Shadow Slave: Back in time

Sunny was cooking when light broke into the horizon and the Dark Sea started retreating. Nephis had gladly given the role of chef to Sunny without hesitation while they were planning in Sunny's room. She was still asleep, covered in a blanket of seaweed. Her grey hair seemed to be shining, and her face unusually peaceful. Sunny watched as the sun slowly rose and the dark water disappeared. In a bit more than a year, they would have to destroy that sun.

Cassie stirred next to. She stretched her arms and sat.

"Sunny?"

"I'm here."

She turned toward him and smiled.

"I had a vision! I saw a castle full of people!"

"Really? That's great! Do you know where it is?"

Cassie beamed. Her pale finger rose, pointing West.

"I'm not sure how far it is, but it is in that direction."

Sunny didn't answer immediately.

"You did a great job, Cassie. Nephis and I would have chosen to go East, because the monster are concentrated in the West. Without you, we might've wandered the Dream Realm for years, or died."

He handed her the breakfast.

"Here, eat. I'll go wake Nephis up so you can tell us the details of your vision."

Cassie nodded. As soon as she took the first bite, her face lit up and she started eating more energetically.

Sunny chuckled. He hadn't even needed his special pancake to have such a reaction!

He kneeled next to Nephis and shook her.

She stirred and stretched her arms, then rubbed her eyes.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. Have a good nap?"

"Umm…"

"Here. I've made breakfast."

That seemed to wake her up. She suddenly sit up and took the food. Sunny watched as she enjoyed her meal and explained what Cassie had said. Nephis finished the breakfast and they headed to Cassie. Nephis suddenly leaned towards him and lightly bit his ear. He flinched and stared at her, who was chuckling and trying to put up a front of a sheepish expression, but failing miserably.

What was that for?

What are you talking about?

The bite, what else?

What bite?

Sunny glared at her, who was looking at him innocently.

'You know what? Forget it.'

Nephis and Sunny sat in front of the oracle, who described what she had seen.

"… and I saw Sunny leading me into the castle. That means we'll make it!"

Nephis hesitated for moment.

"Did you see only you and Sunny?"

Cassie frowned.

"Yes… That part of the vision was actually blurry…"

It hasn't changed.

That means nothing. We'll proceed as planned.

Yes.

Sunny stood up.

"Are the two of you ready? Let's go."

Traversing the Labyrinth was strangely… easy. Sunny and Nephis could deal with the Scavengers they came across without too much effort. Their balance was perfect. It was unnerving. Sunny always expected something to go wrong.

Sunny could already see the statue rising not too far away, when his shadow noticed the Scavengers. 12 pinchers were blocking their path. Sunny sighed and stopped.

"There are three scavenger ahead."

The others stopped, too.

Cassie's voice trembled.

"T-three? But-"

"There's nothing to be worried about. Follow me."

He quickly lead her to a breach in the wall and made her hide there.

Nephis looked at him.

"Ready?"

He smiled.

"Yea."

"You run ahead and act as a bait. I'll hide in the shadows and kill one from behind, then we will deal with the other two."

Against all odds, his plan was completed without issues.

He stared at Nephis, who was harvesting the shards.

"It's a first, isn't it?"

She looked up at him, confused.

"What is a first."

"A plan without one of us nearly dying, or with some kind of problem."

Nephis stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating an answer. She shook her head.

No. You took care of the supply caravan of the Song Domain in Godgrave with ease.

Ah, that's right. I hadn't thought about it. Let's go fetch Cassie.

Sunny was progressing steadily.

[86/1000]

[28/1000]

Nephis had opted to give some of the Shards to Cassie.

They had just finished eating when Nephis took the shards out of the makeshift sack. She pushed three of them toward Cassie and crushed the other seven. The blind girl tried to refuse.

"I don't deserve them. You did all the work."

Sunny let out a deep breath.

"Cassie, we've already talked about this. You are not useless. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know where to go. Also, you might save us by knowing information about places or creatures, so we need you to get stronger. Besides, it's not like I need 'em."

Cassie frowned.

"What do you mean, you don't need them?"

"I get stronger by killing. I can't absorb shards, so I'm leaving my share to Nephis."

"You can't absorb shards?"

Cassie was shocked. She had never heard of something like that.

"No. My Core is pretty special."

He stood up and summoned the [Azure Blade].

"I'll go practice. Goodnight."

Well, he wasn't actually going somewhere: the stone platform wasn't that large.

He slowly started the formless movements of his battle style, augmented by Gloomy, mentally going through all the most important battles of his life: the duel on the top of the Crimson Spire with Nephis, the final of the Dreamscape tournament, the fight against Dire Fang… Suddenly, warm flames were enveloping him. They were resonating with his shadow, making him stronger, faster, more resilient. His dance became more fluid, his strikes sharper and unpredictable.

[Your Aspect Legacy Mastery has increased.]

Sunny stopped moving and sat, out of breath, his face dripping with sweat. The flames left him.

Nephis sat next to him.

"Why did you do that?"

"You've managed to better your Aspect Legacy, right?"

"Yes. But I don't want you to get hurt. I'm aware it's hypocritical, but still…"

"It's alright. I don't want you to get hurt, too. Humans are hypocritical beings, after all."

Sunny summoned his runes.

Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]

Shadow Dance Mastery Level: [2/7]

'I got two, huh. That's great.'

First Relic: [Claim]

"Claim."

[You have claimed an Aspect Legacy Relic.]

[You have received a Shadow.]

Shadow: [Soul Serpent]

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Beast

Shadow Attributes: [Shadow Guide] [Spirit Guide] [Soul Weapon.]

Shadow Abilities:[Serpentine Steel]

Sunny summoned it. He concentrated on the essence circulating through his body. He grinned. His idea was right: with the help of Soul Serpent, he could feel his essence. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to have some use, yet.

He reopened his runes.

Second Relic: [Claim]

"Claim."

[You have claimed an Aspect Legacy Relic.]

Sunny waited for the Spell to announce he had received a Memory. And waited. And waited some longer.

Sunny was boiling with frustration.

'What the hell, Spell? You gave me nothing!'