Shadow Slave

Sunny stood on the shore of the ocean, shivering and considering if he should fall down and take a long, relaxing rest in the cold water. His reserves of essence were utterly spent, and with it came the sickening feeling of fragility and weakness.

Awakened experienced a form of backlash when burning through all of their essence, but it was only a little bit harmful. The weakness would pass, and there would be no long-term harm done... he just had to weather the immediate consequence.

The more concerning aspect of the situation was that he did not even have enough essence to summon a single Memory. Looking down at the threadbare rags of his once-pristine black bodysuit, Sunny sighed.

For now, that was all that separated him from the bitter cold and the chilling winds of Antarctica.

'I need to get back to the convoy.'

Trying to get his tired mind to work properly, Sunny hesitated for a moment.

'...But first, I need to check on Nightmare.'

The stallion was nowhere to be seen, so he was afraid of what had happened to his steed. The runes were still shimmering in the air in front of Sunny, so he turned his attention back to them.

...Death Charge: (0/1000].

The charge of the Dying Wish was completely spent, but it had done its job...

The Undying Chain was gone.

Turning away from the list of Memories with a sigh, he looked at the status of his Shadows. The runes describing Nightmare shone as always, so the black steed was not destroyed.

'Then where is he?'

Sunny frowned, then softly hit himself on the forehead, remembering that he could simply check his innate connection to the Shadow. Without wasting any time, he reached inward and tried to sense it within his soul.

Soon, Sunny felt Nightmare's presence. The connection was not really meant to share information, but he could still tell that the black steed was nearby, and in the middle of a battle... the battle did not seem dire or dangerous, though.

The stallion was most likely dealing with stray Nightmare Creatures that could have attacked Sunny while he was still healing.

from

him with different expressions. The happy shadow was beside itself... but strangely, the

He grinned.

would be enough to get rid

up with the convoy, then took a couple steps forward and leaned down to pick up the

'That damned thing...'

hilt, the more it seemed as though

"Behind you."

Sunny scoffed.

if I would be

a swift shape shot through the darkness and collided

Hitting the dark surface with a pained scream, he scraped his hands on the cold stones beneath and rolled, jumping to his

the direction of the unknown attacker, meant to slow whoever it was down. However, the creature was still standing in the spot where Sunny had been

Sunny staggered.

out of his side.

glanced back at the

skin and bone plates covering its scrawny body like a suit of light armor. The damned goblin did not look too formidable, but it had a wide mouth full of

missing two fingers on

he had once failed to finish off. The wretch had grown a lot since their last meeting...

flesh in the abomination's mouth.

seemed to grin spitefully, and then swallowed the lump of flesh with a look of pure hatred written on its

Sunny's eyes widened.

wicked little

go once, but the bastard

I'll just

of fury, Sunny took a step forward, but then staggered. The world suddenly turned hazy, and his

'What the...'

growing numb and burning with terrible pain.

saw a strangely familiar black liquid flowing out of the gruesome wound. No... it was his blood, which