Shadow Slave

The small dinner was very enjoyable for Sunny. In fact, after being under crushing pressure for pretty much the entire past four months, this sudden moment of levity made him feel like he was on the verge of melting into a puddle of jelly.

It was as though the outer edges of his being had been turned into a harsh, rigid shell by the immense strain of the disastrous war, and now that the shell suddenly disappeared. he could not quite remember how to keep himself together without it.

Still, he managed.

The five of them ate and chatted relaxedly, sharing small details about their lives in recent months. Sunny especially had a lot to say.

All of them were experienced combatants, but he now possessed precious knowledge of the intricacies of the type of war Effie and Kai would soon be exposed to.

The Southern Campaign was different from the usual tribulations Awakened faced in the Dream Realm. The terrain was different, the climate was different... even the cycle of day and night was different. More importantly, the forces arranged against them were different, as were the forces on their side.

In Antarctica, Ascended and Awakened had the support of mundane soldiers and modern technology. Sunny had learned a tremendous amount of lessons about how to bring the two together - in no small part because he had commanded a mixed force of Awakened and mundanes in conditions so desperate that anything less than perfect cohesion would have meant certain death.

Unlike him, who had been a part of a small and exceedingly elite unit, both Kai and Effie were placed in command of large detachments consisting of rank-and-file soldiers. To them, this practical knowledge was more valuable than gold.

Small things like using fire resistance enchantments to increase the tactical flexibility of MWP flamethrowers, efficiently triaging mundane soldiers that had been infected by the Spell, managing the ammo consumption of the vehicle turrets in relation to the essence consumption of the Awakened - and a thousand more things like this could only be learned through experience... or being taught by someone with such experience.

Of course, his friends were bright people and immensely talented warriors. In time, they would have reached the same conclusions, but that time could very well cost many lives. That was why Sunny was in a hurry to share his hard-won expertise.

The only problem was that actually going over everything was bound to take way more time than they had... so, at some point, he simply used the [Blessing of Dusk] enchantment of the Graceless Dusk to establish a mental connection and share his insights in a more direct fashion.

sudden ability to transmit thoughts telepathically startled his friends

flinched, almost falling from her chair. and looked at him with wide

the hell, Sunny?! You're in my

he should have probably warned them before

your thoughts - and in your case, Effie, I wouldn't even want to! Gods, I shudder just imagining what is going on in that depraved head of yours. In any case, you have to willingly transmit a thought for

image that made Sunny spit out his drink and glare at her with murder in

then

alright. I get it.

the [Blessing of Dusk], the conversation flowed much

arrived at their assigned siege capital, after all. so there was a lot for them to do. In fact, days like this, when all five could

the root chamber

left alone in

He hesitated.

avoided speaking about the matters that gnawed on him - the war between the great clans and their plans for Antarctica. In fact, he felt reluctant to

already learned the unpleasant lesson of what happened when he postponed

relaxed expression slowly changed to one of grim sharpness. Looking at Nephis, he leaned back

Song would most likely turn the Southern Quadrant into their private

eyes clear and calm. Then, she said: "I am pretty

let out a

"Damn them!'

distance with a harsh expression. Suddenly, the shadows in the