Shadow Slave

It did not take long to discuss the details of their agreement with Cassie. She was wary of him, somewhat, but Sunny held the overwhelming advantage in the negotiations. After all, he had what she wanted, and knew more than her on top of that. It wasn't hard for him to get the blind seer to agree to his conditions.

She could not stay for long, either - at least not without risking her absence being noticed by someone from Clan Valor. Cassie did not want to attract their attention to Sunny, yet, or maybe ever. That suited him fine, as well.

‘What a strange birthday I'm having this year...'

When Cassie left, Sunny was once again left alone in the Brilliant Emporium. The city had grown dark, and a peaceful silence settled over the lake. He could see the magnificent castle shine with enchanted lights in the distance, the lanterns reflecting in the calm water like stars.

...Of course, that castle was just an illusion.

Or rather, not just an illusion, but a very special one. The kind of illusion that was, for all intents and purposes, real - more real than reality itself, even. Most of the people who lived inside the castle did not know the difference, since it did not affect their lives,

But Sunny knew,

There was a different kind of place hidden behind the beautiful, towering edifice of Bastion. A much more somber and terrifying place than what everyone was familiar with.

That was where he wanted to get to with Cassie's help.

strongholds depicted on the map Nether had left in the Ebony Tower, each connected to one of the daemons. After visiting the tower once more and reading more of the forbidden runes

Tomb of Ariel was the burial site of

own seat of power was hidden in the Hollow Mountains. He had barely survived crossing over them, and was not nearly powerful enough, yet, to dare delving into the darkness that dwelled below them. True darkness was the natural

quite so each

Jade Palace, now known as Ravenheart, was connected to the Demon of Dread. Sunny had been searching for a way to Infiltrate Queen Song's palace, but without much luck. It was

meanwhile, was temporarily out of reach - he did not have a spare

that guy also spent most of his time

balance between expending and replenishing essence while constantly keeping these two versions of himself going, with plenty left in reserve for unexpected situations. Sending an additional avatar to Stormsea would have

of the House of Night, which was connected to the Demon of

Bastion, which had once belonged

could tell, the Demon of Imagination had been a master of illusions.

and in a sense, it was. The beautiful castle, the tranquil lake, the picturesque land surrounding it all of it had been conjured from the imagination of the

even become home to

what he was looking for in the pretty mirage, though. He could

those who did not

was plenty of time left before the next full moon, though, which would give both of them plenty of time to digest the situation. Cassie had a lot to think about, no