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....”

felt a familiar presence Illuminate the world. Sunny did not

standing on the shore of the lake. Her wings had already disappeared, and only a beautiful

wearing white clothes, her silver hair held down by

dressed in black as

I hope she did not

him, Nephis smiled lightly and walked over with easy

Are

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

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

Sunny was a hired sorcerer who had to forge her a superb sword, after all. So, the diligence she treated him with

though he would never admit it, the latter possibility

"Master Sunless?"

for a moment, then

"Yes, I am ready."

her his arm, and when she wrapped her own around

basket specifically for the occasion, since nothing in the

them walked together. Nephis was calm, while Sunny was pretending to be nonchalant. They made for quite a stunning pair, and passerby stared at them with wide eyes... but he did

‘There, there. Look more!'

seem to be in a good

Sunny realized that there was a wide

Today seems like a pretty good

face for a few

to agree. It does seem like

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

a good way to earn some coin - most seasoned Ascended were busy protecting the human enclaves and subjugating the wilderness of the Dream Realm, so

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

had to be public, but what they

nodded at

Master Sunless. I'll be with you

fashioned into a sand arena. Sitting down on the

a nice