Shadow Slave

He found his soldiers calmly preparing for the nearing — and most likely their last — battle. Sunny had chosen the members of his cohort based on their mental resilience but even still, he was surprised and slightly disturbed by how nonchalant all three seemed.

Samara had lost her rifle, but was now in possession of Kim's carbine. She was sitting on an alloy crate, silently charging one bullet after another with essence. Belle was sharpening his sword with a vague smile on his face — Memories did not need to be sharpened, but the swordsman had a habit of doing so anyway.

Dorn had been wounded by the Scavenger. The deep cut on his chest had already been dealt with by an Awakened healer, but he was yet to fully recover. The giant man was moving his shoulder through a set of stretching exercises, wincing front time to time. His sledgehammer was nearby, its handle leaning against the wall.

When Sunny entered, the three Awakened glanced his way and saluted.

"What's the news, sir?"

He shook his head.

"No news yet. If we're lucky, the bastard will show up tomorrow. If we're not, it will be here today."

Sunny remained silent for a few moments, then added:

"In any case, we will have to deal with the blizzard first. Keep those charms I gave you summoned.

Protection against cold is going to play a big role when the Winter Beast comes."

Sunny possessed the Memory of Ice, but he had also created lesser versions of the Ascended charm for each of his soldiers — those Memories were not as potent, but also required much less essence to sustain the enchantments.

They nodded, summoning the artificial charms.

Looking at his soldiers, Sunny couldn't help but feel a hint of fear. He had only known these people for a few months... but they had gone through a lifetime of struggles together. Even if he wasn't responsible for their lives, he would still have been fiercely reluctant to see them die.

Belle, Dorn, Samara... they were admirable warriors each. More importantly, they were his people.

Sunny sighed.

"...You just had to go and stay, huh?"

He had been fully prepared to have Naeve load the whole cohort on the ship, but the three Awakened silently refused. Staying in Falcon Scott was their choice.

Belle looked at him and grinned.

"Sure, sir. That's our job."

Samara simply nodded, choosing not to say anything in her usual manner. Dorn chuckled.

"We did. But aren't you here too, Major?"

Sunny winced. Of course, it wasn't the same... he was an Ascended, and one ridiculously hard to kill on top of that. His soldiers, however, were merely Awakened. They were not nearly as resilient.

"Yeah... I am."

The swordsman

atmosphere settled in

Eventually, he said:

you, though. Sir. You don't have

Sunny frowned.

"What is it?"

a bit, then asked

Mongrel. But Mongrel,

stared at

the hell are you on about, feel?! I'm

threw his head back and

"I see, I see..."

a disapproving look and let

"That guy..."

head, suddenly feeling an urge

than me.

Belle... let's discuss

***

to get some fresh air. The air was much cleaner in Antarctica, after all... it would be a waste to remain inside

Sunny stared at the distant sky, he suddenly noticed a black bird looking

the

"Sunny. There you are."

front behind a corner and walked over to him, then stopped, her icy blue eyes full of coldness that

looked at her, then

"Here I am."

She sighed.

information we have about the Winter Beast to your communicator. Did you

of their drawn—out battle had not been a direct one. The Winter Beast had shown an eerie ability to control cold, snow, and wind.

most dreadful power had been continuously countered by Saint Tyris that no one knew its true extent. It had to be tremendous, though, considering that the mere presence of the creature was distorting communications across the

Jet could do was

She hesitated.

"...Good, then."

that, both

looked like an unreachable goddess to him. Seeing her cold beauty, he had been stunned... luckily, she promptly slapped some

they

years ago, but Sunny felt as though he had known

then suddenly

Jet... I've always wanted to ask. Why did you really join the government? Considering your abilities and character, the Legacy clans probably showered you with offers — and incredible ones, at that. Well, you must have received a

but Sunny always felt that