Shadow Slave

Just like that, a week had passed. Miraculously, Sunny had survived.

Even more miraculously, he had somehow managed not to kill Effie... which was a big accomplishment in and of itself. In fact, by the end of it, their forced cohabitation had turned rather pleasant.

They were both solitary hunters, after all. There was an instinctive understanding between the two of them.

His overall combat skill and particularly comprehension of both his own battle style and that of the Stone Saint had improved by leaps and bounds. He felt faster, stronger, and better prepared to face the horrors of the Dream Realm.

Although he had yet to reach the same level of physical power that he had possessed before sacrificing a hundred shadow fragments to create the Shadow Saint, Sunny felt that the current him was far deadlier of an opponent.

Which was good, considering how fast the grim future was approaching.

...Currently, Sunny and Effie were sitting on the support beam of the main hall of the cathedral, looking down from the head-spinning height. Far below and away from them, the Black Knight walked through the patches of light and darkness, continuing his neverending patrol.

Effie scowled, then whispered:

"So this is the bastard?"

Sunny gave her a gloomy nod.

"Yeah. In the flesh… or whatever he has instead of it."

The unruly huntress gave him a long look.

"How the hell did you manage to live through a fight with that fiend?"

He grimaced.

"Barely. Also, calling it a fight is giving me too much credit. I just got myself gutted and crawled outside. He never leaves the cathedral, so I got away."

She shivered.

"Are you sure that he won't hear us?"

Sunny pointed down.

"As long as he doesn't walk past that column, and as long as we're not too loud and keep our voice down, we're safe. Trust me. I've been studying that bastard for two whole months."

Effie suddenly grinned.

"So… how loud are we talking about? Because I can promise to…"

Sunny rolled his eyes.

"Can you stop? We're in a temple, for gods' sake."

He didn't need to hear the end of the phrase to know that it was going to be highly suggestive and very inappropriate.

She quietly giggled.

"Fine, fine."

After a couple of minutes passed in silence, Sunny looked down and saw that the pale light of dawn was slowly turning brighter. It was almost time for the two of them to leave the cathedral.

He had yet to come to the final decision regarding Neph's request. Depending on his choice, he and Effie would, perhaps, never see each other again.

Sunny quietly sighed.

Then, turning to the huntress, he said:

"Hey, Effie. Can I ask you something?"

She looked at him with a silent question in her eyes and shrugged.

"Sure. Go ahead, doofus."

Sunny hesitated, feeling the somber mood of the situation. Then, looking away, he said:

"Tell me honestly… were you dropped on your head a lot when you were a kid?"

Effie blinked a couple of times, then suddenly pressed both hands against her mouth to suppress a laugh. In the process, she almost fell down from the support beam.

"Heavens, Sunny… do you want me to laugh out loud and get us both killed? What's up with that question? No, I was not."

He looked at her with a dubious expression.

"Then why are you so damn cheerful all the time? It's not normal. You're like a crazy person… and I know a thing or two about that, mind you!"

The huntress smiled.

"Ah. That."

Then, she shrugged.

"It's simple, really."

Sunny waited for the explanation, noticing an unfamiliar air of melancholy around the vigorous young woman. Her usual infectious vitality somehow felt... lessened.

"It's because I don't think that this place is as bad as all of you seemed to believe. Everyone in this dark city is convinced that this is hell."

She hesitated.

"But to me, it's a paradise."

Sunny glanced at her and frowned.

"How so?"

Effie sighed.

"You wouldn't understand. But for some of us, the real world was more of a hell than the Dream Realm."

Sunny turned away, thinking about his one life in the outskirts. The reason he was able to adapt so well to the ruthless terror of the Nightmare Spell was because, at its core, it wasn't that different from his own reality.

"Still. What kind of a paradise is this?"

A sad smile appeared on the young woman's face.

"The only kind we deserve, I guess."

Then, she looked at Sunny and asked:

"Say, Sunny. You're from the outskirts, right? So you didn't receive a lot of education, I bet?"

He shook his head.

She chuckled.

"Well, not like it would have changed anything. The schools are basically propaganda camps, anyway. They teach kids some useful stuff, but also turn them unable to ask questions and blind to the truth."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"The truth?"

Effie gave him a nod.

"The truth that our world is dying. Well, not the world, really. Just the part of the ecosystem that we need to survive."

Something moved in his memory. A year or so before Sunny was born, a whole continent was lost because a Category-Five Gate had opened on its coast…

But the huntress quickly overturned his expectations:

"And I'm not talking about the Nightmare Spell. I'm talking about what we, humans, have done to our planet without anyone's help. There were more than ten billion people on Earth a couple of hundred years ago, did you know? But now, there's barely three. And half of them only have food and shelter because of us Awakened and the powers we possess. Which were given to us by the Spell."

She wasn't wrong. Sunny remembered the poisonous, acrid air of the outskirts. The inhuman conditions in the underground factory where his mother had worked. The towering barriers protecting the city from the deadly winds of the wasteland outside. He knew, of course, that the planet was not in a good shape, compared to the past.

But he never really thought about it that much. To him, this was simply how life always worked.

Effie shrugged.

"Who knows how many of us would still be alive without the Spell? I honestly don't know. But if you ask me… I think that one day in the future, more people will believe that this Realm is a paradise. Just like me."

On that ominous note, she stood up and stretched her whole body, making Sunny hurriedly look away.

'Damn... pure thoughts, Sunny!'

"Anyway, it's already morning. Time to meet up with Princess and the others. Let's go…"

***

Soon, they were standing in front of the cathedral. The morning sun was slowly crawling through the sky, washing the ancient city in its pale light. Sunny and Effie did not have to wait long before Nephis and her companions appeared from the ruins.

Sunny blinked.

There was Changing Star herself, Caster, Cassie… and Kai.

What the hell was he doing here?

Once the four Sleepers approached and greeted them, Sunny immediately stared at the beautiful young man.

"Night… uh… why are you here, buddy?"

The archer smiled.

"Ah! I'm very happy to see you too, Sunny, my friend. Lady Nephis has asked me to join her on this expedition, and after careful consideration, I have decided to agree."

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

"Alright, I know that I'm crazy, but when did you lose your mind too?"

Kai looked at him with a strange expression.

"Wait.. crazy? What do you mean, you're crazy?"

Sunny sighed.

"Nevermind."

Then, he turned to Neph.

"About your request. I'm ready to join the expedition, but on one condition. I will not become a part of your cohort. Rather, you can provide sufficient compensation to acquire my services."

Nephis looked at him for a while, an inexorable expression on her face. Then, she said in an even tone:

"Do you have something in mind?"

Sunny grinned.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Behind us, you can see a magnificent ancient cathedral. Inside that cathedral lives a creature which is called the Black Knight. He's a Fallen Devil. In return for my help during the expedition, I want your help after it is concluded. Once we return…"

He paused for a moment, and then added:

"...I want you to help me kill it."

A dead silence fell on the small square. After a while, Caster finally spoke, an expression of subtle shock on his face:

"Sunny… did you perhaps misspoke? We are only Sleepers, after all. How are we supposed to kill that Black Knight of yours? A Nightmare Creature of his rank and class…"

Sunny's grin widened. Then, with an immense feeling of vindication, he looked at Caster and said:

"...It's just a fallen devil."