SHADOW SLAVE: HEIR OF ABYSS

The week was over. Sunny and Effie were standing in front of the cathedral. The morning sun was slowly crawling through the sky, washing the ancient city in its pale light. Sunny and Effie did not have to wait long before Nephis and her companions appeared from the ruins.

Sunny blinked.

There was Changing Star herself, Wren, Caster, Cassie… and Kai.

What the hell was he doing here?

Once the four Sleepers approached and greeted them, Sunny immediately stared at the beautiful young man.

"Night… uh… why are you here, buddy?"

The archer smiled.

"Ah! I'm very happy to see you too, Sunny, my friend. Lady Nephis has asked me to join her on this expedition, and after careful consideration, I have decided to agree."

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

"Alright, I know that I'm crazy, but when did you lose your mind too?"

Kai looked at him with a strange expression.

"Wait.. crazy? What do you mean, you're crazy?"

Sunny sighed.

"Nevermind."

Then, he turned to Neph.

"About your request. I'm ready to join the expedition, but on one condition. I will not become a part of your cohort. Rather, you can provide sufficient compensation to acquire my services."

Nephis looked at him for a while, an inexorable expression on her face. Then, she said in an even tone:

"Do you have something in mind?"

Your Darkness spreads deeper.]

Sunny grinned.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Behind us, you can see a magnificent ancient cathedral. Inside that cathedral lives a creature which is called the Black Knight. He's a Fallen Devil. In return for my help during the expedition, I want your help after it is concluded. Once we return…"

He paused for a moment, and then added:

"...I want you to help me kill it."

A dead silence fell on the small square. After a while, Caster finally spoke, an expression of subtle shock on his face:

"Sunny… did you perhaps misspoke? We are only Sleepers, after all. How are we supposed to kill that Black Knight of yours? A Nightmare Creature of his rank and class…"

Sunny's grin widened. Then, with an immense feeling of vindication, he looked at Caster and said:

"...It's just a fallen devil."

The expressions on the faces of Caster and Kai were simply priceless. Sunny had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Effie had heard many bizzare things already from Sunny's mouth already, so it had no effect on her.

Wren had a subtle smirk.

'Since when have you have become this cool? Ah! maybe it is because of me.'

Effie was staring at Wren, her face was little pale. Of course why wouldn't it be standing in front of her was a person who had killed a fallen Nightmare Creature, though it cost him his arm and few injuries.

Sensing her gaze, Wren turned his head to her and then smiled a bit.

'Yeah, he is not scary. Not at all.'

Meanwhile, Nephis just looked at him. The corner of her mouth slightly curled upward.

After a while, Caster was finally able to answer:

"Just a fallen devil? Did you say j…"

However, Changing Star interrupted him. Glancing at the cathedral, she simply shrugged and said:

"This is acceptable."

Everyone became silent. They simply stared at Neph with bewildered expressions except few.

With some satisfaction, Sunny nodded and said:

"Don't be so quick to judge. We won't be going into that battle unprepared. I spent months studying the bastard. I know his every ability, every trick, and every weakness. More than that… if you can't even handle someone like him, how are you going to challenge Gunalug? Isn't that what this expedition is all about?"

Actually, he debated for a long time whether he should demand that they attack the Black Knight now or after the expedition was over. In the end, he decided that they were all too weak to face the devil… for now, Wren might be able to kill that thing but even then he didn't want to take the risk. But after months spent in the Labyrinth, things were bound to change.

There were more Nightmare Creatures out there, and most of them were not impossible to kill. By the end of the expedition, every member of the cohort was going to have much more soul essence in their cores than they had now. They would also have a wider arsenal of Memories at their disposal.

There were more Nightmare Creatures out there, and most of them were not impossible to kill. By the end of the expedition, every member of the cohort was going to have much more soul essence in their cores than they had now. They would also have a wider arsenal of Memories at their disposal.

More importantly, they would have time to hone and perfect their teamwork. If they wanted to have a chance in a fight against the Black Knight, this was the most important part.

Nephis nodded.

"Sunny is right. It's not like it's impossible to kill a Fallen creature. In fact, both Gemma and Tessai had done so in the past, not to mention Gunlaug himself. It just takes a lot of preparation and a little bit of luck. By the end of this, we should be able to take on a single devil and win, provided that we learn its secrets in advance."

Sunny smiled.

"Exactly! Oh, right. Speaking of preparations…"

While everyone was looking at him with confusion… well, except Cassie, of course… he took the rucksack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground. Then, he opened it, revealing the soft shine of numerous soul shards.

"Welcome to Sunny's Brilliant Emporium! This here is around fifty soul shards, each of them of the Awakened rank. Since we will be venturing into the Labyrinth, I've decided to give you guys an opportunity to empower yourself a bit before facing the terrible dangers of that ghastly place. Of course, I'll give you a family discount…"

He had emptied his treasure chest before leaving the hidden chamber. Currently, all of his remaining shards were inside the rucksack.

