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.

ability to transmit thoughts telepathically startled his

flinched, almost falling from her chair. and looked at

What the hell, Sunny?! You're

paused, suddenly realizing that he should have probably warned them before establishing the

allows me to establish a mental link with other living beings. ??????????????․???. Don't worry, though, I can't read your thoughts - and in your case, Effie, I wouldn't even

hesitated for a few moments, then instantly sent over a mental image that made Sunny spit out

then waved

alright. I get it. What

[Blessing of Dusk],

for them to do. In fact, days like this, when all

the root chamber of the tower to continue

were left alone in

He hesitated.

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

learned the unpleasant lesson of what happened when

changed to one of grim sharpness. Looking at Nephis, he leaned back a little

likely turn the Southern Quadrant into their private battlefield. How

while, her beautiful grey eyes clear and calm. Then, she said: "I am pretty sure. In fact. it has already

out a

"Damn them!'

a harsh expression. Suddenly,