Shadow Slave

There was some rustling inside the tent, and then Kai emerged from it, looking as handsome and dazzling as ever. No... even more so.

Sunny's face became a little dull. His friend had reached borderline criminal levels of attractiveness after becoming a Master, mesmerizing most mundane humans by simply appearing in front of them, but Sunny had thought that a couple of months in the mud and muck of Antarctica would rub some of that glamour off.

However, he had been sorely mistaken.

If anything, Kai only became more captivating. His natural charm had acquired a hint of reserved military valiance, becoming more subdued, but also much more arresting. His green eyes were still as electric as ever, but now, there was a quiet, almost melancholic depth to them that made one deeply desire to comfort and console the young man. Those eyes were nothing short of compelling.

Kai smiled, making all three of them - Sunny, Effie, and Jet - hold their breaths for a moment. "Sunny! Ascended Jet. It is so good to see you."

Even his voice was like a soothing melody.

'That bastard...' Sunny wasn't even angry about how stunning his friend was. What really disheartened him was what Kai was wearing.

The archer was clad in a beautiful suit of ivory armor that seemed to be made out of impregnable scales, with a few insets of burnished bronze blazing between them with reflected sunlight. It was tied at the waist by a sash of burnt umber color, which emphasized the rich auburn splendor of his hair.

The armor was made of dragon scales, and was a Transcendent Memory Kai had received after slaying the Ivory Dragon Sevirax.

Both Effie and Kai had come into possession of a Transcendent Armor in the Second Nightmare.

an armor like that, too, which he had gotten for killing Solvane for the

now he was the only person of the

then distracted from his resigned self-pity by Jet, who smiled and stretched her hand out for

first time the two of them met. Sunny glanced at

tried to shake Effie's hand. What was up

headed for a larger tent that stood nearby, serving as the improvised strategy room for the small army. As they walked, Sunny briefly clasped forearm with Kai.

he had experienced in Falcon Scott, Sunny held a somewhat different view of the charming archer, and of what his friend

had been a centurion who led soldiers into a war against Solvane's zealots, only to watch his soldiers die and disappear in the flames of the dragon... and then be crippled by those flames

cripple was what haunted his friend the most. But after experiencing the burden... and privilege... of being

Now, he thought differently.

softly. "I am doing well. Thank you for asking, Sunny... but I

of what was right and wrong, and what a good person was meant to do with the power

the merry huntress had lost people in the Nightmare, too. She watched all the other girls perish under

priestesses and people of the Night Temple - including her cherished mentor, the One

them had felt

one knew what she had lived through

a fold-out table that had a small holographic projector placed on it. A topographical map of the area was projected into the air, with their location and the last known whereabouts of the Skull Centipede marked on it in

thoughts. After a while, he shook them off and honed in on

was speaking. "...there is simply no other path. The creature will definitely try to cross the river near the ford, and so, that is