Shadow Slave

The interior of the somber cathedral was as bizarre as its exterior. Sunny expected the actual floors to be constructed properly, and some of the corridors they walked through were. But other parts of Night Temple were upside-down, as well, the flat floors serving as ceilings and the arching ceiling serving as uneven floors.

And that was just the outward ring. He didn't even want to imagine how the temple itself and the inner sanctum looked.

As they walked, he saw several Lost silently going about the mundane business of maintaining the Citadel. They were dressed in the same crude clothes he was now wearing, and wielded no weapons.

However, every one of them, from a person calmly changing the oil in the wall lamps to a man sweeping the floors, radiated the same aura of strength and lethality as the two sentinels that had met them at the gate.

They were all battle-hardened, veteran elites.

'...Just what is this place?'

After descending a few sets of twisting stairs, Sunny and Cassie were led to another, slightly bigger room. That one had a large table in its center.

The sentinel gestured at it and said, his voice not betraying any emotions:

"Sir Pierce is on his way. Please, present the items you brought from the outside for inspection."

Cassie took a step forward and place her belt and scabbard on the table. The Lost shifted his gaze to Sunny and waited.

"Uh… all my things are stored inside a Memory."

He considered hiding the existence of the Covetous Coffer, but thought better of it. There was nothing inside of it worth hiding, anyway... or rather, almost nothing.

The sentinel frowned, then said in a dark tone:

"Summon it."

Soon, the small box was sitting on the table. Sunny opened it and started producing item after item, slowly building a large pile. They were spices, cooking utensils, hygienic products, several packs of underwear… both male and female, which earned him a strange look… a piece of a broken mirror, a couple of soul shards, a folding chair, various snacks, packs of tea and coffee, and many more.

As the pile slowly became larger and larger, the sentinel's face grew more and more incredulous. Finally, his eye twitched.

"How much trash do you have in that box?"

Sunny smiled.

"Almost finished!"

He fished out a tube of sunscreen and several sticks of lip balm, threw them into the pile, then thrust his arm into the maw of the Coverous Coffer up to the shoulder, swept its bottom a few times, ignoring Weaver's needle and diamond string, then finally took a step back.

"That is all."

The Lost shook his head and started picking up the items one after another, inspecting them carefully. What he was expecting to discover, Sunny did not know.

At that moment, the door of the room opened, and a tall man with sharp features and steely eyes came in. His dark hair was cut short, and there was stubble on his cheeks. The man wore a scale armor forged out of lusterless blue steel, and held himself with the relaxed confidence of an experienced killer.

Sunny didn't need an introduction to realize that he was standing in front of a Master… and a powerful one, at that.

Sir Pierce seemed to be less frightening than Morgan of Valor, but Morgan was barely older than Effie while this man had a decade or two to sharpen his skill and accumulate battle experience. He was a knight of Valor, still. Sunny harbored no illusions — in front of this monster, neither Cassie nor he stood a chance.

Especially not while surrounded by an army of a hundred Awakened elites.

'Why am I thinking about this? We are here to talk, not fight…'

And they really needed this conversation to go well. Depending on how convincing they could be and how receptive Sir Pierce was, Sunny would either have to do things the easy way, the hard way… or abandon his plans to retrieve the second knife altogether.

The sentinel greeted the Master respectfully, and then continued to inspect the mountain of items Sunny had produced from the Covetous Coffer. Sir Pierce glanced at it for a moment, then turned to Cassie.

"Awakened Cassia. Welcome back to the Night Temple."

Cassie bowed slightly.

"Sir Pierce."

Sunny suppressed the desire to roll his eyes.

'It's like I am invisible.'

Both the sentinels and the formidable Master had ignored his existence entirely, preferring to address the blind girl. Part of the reason must have been that they already knew her, but mostly it had to do with her status as a bearer of a True Name.

Well, it suited Sunny perfectly. He liked to remain as unnoticeable as possible.

Sir Pierce and Cassie exchanged several pleasantries, slowly approaching the discussion of the real issue. Sunny listened attentively, knowing how much rode on this conversation.

…At some point, however, he got distracted.

'What… what was that?'

For a moment, he thought that he heard someone sigh deeply behind him. No… he definitely did!

But there was no one there.

Sunny frowned.

'Am I hallucinating, or…'

It was then that a familiar voice suddenly resounded in his ears:

"Sunless… I am so glad that you made it."

Sunny eyes widened slightly. He looked at the sentinel, Cassie, and Master Pierce. None of the showed any sign that they had heard anything. Turning away, as if to stare at the wall, he hid his face and said in a barely audible whisper:

"Mordret! Where have you been, bastard?"

His words sounded harsh, but his tone was actually elated.

The voice chuckled, making Sunny feel a bit tense, for some reason.

Was it just him… or did the mysterious prince sound a bit different?

"Me? Oh… actually, I was with you this whole time, watching as you traveled across the Dream Realm. I just chose not to speak."

Sunny blinked a couple of times. A heavy, cold feeling settled in his chest.

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong…

"You… chose not to speak? Why?"

Mordret remained silent for a few moments, then said in his usual pleasant tone:

"With how cautious you are, I was afraid that you wouldn't come if I said too much."

'What… what does he mean?'

Sunny felt his heart beating wildly in his chest. His intuition was sounding the alarms, filling him a sudden feeling of dread.

'Fooled… was I fooled?

"Come where? Here, to the Night Temple?"

At that moment, the sentinel picked up the piece of the broken mirror from the pile.

Mordret spoke again, his voice still friendly, but suddenly much colder and deeper beneath the surface. Like a dark and restless ocean hiding under a thin veil of mist…

"Indeed. Thank you to bringing this piece of mirror to me, Sunless. I am very grateful."

Sir Pierce casually glanced at the sentinel while responding to Cassie. His gaze stopped at the mirror. In the next moment, his pupils widened.

"...And very sorry for what is about to happen next."

The formidable Master was suddenly near the table, the Lost thrown aside. The piece of the mirror was in his hand.

Throwing a wild look at Sunny, he screamed:

"Where did you find it, boy?! Answer me!"

Sunny took a stoop back, stunned.

"I… I…"

He remembered Saint Tyris telling him not to mention Reckoning island. However, at the moment, it seemed like Pierce would rip him apart if Sunny dared to twist the truth even a little. So, he answered honestly:

"Reckoning. I picked it up after slaying a strange creature."

Sir Pierce stared at him for a moment, and then his face suddenly changed. It became deathly pale and motionless, as if aged by ten years. His eyes grew wide and glassy.

The fearsome Master was… was…

Terrified.

But before any of them could do anything, a thin crack appeared on the shard in his hand.

And in the next moment, all Sunny could hear was the sound of breaking mirrors.