Shadow Slave

Leaving the great pagoda, Sunny glanced warily at the bones of Sevirax the Ivory Dragon, whom Kai had slain in the Nightmare, and slowly headed for the lake.

Its surface was calm and clear, as always. Sunlight reflected from the tranquil waters, making it seem like a pool of shimmering silver. Despite the beauty of the heavenly lake, Sunny couldn't help but feel a hint of unease as he approached it. The memory of the furious naval battle was still fresh in his mind, so no body of water felt safe.

On the shore, an intricate bench cut from white stone stood, inviting people to rest and enjoy the idyllic view. Currently, it was occupied by a familiar figure. Nephis sat with her legs crossed, staring at the sparkling water with a distant look. When Sunny's shadow fell on her, she lingered for a moment and then looked up.

"Sunny."

He remained silent for a while, then sat on the bench and studied the beautiful lake, as well.

"How's life treating you? Being adopted into a great clan has to be a weird experience."

Nephis frowned.

"It's… fine. Feels a bit strange to be addressed as sister by Morgan of Valor, I guess. She seems to enjoy my discomfort."

Considering who Morgan's other sibling was, she probably put a different meaning into the word "sister"... one that entirely lacked affection, most likely. For a moment, Sunny was darkly amused.

'Never thought I would pity the Princess of War one day, but having both Mordret and Nephis as siblings… damn, her luck must be even worse than mine. If that's even possible.'

Changing Star let out a heavy sigh and turned slightly to face him.

"You should have told me, Sunny."

He smiled.

"What, about Antarctica? Oh, that was classified information. I thought that Cassie would have informed you, anyway. She had to have known, right?"

She studied him for a few moments, then shook her head.

herself. Cassie… has changed a lot since

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

guess there's

utterly loyal to you… like a lost

immediately.

no less than the rest of

Sunny laughed.

the people in the world, I would be the last one to underestimate Cassie, don't you

simply looked at

"...Are you safe?"

for a

surrounded by thousands of soldiers, Awakened, Masters, and even a few Saints. Plus, I'm me. Antarctica is no worse than the Forgotten Shore or the Kingdom of Hope. In fact… if anyone is in danger, it's you.

grew dark. Nephis gritted her teeth for

do you? This is not the first expedition of that kind. Humanity has tried to resist the Spell before. The last attempt… the last one took the lives of both my grandfather and my mother. They were powerful, too. They were

Sunny shook his head.

have changed in the past two decades. Back then, humanity had much less Awakened. There were barely any Masters around. No Saint had even emerged yet… at least officially. Our tech, spelltech, and strategies were much more primitive. We had no experience dealing with something like that. Yes, North America was a disaster, but we learned our lesson there. This campaign, it will be different. It will be better. I will survive it, and grow stronger as

looked at him

"Says who?"

He smiled.

not. It all depends on me, does

glanced at the

Nightmare Creatures don't scare me. The Chain of Nightmares doesn't scare me, either. If there's one thing that does, however… it's the great clans and their ambitions.

troubled expression appeared on Changing Star's face.

don't know. Maybe. It is

own face grew

Why are they doing it now? This is insanity! Our civilization is

a while,