Of course, he hadn't done so out of the kindness of his heart.

Sunny never had any money and so, understandably, didn't know a lot about how to handle it. But one thing he did know was that rich folk never allowed their riches to sit idly. Even money had to work to create more money once it fell into the hands of the wealthy.

In the language of rich people, this was called an investment.

By investing his shards into the cohort, Sunny was increasing his own chances of making it back alive. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't imagine a worthier cause.

Plus, he wasn't going to just give the shards away for free.

"The rules of the emporium are rather simple. You give me Memories, I give you shards. I don't care about how powerful or useful the Memories are. In fact, the worse, the better! Any useless junk you have gathering dust in your Soul Sea will do. If you don't have any — no problem. You can just promise to give me a Memory in the future, once you receive one in the Labyrinth."

He smiled at the members of Neph's cohort.

"Not bad, right? No need to thank me, really…"

Kai stared at the shards, then raised his eyes and looked at Sunny:

"Sunny… buddy… please forgive my bluntness, but why do you need all these Memories?"

What a good question. Sunny grinned.

"Uh, you see… how should I put this? Let's just say that there's a beauty I know who just can't get enough of them. If you know what I mean..."

Saying that, he winked at the pretty archer. With a strange expression, Kai turned away and shook his head.

However, after this performance, no one else asked any questions.

In the end, Sunny was able to exchange his shards for six Memories. Nephis distributed the shards between the six members of the cohort, with each of them getting ten.

This was a boon equal to slaying ten awakened beasts. After absorbing the shards, all five of them were going to receive a significant boost to their power.

As far as deadly expeditions went, this was the best start possible.

Without wasting any time, Wren, Neph, Cassie, Effie, Kai and Caster absorbed the soul essence from the shards.

While they were busy doing that, Sunny silently dove into the Soul Sea and fed the Memories he had received to the Stone Saint.

[Your Darkness spread deeper.]

[Your Darkness spread deeper.]

[Your Darkness spread deeper.]

[Your Darkness spread deeper.]

...

Wren heard the melodious sound of the Spell for a while, sighing he checked his runes.

Name: Wren.

True Name: Heir of Abyss.

Rank: Dreamer.

Void Heart: Dormant.

Void Fragments: [505/1000].

'Once again, the fragments are too less to give a proper boost in power to me. I guess the stronger I become the slower will be the rate I gain Void Fragments. I guess I have to hunt fallen or higher class Nightmare creatures now.'

Of course, Wren had an abnormal level of power. To level this, his growth rate was slowed down in proportion to his current strength. The stronger he is, the lesser amount of essence he will get. 

***

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

[...Stone Saint has grown stronger.]

Satisfied, he summoned the runes and glanced at them.

Shadow: Stone Saint.

Shadow Fragments: [27/200].

Then, he looked at his own.

Name: Sunless.

True Name: Lost from Light.

Rank: Dreamer.

Shadow Core: Dormant.

Shadow Fragments: [318/1000].

…Not bad.

Looking south, he smiled darkly and wondered…

How much would these numbers increase by the time he returned to the Dark City? It had to be by a lot.

When everyone was done absorbing their shards and getting accustomed to the changes caused by the sudden influx of soul essence, the cohort was ready to move out.

The seven of them headed south, cautiously traversing the cursed city.

Nephis was walking in the front of the party, her stark black and white plate armor contrasted sharply against the grey stones of the ancient ruins. Beside her was Wren, wearing an armor made up of black garments and soft soled leather boots, covering his whole body was a rugged cloak with purple lines.

A step behind her and to the right was Caster, clad in a polished scale mail that glistened in the morning light like the skin of a silver dragon. To her left was tall and powerful Effie, clad in the archaic bronze armor with a white chiton beneath.

A few steps away, wearing his elegant lamellar armor made out of burnished brown leather, walked Kai. On his back, there was a quiver full of heavy arrows. Cassie was walking beside him, her light tunic and bright cloak just the same as before. However, now there was a sheath with a graceful rapier attached to her belt.

At the very back, with an unhappy expression on his face, was a pale young man with messy black hair and a ragged light armor made out of dark-grey fabric and black, lusterless leather. He was periodically lowering his gaze and grimacing, as though unaccustomed to being in the sun.

Of course, it was Sunny.

Their journey to the edges of the Forgotten Shore had begun. 

***

Sunny glanced at Nephis, Cassie suddenly turned her head in his direction.

Sunny frowned.

"What is it?"

'She has been ignoring me this whole time, but now she wants to talk? Huh.'

The blind girl hesitated for a moment, and then quietly said:

"...Something is following us."

Wren who was walking in front with Nephis, mentally sighed.

'So I was right.'

Harus, the grim reaper of Gunlaug had started to follow the cohort, for the sole reason to kill them.

'Well, Gunlaug might loose his best weapon today. Oh maybe not, I can't fight after all.'

He glanced at the cohort.

'Guess we have to run then.'