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.

go, this one is

these

at first, then faster and faster. Soon, the familiar sights of the city and the outskirts flew by, and the great metal beast finally escaped

of the Dream Realm, he somehow felt as if he was

the actual landscape of his world did not make any impression on him. It was just sort

wild expanse of the Northern Quadrant mostly looked like a desolate, empty place. It was almost entirely made out of mud and snow. Whatever flora

left behind from the times of human wars,

Sunny sighed.

'What a waste…'

was not entirely uninhabitable, but it was certainly inhospitable to the

spoke in the ruined cathedral of the

the window for some time, then stood up and walked to a narrow bed, deciding to go to sleep early. This was probably going to be his last opportunity to rest well for a long, long time. It would have been a shame to let the

in a soft pillow, Sunny closed his eyes

point during the night, he was awakened by strange vibrations spreading through the frame of the train. Looking

on the locomotive and front carriages of the train

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

dreamt of ice

moving forward as if nothing had happened. Sunny had expected as much, so he wasn't surprised. After freshening up in the small bathroom attached to the cabin, he walked over to the dining car and had a scrumptious breakfast. The cooking could not compete with the Instructor's Cafeteria at the Academy,