, but he was quite pleased with the result.

His past of only eating synthpaste seemed so distant that he did not even want to remember it.

Both dug in and finished their portions in record time. Sunny drank the last of the fragrant broth and let out a delighted sigh. Nephis acted more reserved, but he could feel that she was very satisfied, too.

Putting the bowl away, Changing Star smiled slightly and looked at him. A hesitant expression appeared on her face.

A few moments later, she suddenly said:

"Be that as it may… while I was lost and wandering the Dream Realm, slowly forgetting what it felt like to be human… there was one thing I clung to that reminded me that all my prior life had not been just a dream. Do you know what it was?"

Sunny thought for a bit, then shrugged.

"I don't know. A Memory? Your sword, Dreamblade?"

She lingered for a few moments, then slowly shook her head.

"No. It was… you."

Sunny froze and stared at her with surprise.

"Huh?"

Nephis smiled slightly.

Cassie, and the others, I could still feel connected to you through the runes. I could see that you were still out there, alive, and doing incredible things. The new Memories you received told me a little about what kind of enemies you fought. The speed at which your Aspect Legacy progressed told me how hard you were working to sharpen your battle skill. As long as I saw the runes, I knew that I had not imagined the

and then

you a Memory looked like, how you defeated it. Things… things like that. Oh… and I was bored

Star looked at him, lingered

really something that you did consciously. Still. I wanted to say… thank you. You helped me a lot, Sunny. You made

uncomfortable. Then, he looked away in embarrassment and cleared his

not received counseling already? I mean, that doesn't sound like you. Very… uh… enlightened. Anyway… you're welcome,

and did

remained silent for a bit, and

time staring at

looked at

from isolation like you. Well… except for a short stretch of falling into a bottomless abyss all alone, I guess. But, the point is… to be honest, I was... I am... unsatisfied with the fact that you are so far ahead of me. Every time you gained a soul fragment, it urged me to try and get two. The stronger you grew, the more I wanted to become stronger, as well. A large

and then glanced at Nephis with

I had never managed to catch up to you. Every time, I fell short. It did not feel nice at all. But it also forced me to

few moments,

is much easier for me to gain soul fragments. You know that. Even though I am still ahead, I suspect that you have fought, and slain, much more Nightmare Creatures than I have. In fact,

Sunny smiled.

matters. In the end, a person is either strong, or they are weak. The stronger

looked down, then slowly shook her

doesn't. Every victory you achieve teaches you a lesson. Every defeat you suffer teaches you

Sunny grimaced.

you a question. Can you say that I am stronger than