Shadow Slave

Sleep was avoiding Sunny. For a while, he sat silently in the darkness, listening to the calming rumbling of the waves. In this rare moment of respite, memories of the past few days came flooding into his mind. However, he was too tired to seriously think about anything. He was warm, full, and relatively safe. For now, that was more than enough.

Soon, the rhythm of Cassia’s breathing changed, indicating that she fell asleep. Nephis was guarding the camp, motionless and, as always, a bit distant. With her silver hair and fair skin, she looked like an alabaster statue.

Sunny sighed. He struggled for a bit, and then said quietly:

“Hey. Can I ask you a question?”

Nephis glanced at him and shrugged. The lack of an audible response clearly indicated that she remembered about his ability to see in the dark.

“Sure.”

‘Would it be too personal?’

Sunny hesitated.

“I thought you Legacies come into the Spell with a whole inherited arsenal of Memories. I mean, that’s supposed to be your main advantage. How come you only had three?”

Nephis was silent for a few moments.

“Actually, I only had two. The rope came from Cassie.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh. I see.”

Realizing that her answer wasn’t really an answer, Nephis thought for a while and added:

“We lost most of our Memories when my father passed away. The ones that remained were sold one by one over the years, to keep the family afloat. This sword and armor came from my First Nightmare.”

So that’s how it was. Sunny realized that the fall of the Immortal Flame clan might have been more thorough than he had thought. Still, something about it didn’t make sense.

“Surely, with your clan’s reputation and standing, there were other ways to make money.”

Without any strong reaction, Nephis simply said:

“There were other reasons.”

Then, she unexpectedly turned her head in his direction.

“Can I ask you a question in return?”

Sunny swallowed.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Nephis tilted her head.

“How did you know that I’m a Legacy?”

‘What? That’s it?’

“Simple. I heard Caster mention it. He was scolding other Sleepers to make them treat you with respect.”

She gave him a nod and turned away. What thoughts were hidden behind her calm grey eyes, Sunny did not know.

Some time had passed before he gathered enough courage to ask the question that he really wanted to ask. Before doing it, though, he made sure that Cassie was sound asleep and lowered his voice.

I ask another

negative

you burdening yourself

Changing Star’s mouth curled

“Why? Wouldn’t you?”

teeth, feeling the Flaw pushing the truthful

“No.”

answer would be “yes”. But one of the things he had lost after the Nightmare was the

her. It’s just that he knew with certainty that it was simply not something he could do. He was barely able to save himself, let alone carry a helpless person across the Dream Realm. If he tried, they would just

couldn’t help but be a little

him. She showed no reaction at

“Because I want to.”

‘Because… she wants to?’

Sunny expected to hear. He was pretty sure that she would either lecture him about

that she was putting her life in danger, to the point of sacrificing an

‘Ridiculous!’

the more he thought about it,

it was

of the time, he was doing them because he needed to. It was never a question of “want”… it was always a question

was it really? Or was it just a matter of perspective? Nephis had certain advantages in her upbringing, but they weren’t as ample as he had imagined. She had no wealth and no arsenal of relics to empower her. However, she did have

have the audacity to disregard need in favor of something as frivolous as desire, and do things that

blind girl simply because that was what Nephis wanted

was the greatest advantage of

was the real barrier that

However, before

“My turn.”

her turn to ask

again turned to Sunny and, after a long pause, suddenly

know the legend

who? What sort of a

head. Then, remembering that she couldn’t see him, he

“No.”

sighed and turned away. A few

indestructible body, Diomedes that was so ferocious even the God of War was wary of him, Ajax who was as strong as a giant. Odysseus was not the strongest, and not the bravest. However, he was

staring at the

from?

Meanwhile, Nephis continued:

prepared to sail home. However, the gods cursed him to endlessly wander the seas, never to return. Over the years, he

voice resounded in the darkness, creating an enthralling atmosphere. Sunny

in love with Odysseus and invited him to her palace. For many years, they lived together in harmony. The island was like a paradise, filled with all kinds of wonders, delicacies and delights. As long as loving Calypso was by his side, Odysseus was even immortal. But… the longer he stayed, the more time he spent sitting on the shore, looking at

Nephis smiled.

boat and abandoned the island, leaving all its delights, the beautiful fairy, and

Sunny blinked.

‘What?’

game was that? He even considered that Nephis was mocking him, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

‘Weirdo!’

a bit, and then said without

he was far

appeared on Nephis’s

away… from home.