Shadow Slave

On the day of the winter solstice, Sunny woke up feeling tired and drowsy. No matter how much he tried to shake off this listlessness, it wouldn’t go away. In the end, he just stayed in the bed for a while, wrapping himself in a blanket.

He was already familiar with this feeling of neverending, ensnaring sleepiness. It was the same in the days before his First Nightmare. It was also quite similar to what he had experienced while slowly dying of hypothermia on the slopes of the Black Mountain.

Remembering the cold embrace of approaching death, Sunny couldn’t help but shiver.

This was his last day on Earth… at least for a while. By nightfall, the Spell was going to take him away once again, this time to challenge the vast expanse of the Dream Realm. What was he going to face in that ruined magical world? Would luck be on his side this time, or would there be another disaster?

‘Ugh.’

There was no point in guessing. He had already done everything in his power to prepare for the inevitable. He studied hard, trained hard, and kept his secret safe. His Aspect was better than most, and his will to survive was long tempered by the harsh reality of the outskirts and the even harsher ordeal of the First Nightmare.

All in all, he was ready.

With a sigh, Sunny got out of bed and went along with his morning routine. If this was going to be his last hot shower in a long while, he was going to really enjoy it. If it was going to be his last scrumptious breakfast for the time being…

Actually, he had no appetite.

The cafeteria was full of Sleepers, but no one was talking. Everybody was in low spirits and seemed to be uncharacteristically introspective. There was no usual laughter or boisterous conversations — only the Legacies remained calm and collected. However, even they kept to themselves.

Sunny thought about the last time he was preparing to enter the Spell and, with a bit of trepidation, approached the coffee machine. During his stay in the Academy, he had long discovered that a lot of people were in a habit of adding sugar and milk to their coffee. So, on this auspicious day, he decided to give it another try.

After all, it was nice to have a tradition.

A few minutes later, he had taken his usual seat near Cassia, the blind girl. Despite their compulsory closeness, they had not talked to each other even once, just like two strangers forced to share the same space by circumstances beyond their control. Sunny did not see a reason for anything to change today.

However, as soon as he took the first seep of coffee, Cassia suddenly turned her head and stared at him with her beautiful, blind blue eyes.

Unnerved, Sunny looked around, checking if someone else had attracted her attention, and, after making sure that there wasn’t anyone standing behind him, asked:

“W—what?”

Cassia was silent, as though hesitating if she should reply, and then suddenly said:

“Happy Birthday.”

‘What?’

to comprehend the meaning behind her words. Then, a flash

It’s my

forgotten about it.

how did she know

girl a strange look, opened his mouth, and then decided to let the issue go. She was just

“Uh… thanks.”

turned away and seemingly

for the

his coffee, finding it not too bad this time. Of course, sugar and cream were making most

‘Seventeen, huh?’

this age alive. And yet, despite everything, he did. Life was sure

his seventeenth birthday by drinking real coffee with real milk and sugar, he would have laughed in their face. But now

people who used to celebrate his birthdays with him, a long time ago. Before his mood turned sour, he decisively dispelled these thoughts and forced

do it again next year, when

himself up like that, he finished his coffee and

classes today, but he still visited the Wilderness Survival classroom and said his goodbyes to Teacher Julius. The old man got pretty emotional when sending him off. He gave Sunny “one last tip” a dozen or so times in a row and even promised to apply for a research assistant position to be opened after the young man had become a full

left thanking him for

that, there wasn’t much

was close to setting, Instructor Rock gathered them in the foyer of

white building, other Awakened were leading their own batches of Sleepers to the same destination.

their first journey into the Dream Realm, the bodies of Sleepers would be kept safe

they would wake up

did not take them directly to the wing containing Sleeper pods. Instead, he led them to a comparatively deserted floor and then opened the doors to a spacious gallery that was brightly illuminated by the beautiful crimson rays

on their face. All these

all seemed to

eerie silence, Sunny felt his hair standing up and a creeping terror sipping deep into his

the empty people with solemn

of you may