Shadow Slave

It was still very early in the morning, so the streets of Bastion were mostly empty. However, someone had already come to the Brilliant Emporium.

As the door opened, a melodious sound spread through the interior of the Marvelous Mimic. There was a beautiful silver bell affixed above the door, its soft and pleasing ringing welcoming the entering customers.

Of course, it was the Sonorous Silver Bell.

Sunny looked up from what he was doing, then wiped his hands on his apron and left the kitchen. There was an elderly gentleman standing at the door, dressed in a patchy enchanted robe. He had messy grey hair, absentminded eyes, and a pair of bushy eyebrows that seemed to have a life of their own.

Sunny suppressed a smile.

"Awakened Julius. You are here early."

The old man looked at him and smiled politely.

"Ah, Master Sunless! Well, I am a night owl. Plus, you know what they say, the early bird gets the worm. Wait... I am mixing metaphors..."

He hesitated for a moment, then coughed.

"Sorry. I seem to remember that you dislike birds. In any case, it is nice to see you on this pleasant morning."

Sunny nodded.

"Likewise. The usual?"

As the old man assumed his favorite spot near the window, Sunny returned to the kitchen. There, he went about making coffee for his former teacher, while at the same time preparing a light breakfast.

running low on coffee beans, indeed. I'll have to visit

in Bastion, hot beverages like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate were Sunny's selling point. That was because he exclusively used the pure water from the Endless Spring to brew them,

sent a wisp of essence into the stove and placed the cezve on the fire. The stove had been created by him by reversing the enchantment of a long-destroyed charm of

Ideally, he should have been using a pan of heated

it. Then, Sunny opened the icebox and took out a

owning in the past. In fact, it was more of a large cabinet than a box, made out of natural wood instead of synthwood. So,

reverse of another charm he had lost, [Memory of Ice]. There was a luminous enchantment, too, activated when the door of the cabinet was

pan with the other, Sunny mixed the eggs while slowly blending milk in and

set, then effortlessly flipped and folded it, finally adding some mushrooms, vegetables, and ham.

cooked omelette and a cup of fragrant coffee were ready. Putting them on a tray, Sunny

front of Teacher Julius, he curiously glanced at the book the old man was reading. Its cover was hidden by a leather jacket, but he

on the Tomb

the nobody

just leave all the knowledge he had accumulated in the Third Nightmare go to waste. So, even knowing that it would cause

the Plagues and everything he discovered in the Estuary to himself, though, concentrating on the unique culture of the River Civilization, and especially on the stories of Weave he

things that were better left unsaid, but also because some knowledge was simply too dangerous to share. There were very few people in the world who could

report had caused a furor in academic

furor in some other circles,

among the Great

had ventured into the Nightmare of the Tomb of Ariel, after all. And since none of them was the author of the report... then who the hell was? And

why even a respected professor like Teacher Julius chose to hide its cover under a jacket and read it in the Dream Realm, as opposed to

delicious fragrance of coffee, he got distracted from his book

been looking forward to it all

smiled and pointed to