Shadow Slave

To Sunny's absolute shock… nothing really happened for the rest of the night. There was no deadly brawl that forced the cohort to intervene, no emissary of the great clans arrived to crash the party, no Gate opened right in front of the club. He had been fully prepared for something to go terribly wrong, but in the end, nothing did.

'How odd!'

The five Masters simply had a good time listening to loud music, being served delicious drinks and food, and enjoying each other's company. Sunny did not know if this outing was helping Nephis in a way that she had hoped it would, but he found it unexpectedly relaxing. Spending quality time with good friends was what normal humans were supposed to enjoy, after all.

However... he had never had such an opportunity as a mundane. Sunny had never really fit into any of the groups he had tried to become a part of in the outskirts. He had always existed on their periphery before being expelled from them, as if something about him caused a subconscious rejection.

He did not really know what had changed. Maybe it were the people he was with, or maybe it were the circumstances that had brought them together. Most likely, it was Sunny himself that had become different. In any case, for the first time in his life, he felt safe and secure about his place. He felt as if he truly belonged with these people.

That did not mean that they were connected at the hip, of course. In fact, the members of the cohort had plenty of differences and underlying conflicts that had the potential to push them away from each other. Even the phrase itself was not exactly accurate… at this point, they were not really members of a distinct cohort anymore.

Even if all five chose to pursue the same goal together — which was rather improbable — Masters rarely operated in groups. They were too rare and powerful for such an arrangement. Most Ascended acted independently, only gathering together to face especially terrible threats.

But that was alright. This was how mature relationships were supposed to work. Sunny and his friends did not have to spend every waking minute together to preserve their bond. It was deep and tempered enough to remain strong even if each of them walked their separate path from now on.

Still… the prospect of separation made Sunny feel wistful. He would have preferred for the five of them to stay together, at least in some capacity. However, the future was too obscure. Until the fateful ball, it was hard to say in which direction their lives would go.

That was why this rare moment was so precious.

Throwing all serious thoughts out of his mind, Sunny relaxed and tried to enjoy it as much as he could.

Who knew when they would have a chance to spend such a peaceful evening together again… if ever.

***

striking against steel

was striking against alloy, to be more

on the receiving end of Changing Star's assault. The slender young woman was actually sitting on top of his inactive sleeping pod with her eyes closed, meditating as she controlled the soul essence rushing through her

earnest, but amateurish attacks

nice change of

speed and strength, her efforts were simply not enough. Despite her hard work, outstanding talent, and the swift improvement she had made, Rain

much from a mundane teenager.

Sunny frowned.

"Concentrate! You are distracted!"

A few minutes later, he was forced

seriously or not? What is

knew that he had lucked out with his student. Unlike most teenagers, Rain had never given him any trouble with regard to her diligence and motivation. It was only natural for her to try

containing the sleeping pod and the Dreamscape pod. He

can't! Lady Changing Star

Sunny scowled.

"What about her?"

with embarrassment and then said in

don't get it...

and then stared at her in

And anyway… you can't fight properly because someone is watching? Are you kidding me? Do you think

Rain shook her head.

Changing Star! She