Shadow Slave

The first customers arrived, and the avatar got busy in the kitchen. Sunny, however, remained on the porch, enjoying the fresh air with a leisurely smile on his lips. The lively noises of the city filled the air like a bright melody.

At some point, the door opened, and Aiko walked out, dressed in a smart business suit and wearing a leather messenger bag over her shoulder. The petite girl yawned, stretched her arms, and mumbled:

"I'm off to the Castle, boss."

Sunny looked at her with a good-natured smile.

"You're delivering Memories, you know. What's up with the bag?"

Aiko stared at him with indignation.

"What do you even know... one has to look the part to make the right impression! That's business essentials!"

She glanced him over with suspicion.

"And speaking of looking the part... you seem a bit different today, boss, What is that... did you style your hair?"

Sunny blinked.

"I did not!"

Aiko gave him a sarcastic nod.

"Uh-huh... sure."

With that, she grinned and hurried away.

"Have fun with Princess Nephis, boss! Perform well! We're raking in real money here, so don't screw it up for us!"

The petite girl used her Aspect to skate on the cobblestones and disappeared behind a corner in the blink of an eye. Sunny was left standing on the porch, flabbergasted.

"What? What does she mean, perform well? I always perform well! Wait... that did not sound right....”

world. Sunny did not have to look to

of feathers, and then, a slender silhouette was standing on the shore of the lake. Her wings had already disappeared, and only a beautiful halo remained, fading slowly as

wearing white clothes, her silver hair

as usual,

she did not

smiled lightly and

Sunless. Are you

terribly busy preparing for the war. However, she had diligently made time to keep their appointments in the past few weeks, and never seemed distracted by other issues in his

had a timid hope that Nephis actually enjoyed their outings, and found shelter from the burden of her crushing responsibilities in the time the two of them spent together - no matter how fleeting it was. He was quite pleasant to be around, after all...

far more likely that Nephis simply treated their meetings as part of the war preparations. There was a purpose to them Sunny was a hired sorcerer who had to forge her a superb sword, after all. So, the diligence she treated him with was the same she afforded her other responsibilities, no more and no

though he would never admit it, the

"Master Sunless?"

lingered for a moment, then

"Yes, I am ready."

arm, and when she wrapped

He had also bought the pienic basket specifically for the occasion, since

a stunning pair, and passerby stared at them with

‘There, there. Look more!'

seem to be in

that there was a wide smile on his lips. He lowered his gaze in

a pretty good day. Don't you think

a few moments, then smiled slightly

to agree. It

full of Awakened warriors, and not all of them had a Legacy clan sponsoring them - so, they needed a place to practice and hone their skills,

way to earn some coin - most seasoned Ascended were busy protecting the human enclaves and

for a martial school. On any day, there would be a dozen or more warriors practicing Inside under the observation of

their outing had to be public, but what they were about to do had

nodded at Sunny and

Sunless. I'll be

the martial hall, which was fashioned into a sand arena. Sitting down on

a