Shadow Slave

Some time later, they were hidden in a small cave at the bottom of a deep canyon, sitting in front of a fire. A piece of monster meat was roasting on it, filling the cave with a delicious smell. Sunny was a bit sullen, because it had taken all his knowledge of wilderness survival to make the small fire... snowy reaches of Antarctica were not exactly the best place to search for fuel.

He had almost been forced to use the divine flames of the Cruel Sight to cook, which would inevitably result in an atrociously burned dinner for him.

Currently, Sunny was passing time by trying to play a simple melody on a flute made of emerald bone. Kai would have probably become ill if exposed to his musical talent, but Jet didn't seem to mind.

She stared at the fire, flames reflecting in her icy blue eyes. After a while, she suddenly said:

"...I can smell things too, you know. When I am sufficiently full of essence. My Aspect might only give me a semblance of life, but it's a faithful imitation."

Sunny lowered the emerald flute and looked at her gloomily.

"What I'm hearing... is that you want to rob me of some of this meat. Right?"

Jet lingered for a moment, then grinned.

"Right. That was exactly what I meant. I am hungry, too."

He sighed, then hung more meat above the fire.

"Should have just said so. Gods... what is up with me always ending up with gluttonous women? It just never ends..."

Sunny turned the meat over. After a while, following a whim, he asked:

up with such a wicked Flaw, anyway? I thought mine was bad... but if I survived the First

did not understand

stone roof of the cave. She sighed,

Actually, I did not survive the First Nightmare. I was young, and weak,

her head and looked at

I didn't remain completely dead. I crawled out of the grave, somehow, and finished the trial. I guess the role I played in the Nightmare, or maybe my innate Attribute, created the possibility of something like that

answer, considering what he heard. It made sense... he had also made something nearly impossible happen during the First Nightmare. If he had not been sent into the body of a temple slave, Shadow God would not have responded to his unintentional call. And if he did not have the [Fated] Attribute, he would have never unwittingly climbed

he had been the one to grasp it, though. Anyone else

happen if he gave her

of fate, Sunny developed an intuition about these things. Jet would indeed come back to life... but her soul would remain shattered. And like all living beings with broken souls, she would

cruel Flaw, mockingly, was the only thing that allowed

his own

have had if not for the inability to lie. Would it have been

But he also would have never gotten close to other people, choosing to lie and manipulate them instead of trusting them, out of fear of being rejected and betrayed. And for that

that the lesson he was

Weren't you yourself the master

his head and concentrated on not burning the meat. These philosophical questions were a waste of time. He would

breaking the

the solstice. As you can imagine, it's not easy for a Sleeper to find things

Sunny shifted slightly.

"Who did you ask?"

She chuckled.

Academy after becoming a Sleeper. And just like you, I've been asked for the details of my Aspect... on a voluntary basis, of course. But what would an ignorant kid from the