Shadow Slave

The woman had no trouble passing the security checkpoint.

Just like that, Mordret entered the stronghold of the great and powerful clan Valor.

His birthplace.

It felt fascinating to come back here. Mordret did not exactly consider this place his home, but he remembered it well. Not from when he had lived here during early childhood, but from the time he spent here right after coming back from the Dream Realm.

He had been twelve... or was it thirteen?... and already an Awakened. Reaching Bastion first, and then coming to this beautiful place. Everything in the waking world had felt soft, but his return... Was not at all like he had imagined.

As memories flashed in his mind, Mordret felt a dark, suffocating emotion rise from the depths of his soul.

'Now is not the time.'

Infiltrating the stronghold was already a risk. He could not allow himself to act rashly... his family were no fools. They had safeguards in place to detect him, and it had taken a lot of effort to make this moment possible.

If there was one thing Mordret was good at, it was remaining cold and calculating.

So, no matter how much he wanted to let go, he had to hold himself back.

These people were not his enemies, anyway. They were just servants... the masters were safely hidden away behind much more impenetrable defenses.

The child and the woman he had been observing for the past couple of weeks were not random people, of course. They were the son and the wife of an Awakened retainer of the great clan Valor. Usually, a family like that would have resided within the fortress itself, but with the warrior spending most of his time in the Dream Realm, the woman wanted to live closer to her family.

That was a vulnerability which Mordret had planned to exploit.

And now, he was inside the complex, hiding in the woman's eyes as she hurried to meet her husband.

compound, easily navigating between the multitude of buildings, training grounds, and parks. The stronghold was perfectly maintained, picturesque, and

the beautiful facade,

Valor

that. All she worried about was her

Mordret was touched.

her child, love for her partner... she is just full

time with this family, he couldn't

in heavily defended rooms. There were some living quarters, as well, and that was where her husband was

beamed with joy. A bright smile appeared on

"You're here!"

any

a nice enough fellow, if a little too earnest. As an Awakened serving the great clan Valor, he had a lot of privileges, but also a lot of duties. Awakened retainers had

they did

fighters of the human race, the Dream Realm was

was not a surprise that the woman's life was full

'Poor thing...'

Even though the Awakened had just returned to the waking world,

listened with

Saint Madoc himself is coming with us. Even Lady Morgan will be there... if I can distinguish myself in front of them, then even receiving the support of the elders to become a Knight won't be out of the question! You know that I am well-respected among the men... all I need is

smiled, but Mordret could

well, though, not

Just... be careful, okay? I hear terrible things

The man smiled.

pitiful dogs? The people serving the government

Mordret was delighted.