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.

killing Solvane for the first time. But, of course, it had been

he was the only person of the three

and

the two of them met. Sunny glanced at Soul Reaper bleakly. 'At least she is not

shake Effie's hand. What

them exchanged a few words and headed for a larger tent that stood nearby, serving as the improvised strategy room for

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

then, he knew that Kai was deeply hurt by what had transpired in the Ivory City, both physically and mentally. He 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

had thought that the pain of defeat and becoming a cripple was what haunted his friend the most. But after experiencing the burden... and privilege... of being in command, and learning how

Now, he thought differently.

am doing well. Thank you for asking, Sunny... but I really am. I... feel like I'm

what was right and wrong, and what a good person was meant to do with the power all Awakened possessed. For someone like

the Nightmare, too. She watched all the other

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

of them had

had lived through in the Second Nightmare. Changing Star was

projector placed on it. A topographical map of the area was projected into

it no attention, still lost in his thoughts. After a while, he shook them off and

creature will definitely try to cross the river near the ford, and so, that is where we will ambush