Shadow Slave

Instantly, all three of them - Sunny, Jet, and Seishan - were on guard. Jet readied her glaive, while Sunny gripped the hilt of the Sin of Solace tighter. Seishan, meanwhile, lowered her hands slightly, as if preparing to defend herself with bare fists.

The cursed sword whispered into Sunny's ear: "Use them as a shield... take a step back, and let whatever comes feast on their flesh first..."

Sunny struggled to ignore it. Before, he had not dared to send his shadows outside to keep an eye on the desert - with how dreadful the creatures populating it at night were, many of them were bound to possess means of destroying intangible things. Sunny did not want to risk one of his shadows being obliterated.

But now, he regretted that decision. As his expression hardened, streams of sand fell from above, and then, someone jumped softly on the stone plates of the chamber's floor.

Sunny felt immense relief. It was a human... Jet remained on guard, but Seishan seemed to relax. She straightened slightly and let out a soft sight, her exquisitely beautiful face illuminated by a pale smile.

"Ascended Xu... you have survived, as well."

They were safe. The newcomer was not a terrifying Nightmare Creature - it was a survivor like the three of them. One of the Masters of Clan Song.

The man groaned slightly, then shielded his eyes from the bright light of the luminous Memory. His hand trembled slightly.

"Lady... Lady Song?"

Looking at him, Sunny suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

A sense of fear like he had never experienced before wrapped its fingers around his heart.

He almost staggered back but forced himself to remain in place, wearing the same expression as before.

'W-what... the hell...'

Sunny stared at the newcomer. The man was tall and muscular. His black hair was cut short, revealing a strong, handsome face. His eyes were like two pools of darkness, and there was a strained smile on his cracked lips.

Ascended Xu wielded no weapons and wore no armor. He was dressed in a dark-red bodysuit, which was torn, revealing ugly lacerations and bruises covering his body.

...It was, without a doubt, the dead man whose eyes Sunny had closed just a few hours ago.

Sunny shivered, and even the blurry figure of the Sin of Solace who stood beside him suddenly seemed wary.

a deep

the gods... have you seen

man looked around, then

I... have not seen

Aspect? No, wait...

the newcomer, studying his every move. Then, he shifted his perception and looked within

Sin of

Master Xu, where a radiant soul core should have been... instead, there was nothing but vile, impenetrable darkness. A darkness so vast and deep that Sunny couldn't even conceive its

not in a hurry to lower her glaive. Looking at the... creature... she frowned slightly and

did you survive being

the corpse of Ascended Xu looked at

lady.

Then, the creature smiled.

more

directed at Jet, so Sunny could

and speak the human language flawlessly. It even knew Seishan's name. It can even perfectly imitate human behavior. If not for Weaver's lineage, I would not have known at all. It... it is... it is unlike anything I have

was strong enough to walk the Nightmare Desert at

were trapped in a small underground

Sunny felt terror.

the Blessing of Dusk and sent Jet a mental message, trying to

is not

then

met anyone else. The four of us will have to

same time,

Master's soul

a message

Ascended Xu. Think of an answer, and I will

any sign of surprise as her answer

I know this man. He and I grew up together... wait. Did the

I would say something like that... but I