Shadow Slave

Leaving the Sleeper Compound, Sunny felt as though even the winter cold could not keep him from feeling sleepy anymore. Wondering what time it was, he looked up out of habit and glanced at the sun.

The sun was all wrong.

Suddenly, Sunny was wide awake, his hand instinctively outstretched to summon the Midnight Shard. It took him a few moments to recognize his error.

'Oh. The sun is normal. It's just not the same as on the Forgotten Shore.'

He also didn't have to measure time by observing the sky anymore. He had a communicator that could show him what time of day it was, up to the exact nanosecond.

Shaking his head, Sunny headed back toward the hospital complex. He was late for a… a memorial. Of sorts.

The survivors of the Dreamer Army were supposed to gather today to celebrate those who remained alive and remember those who had fallen.

Entering the medical center, he headed toward the conference hall, but then lingered for a moment in front of a monitor attached to the wall. There, a hundred names were shown, listing everyone who had made it back.

And on the very top of it, there were three very special ones:

"Raised by Wolves"

"Nightingale"

"Song of the Fallen"

Effie, Kai, and Cassie…

Sunny stared at the three True Names for some time, then slowly lowered his gaze. Right beneath was his own name.

With a grim expression on his face, Sunny opened the doors and entered the hall.

The former Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore were all there, at least those who had awoken at the Academy or could make it there for the memorial. He looked around the crowd, searching for familiar faces.

It was strange to see all these people back in the real world. Especially without Nephis.

Now that they were out of danger and had lost their leader, there wasn't a lot to keep them together, and so much to split them apart. Before, they were united by necessity and the irresistible will of Changing Star. Now, nothing remained to prevent the old grievances from pulling them apart…

And yet, the hundred survivors seemed strangely united. Perhaps it was the shared trauma of their harrowing experience in the Dream Realm, or something else that Sunny couldn't quite understand, but there was no division between them. On the contrary, every Awakened gathered in the hall seemed to share an invisible bond with all the others.

'...Weird.'

Many people welcomed his arrival with warm greetings. Sunny smiled awkwardly and did his best to reciprocate their goodwill. After a few such encounters, he finally noticed Kai at the back of the crowd.

Sunny stumbled and stared at his friend for a couple of seconds.

'I'll be damned…'

How could that guy become even more gorgeous?

The Awakening made Kai's slender figure even more graceful, his perfect face even more handsome, and his electric green eyes even more mesmerizing. His luscious dark auburn hair was now neatly cut and styled, his clothes were simple and exquisitely fashionable, and the several pieces of jewelry he wore somehow managed to enhance every one of those features by bringing it just the right amount of attention.

'Such… such injustice!'

With a resentful sigh, Sunny made his way through the crowd and approached his friend. Kai noticed him from afar, and then, the conference hall suddenly seemed to become much brighter due to his brilliant smile.

"Sunny! You are finally here!"

Sunny wanted to answer, but then froze for a second, noticing a stranger next to the charming young man. A sickly, terribly gaunt young woman was sitting in a wheelchair, staring at them with a tired expression.

There was clearly something defective about her body. She was unhealthily thin, with pale skin stretching over brittle bones and a strange twist to her spine. Her legs seemed lifeless and weak, tucked awkwardly on the step of her wheelchair. Her neck was clearly struggling to support the weight of her head.

…It was only when the young woman smiled mischievously did he finally recognize her.

"What's the matter, doofus? You've been struck dumb by my beauty?"

With a giggle, Effie spun her wheelchair, as though giving him the chance to take a good look.

'Effie… that's... that's Effie?'

Sunny stared at her for a couple of moments, trying to connect the image of the mighty huntress he knew — tall, strong, beautiful, and full of vigor — to this weak, gaunt young woman. He only spoke when the pain of the Flaw pierced his mind:

"Not really. What… what the hell happened to you?"

Effie smiled and shrugged.

"Nothing. That's how I've always been, in the real world."

Something moved in Sunny's memory. He remembered how the two of them sat on the support beam of the ruined cathedral, talking in whispers.

'...for some of us, the real world was more of a hell than the Dream Realm.'

That was what Effie had said, back then.

Noticing the strange expression on his face, she grinned.

"Ah, don't worry about it. At least now that I'm Awakened, I can move my hands. Look at this…"

She grabbed the handles of the wheels, then balanced her chair at an angle and spun it around again.

"See? Ain't that the coolest thing you've ever seen?"

Sunny hesitated for a bit, then said quietly:

"...Yes. One of the coolest, by far."

Effie gave him a smile, then glanced at Kai:

"See, Night? Your celebrity aura got nothing on my burning charisma."

The young man looked at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, he suddenly took a step forward and gave Sunny a big hug.

"Sunny! Thank gods you're alive!"

Sunny squirmed a little, but then surrendered to being embraced. With a resigned expression, he endured for as long as he could and then said through gritted teeth:

"Why shouldn't I be alive, fool? I wasn't the one whose unconscious, lanky body had to be dragged all the way to the Gateway!"

Kai squeezed him even tighter, then finally released his hold on him. Taking a step back, the charming young man hesitated for a couple of seconds and sighed.

"Still. With your luck, I am surprised that the whole Spire didn't just fall on your head."

Sunny froze, then forced out a smile.

"Yeah. That… would have been terrible, wouldn't it…"