Shadow Slave

Sunny had never seen a few words crush a man's spirit so thoroughly.

...Except for maybe himself, when Nephis had spoken his True Name and commanded him to leave her for dead on the Forgotten Shore.

The soldier managed to remain standing, but he looked like a marionette with its strings cut. All light was extinguished from his eyes. He remained motionless for a while, and then turned slightly, throwing a forlorn glance at the small, battered fleet behind him.

Sunny could imagine how he felt. After surviving the cataclysmic destruction of the siege capital, these people weathered untold horrors to make it this far alive. What had kept them going was probably the hope that salvation was drawing closer and closer. And now, when they almost reached the destination, that hope was cruelly crushed.

He sighed.

"It just happened a few days ago. The news would not have reached you. My people and I are the only ones who survived."

The soldier looked down, silent.

Eventually, he asked:

"If I may ask. What are your plans now, sir?"

Sunny looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"My orders are to proceed to the Erebus Field siege capital to rendezvous with another cohort of the First Irregular Company."

Suddenly, a tentative spark appeared in the soldier's eyes.

"Master Sunless, sir. Will you consider..."

Sunny knew what he was going to say. It was not that hard to guess.

...He wanted to laugh.

of self-control to remain outwardly calm. A bitter, familiar, unhinged

knew. The soldier was going to ask if the Irregulars would escort the civilian convoy to safety. Why wouldn't he? They had persevered for the last week without any Awakened to protect the handful of transports from the rampaging Nightmare Creatures. And even though their hope of sailing to safety aboard the Ariadne was gone, there was an actual Master standing in front of

accompanied by a cohort of absolute elites. The Irregulars

they wouldn't leave defenseless civilians

Surely...

this decision was not an easy one. Heavily armored and exceedingly maneuverable Rhino could potentially make the thousand-kilometer journey to Mount Erebus. The flimsy and damaged civilian transports, however... their ability to traverse the mountains was doubtful. At the very least,

its crew

convoy, Sunny would not only make his task several times harder, but also drastically increase the

was why he

get hundreds of civilians through

to either leave

put his

This one is

soldier's words died on his lips as he watched

was he supposed

responsibility for hundreds of refugees, at the expense of his soldiers and Professor Obel? Or follow cold logic and do what had to be done, abandoning them to fate? No, but there was no need

was the

strange smile appeared on his

man of conviction would have probably stayed at LO49 and died.

find the elusive thing called conviction and grow stronger through it, Sunny had not had any success in that regard yet. He still stood for nothing and was as unmoored as he had been at the start of it. Some people might have had an unwavering moral compass, but he was not one of them. Sunny mostly acted on a whim and pursued his own narrow interests.

a straightforward answer to what was the right

However...

what he believed in - if there even was such a thing - but he knew what he despised very well. Just a few days ago, he had sat on the

by leaving the refugees to die in order to serve his

perverted way of thinking