SHADOW SLAVE

It was already morning, so he didn’t bother going to sleep and just brewed himself more coffee, poured it into a cup, and went to sit on the porch.

The mental fatigue of the long planning session made his thoughts a bit slow, but Sunny knew that he would be able to remain awake and lucid for a couple more days without any problem. He wasn’t going to return to the Dream Realm until all his business in the waking world was taken care of.

So, Sunny just rested for a bit, watching the dawn and unhurriedly thinking through all the things that had to be done.

“…say goodbye to Teacher Julius… talk to Aiko about the Emporium…”

The Second Nightmare could take a lot of time to conquer, so there was a question of how long the supply of soul shards he had given her would last. Sunny didn’t want to return and discover that his store had closed doors and lost all its clients.

He took a sip of coffee and looked down.

…Of course, there was a very real possibility that he would not return at all.

Sunny did not delude himself. No matter how powerful he was and how swift his progress had been, this Nightmare was going to be nothing except for absolutely deadly… like all Nightmares were. Better people than him had ventured inside and never returned. The possibility of death was very real…

Was there even a point in planning for the future?

As he thought about it, suddenly, a sound of light steps could be heard on the path leading to the porch. Sunny smiled a little, and then looked up.

Rain was standing a few steps away, looking at him with a bit of awkwardness.

“I, uh… are your guests still here?”

He shook his head.

“Good! I mean… bad? I just wanted to talk to you… alone… that’s all.”

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? What about?”

Despite the fact that Rain was obviously trying to be apologetic and respectful, a familiar angry light ignited in her eyes.

“You know what about! I mean, uh… sorry…”

She stumbled, remained silent for a few moments, and then asked in a more polite tone:

“…Why didn’t you tell me that you are a big deal?”

Sunny stared at Rain for a bit, then smiled:

“Have I not told you that I am probably the strongest Awakened in the world, the best of best, and all that? I think it happened right here on this spot.”

Rain scowled.

“I’m being serious!”

Sunny took a sip of coffee and looked at her for a few moments. Slowly, the smile disappeared from his face. Finally, he sighed and looked away.

“Because I’m not. As far as Awakened go, I am not a big deal at all. In fact, I am very small, and easily squashed. So I don’t like to advertise my prowess. It’s best that everyone thinks of me as weak and stupid. That way, I’ll be much harder to kill.”

Rain’s looked at him in confusion.

“I… I don’t understand. How would Nightmare Creatures know that you are considered strong? Why would that put your life in danger?”

A dark, sad smile appeared on Sunny’s face. He glanced at Rain, and then asked:

“Who said anything about the Nightmare Creatures?”

Sunny put his cup on the floor, then said:

“After you left, you must have searched the network for all the information about the Forgotten Shore you could find, right?”

Rain blushed, and then nodded.

He nodded, too.

“Then you must know that around four hundred Sleepers died during the Siege of the Crimson Spire. So many. But do you know how many were killed in the months before? Almost twice that.”

Her eyes widened slightly.

Sunny looked at the young girl, no levity in his voice anymore.

“And they weren’t killed by the Nightmare Creatures. They were killed by people. So, ironically, more humans were killed by other humans while I was out there, in that hell, than they were by monsters. Well… other monsters, to be precise. And that is a lesson you are going to have to learn, if you want to become strong.”

He sighed.

“I can teach you how to hold a sword or a spear, how to traverse the Dream Realm and not starve, and how to kill your enemies. But I can’t teach you how to be strong, Rain. That is something that you can only learn yourself. This world… it is a cruel and ruthless place. Some people are lucky enough to never learn its truth, but some do. And out of those, soft ones never survive. You are very, very soft… but are you lucky? I don’t know. It’s up to you.”

She listened to him attentively, an expression that was a bit too serious and somber for a girl her age appearing on her face. After a while, she said:

“I… I think I understand.”

Sunny smiled.

“I hope that you do. But also, a part of me hopes that you don’t.”

He hesitated, then took out his communicator.

“Oh, and by the way… our lessons are going to have to stop for a while. My friends and I are going on a big expedition, you see, and I am not sure how long it is going to take. Don’t worry, though — I have already taught you enough for you to continue practicing on your own. Do it diligently and don’t get lazy! If you feel that you mastered everything before I return, call the number I just sent you. It belongs to a friend of mine. Her name is Aiko, and she’ll find you a new tutor.”

Rain stared at her communicator for a long time, then looked at him and asked quietly:

“You are going on a big expedition?”

Sunny showed her a carefree smile and shrugged.

“Sure. Why?”

She hesitated for a few moments, and then asked, her voice suddenly uncharacteristically timid:

“Will it… will it be dangerous?”

He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then shrugged again.

“Dangerous? Yeah, of course. Really dangerous, I guess. But… anything having to do with Spell is.”

Rain looked at him with sudden intensity, her previous timidness gone. When she spoke, her voice rang with tension:

“Then why? Why are you going?”

Sunny looked at her in bewilderment, and then suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

When he was done laughing, he glanced at her and said with an amused smile:

“Why? The same reason you wanted to train. To become strong! Really strong…”