Shadow Slave

Sunny had never thought that he would leave the city one day. He had barely ever thought that there was anything beyond the city, actually. More than that, for him, the city proper itself had always seemed like an alien land. His whole world used to start and end with the outskirts.

Tens of millions of people who lived in the outskirts had a very special relationship with the wilderness beyond. They spent their lives much closer to it than real citizens, and were not separated from it by the tall barrier walls that encompassed powerful air filters. On one hand, it made them more attuned to the existence of the outside.

On the other hand, they associated the outside with death, disease, and starvation on a much more visceral level. To them, the wilderness meant death in a very practical sense of the word, as opposed to distant and purely theoretical.

That was why Sunny felt very weird as he stared at the train that was supposed to take him to the rendezvous point where Master Jet was supposed to to meet him.

The long-range transcontinental train did not look anything like the light intracity ones Sunny was familiar with. It resembled a massive, heavily armored metal beast that stretched for hundreds and hundreds of meters, its long body composed of various bulky segments.

There were passenger carriages, massive cargo carriages, various utility carriages, and even a mobile repair and fabrication unit capable of restoring damaged sections of the railway should the train encounter any hindrances on the way. Rows of large-caliber turret, automated cannons, and gun emplacements rose from the roof, manned by the railroad technicians and security officers.

It was a fearsome, moving fortress. Anything less would not have been reliably safe, considering that the government rarely paid attention to the Nightmare Gates that opened away from population centers.

Sunny studied the train curiously for a while, then went ahead and found the carriage he was assigned to.

As a Master, he was entitled to ride in the lavishly furnished car meant for high-ranking citizens, government officials, and members of Legacy clans. He also got a whole cabin to himself. The cabin was comparable in size to his room at the Academy, but much better stocked and equipped.

Sunny threw his backpack on a shelf and sat down near the window, enjoying the softness of an expensive-looking armchair. A strange expression appeared on his face.

as far as wars go, this

course, he was sure that these luxurious

then faster and faster. Soon, the familiar sights of the city and

untouched reaches of the Dream Realm, he somehow

world did not make

almost entirely made out of mud and snow. Whatever flora still clung to life in the barren soil looked sickly and dull. The sky was heavy and grey,

Nightmare Creatures or rusty wrecks left behind from

Sunny sighed.

'What a waste…'

waking world was not entirely uninhabitable, but it was certainly

when they spoke in the ruined cathedral of

probably going to be his last opportunity to rest well for a long,

his face in a soft pillow, Sunny closed his eyes and

spreading through the frame of the train. Looking up, he saw pale flashes of light outside the window and

and front carriages of the train

watch, seemed alarmed, Sunny sighed, turned on his other side, and

of ice and

Sunny had expected as much, so he wasn't surprised. After freshening up in the small bathroom attached to the cabin, he