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."

slowly disappearing from his face. The swordsman remained silent for a few moments, looking at

heavy atmosphere settled in

Eventually, he said:

to ask you, though. Sir.

Sunny frowned.

"What is it?"

a

going around... that you're dating Mongrel. But Mongrel, she is your Echo.

at

hell are you on about, feel?! I'm not dating

swordsman suddenly threw his head back and

"I see, I see..."

him a disapproving look and let out an

"That guy..."

suddenly feeling an urge to laugh,

crazier than

done, Belle...

***

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

the distant sky, he suddenly noticed

he heard the sound

"Sunny. There you are."

her icy blue eyes full of

at

"Here I am."

She sighed.

about the Winter Beast to your communicator. Did you read

— even though Saint Tyris had spent months suppressing the creature, most 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. Since Sky Tide commanded the winds,

the titan's most dreadful power had been continuously countered by Saint Tyris that no one knew its true extent. It had to be tremendous, though, considering

Jet could do was make

She hesitated.

"...Good, then."

that, both

Jet looked like an unreachable goddess to him. Seeing her cold beauty, he had been stunned... luckily, she promptly slapped some sense back into him. After that, Master Jet was always in the background of his life, arguably saving it on more than one occasion with her advice

they were

of them had only met a few years ago, but Sunny felt as though he had known let all his life. Maybe because those years

sighed, then

probably showered you with offers — and incredible ones, at

in the past, but Sunny always felt that