Shadow Slave

Ever since coming to Antarctica, Sunny had been to so many underground strongholds and attended so many meetings in windowless rooms that all of them started to blend together. They all looked the same and felt the same. Even the people inside the rooms started to seem the same after a while.

This time, however, he found himself in a stately and luxurious hall, which was a nice change of pace. The interior was tasteful, but lavish. The tall windows let in natural sunlight. The filtered air was cool, crisp, and fresh. What was there not to like?

He was relaxing in a comfortable chair, idly waiting for Wake of Ruin to arrive. Jet was nearby, in a similarly laid-back pose. The Transcendent had summoned them immediately after the expedition force had reached the siege capital... and yet, he was running late.

Neither of them minded. They had barely had time to wash the dirt of the road off themselves before coming to the spacious hall. After weeks spent in the wilderness of East Antarctica, every moment of leisurely peace was like a precious gift.

Sunny was lazily thinking about the outcome of the latest battle. After the swarm of crows had descended on the Nightmare Creatures, hundreds of them were torn apart in an instant... and the slaughter did not stop until the column was safely behind the city walls. The sight of it was frightening and magnificent in equal measure.

'What a powerful Transformation...'

Of course, he wouldn't go so far as to say that Wake of Ruin's transcendent form was more powerful than that of, for example, Saint Tyris. Rather, they were best suited for different tasks. The government Saint excelled in battles against large numbers of Nightmare Creatures or potent adversaries that did not possess a lot of physical defense.

He was also extremely hard to kill, since that would require exterminating every single one of the myriad of crows... although there would probably be some repercussions for Saint Cor if the swarm sustained heavy losses.

Sky Tide, on the other hand, could deliver a much more dire punishment to a single powerful enemy. Her ability to control wind and lightning also made her a more versatile and well-rounded Saint.

Sunny tried to imagine what would happen if the two Transcendents clashed. The mental image of a giant thunderbird being swarmed by a vast whirlwind of black crows in the dark skies was... truly an awesome one. Who would win? He was not sure. Saint Tyris would be at a slight disadvantage due to being robbed of one of her trump cards, true. She often relied on aerial superiority to slay her foes...

But then again, Saint Cormac had also been a flying beast. That had not prevented her from tearing off his wyvern head.

Jet glanced at Sunny and smiled.

"...You're thinking about murder again, aren't you?"

He turned his head and gave her an impassive look.

"Yes. Why?"

Soul Reaper laughed.

"No reason..."

Sunny studied her with a contemplative expression. Come to think of it, her crow Echo was a strange one. Was there, perhaps, a connection between it and the Saint of carrion birds?

He wanted to ask, but at that moment, the doors of the palatial hall opened, and Wake of Ruin himself walked in, looking as tall and gaunt as ever.

A subtle scent of rot and slaughter followed the old man like an invisible mantle.

Saint Cor was wearing an austere military uniform that had an insignia of four stars emblazoned on its sleeve. His sharp, pale face was framed by unruly raven-black hair, and his dark eyes were staring at them with bleak dullness.

When he looked at Jet, however, a hint of cold fondness appeared in the weathered lines of his unfriendly face.

"Soul Reaper. Ascended Sunless. Welcome."

His voice was hoarse and a bit grating.

They had both stood up when the Saint walked in, so he gestured for them to sit. Then, Wake of Ruin took a chair opposite them.

"How did your last mission go?"

They glanced at each other. Jet was the one to respond:

"It was alright, sir. We scouted out a Corrupted Tyrant, met up with the Wolves and the Nightsinger, and helped them take the creature down. Casualties were minimal."

He nodded, seemingly indifferent to the news of a powerful creature being slain... which was only expected. As the field commander of the entire operation, Saint Cor must have been receiving reports like this quite frequently.

His next question, however, was a bit surprising.

"How do you like it in the SRU?"

Jet lingered for a moment.

"I like it just fine. Sir."

The old man shifted his gaze, subjecting Sunny to a piercing stare.

"What about you, young man?"

Sunny shifted uncomfortably, suspecting that there was a hidden meaning to the question. He shrugged.

"I feel like it's a good fit for my abilities."

Wake of Ruin studied him for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Good. You've performed admirably as advanced scouts. However... it's a waste of your talents."

Both Sunny and Jet straightened, looking at the Saint with slightly startled expressions. Noticing their reaction, the old man remained impassive.

"Consider yourself reassigned effective immediately. The proper paperwork is already being delivered to the SRU headquarters."

'...What?'

Sunny stared.

Just like that, they got a new job? Without even being asked?

Jet cleared her throat. There were many questions burning in Sunny's mind, but she asked the most important one:

"Sorry, sir... but reassigned to where?"

Saint Cor stared at her for a moment, then pointed to himself.

"My personal retinue. That's officially... unofficially, however, you'll be acting as special envoys assigned to the Legacy forces. Each of you will be a contact person between the Evacuation Army and the Great Clans."

Sunny suddenly hated how opulent and lavish the spacious hall was. He frowned.

"With all due respect... sir... I get it why Ascended Jet might be considered a good candidate for such a position, but what do I have to do with any of it? Surely, you must know that my relationship with the Great Clans is a bit... rocky. That is nor even mentioning whether I want the job or not."

He had spent six months hiding in the waking world to avoid the wrath of clan Valor, after all. Had the old Saint gone senile or what?

Wake of Ruin turned his heavy gaze back to Sunny and calmly raised an eyebrow.

"On the contrary, I think that you are the best person for the job, Ascended Sunless. You are quite close to one of the leaders of the Valor delegation, no?"

Sunny tilted his head a little.

"That depends on who that leader is, I guess."

Saint Cor smiled slightly.

...The smile made his gaunt, pale face look even more unnerving.

The old man glanced at an antiquated wristwatch adorning his hand and then said, his voice sounding cold and aloof:

"Why, it's young Lady Nephis of Valor, the Changing Star... of course."

He looked away from the watch and added matter-of-factly:

"She'll be arriving alongside Valor's other emissaries soon. Actually... I think they'll be there in a few minutes."

Sunny's eyes widened.