Shadow Slave: The Blessing of Fate

"Is it true that your father died in a Death Zone?"

Nephis froze as she heard the words coming out of Sunny's mouth. She could not help but stare at the pale young man. Why did he have to ask that question… How much does he actually know? There must be something to it if he was asking.

The girl did not answer yet, it seemed that she was too taken by the sudden question. Sunny decided to expand on it, hopefully making her feel calmer and more obligated to answer.

"From what I have heard, your father presumably died in a Death Zone, but I don't think that's that's the case. There are just too many inconsistencies around the whole timeline. Also, after the incident, it seems like Broken Sword's cohort members mysteriously disappeared out of the spotlight, and there seem to be different characters at play now. I've heard about the fact that certain Ascended can't enter their Third Nightmare even if they wanted it to. Tell me, why is that the case? Shouldn't that be their choice, or is someone not allowing them to? I don't buy the crap that they just can't find people to challenge it with one bit."

"So tell me, are there hidden characters at the top of the Awakened world?"

The Immortal Flame girl took a while to think through her answer and ultimately sighed and spoke with a flat tone.

"Those are two questions, but the answers are most likely not and yes."

"Now you tell me, Sunless, just how do you know about all of this? I don't believe that you just happened to learn about it while reading up on the subject. What's your game?" She put emphasis on the word "game," using the same expression as he did in his prior speech.

Sunny looked the tall girl straight in the eyes and said.

"I did read up on it; however, it's true that's not all. You could say that I had trusted sources in the past, but I don't anymore. I can't really talk about it in detail, I am sorry."

Nephis frowned upon hearing his answer. It did not make her feel much better or lessen her curiosity. Picking up on her face, Sunny continued.

"For your second question, I am not entirely sure what you mean by that, but I'll answer in my own way then. I don't ever intend to betray you or harm you, in fact, I'd be happy if you let me join you in achieving your goals. We might be different people with different backgrounds, but I think we might have some things in common. I can promise you that I won't lack power in the future. If I were to say it in one sentence, I want you to trust me Neph."

"You seem to have a very high opinion of me." She remarked with an expressionless face.

Sunny nodded and continued to speak.

"Indeed… I believe you are the future Neph, the future of this world that has gone astray. I can practically feel it just sitting next to you, my aspect sort of has to do something with light and shadows, and your presence just screams light. The kind of light that shines with hope and will bring peace at the end of the day. I can't really say why, but I think if it's you, then anything is possible. That's a good enough reason, right?"

"Besides, you are of the Immortal Flame, who wouldn't believe you're going to be great?" Sunny chuckled while a cheeky grin made its way up his face.

Nephis stared at him after hearing his answer and a… smile appeared on her face. She was truly happy at that moment. This man had believed in her earnestly and wished to stand by her side. He had wanted to help her achieve her goals…

Sunny cleared his throat and asked his next question.

"So, who are those people I mentioned? The hidden ones."

The tall girl looked at him, her smiling face turning into a blank one yet again. She sighed and began to reveal their existence to Sunny.

"They are indeed my father's past cohort members: Aster, Song, and Vale. That's what he called them, they were his best friends. I used to call them 'uncle' and 'aunt' respectively too. But when he died… They gave up on my clan. They didn't even bother helping me, his daughter." Her face turned melancholic and her words continued.

"And they are also the first three who conquered the Fourth Nightmare and reached the next step after transcendence."

Sunny nodded, his face unchanging. She could not tell if he knew already or was hiding his surprise. Nephis continued with her explanation.

"They are the only people in the world who reached the Supreme rank, becoming Sovereigns. I do not know much about them nor their powers, I still have intel I need to gather." She finished speaking and awaited his reply. Was it good enough for him?

"I see. I understand now, thank you for telling me." His smile turned gentle, the look in his eyes was compassionate.

"It's your turn." Sunny added.

She didn't have to think for long, as she already knew what her next question would be.

"What are your goals, Sunny?"

The words that left her mouth were predictable, Sunny already prepared his answer to that particular question ahead of time. A second or two after, he answered.

"To stay free forever. That's my goal, I don't ever want to be enslaved or used by anyone. If I choose to help someone, it will be because I want to do so. Because that's my will."

"And, of course, if we become partners in crime, then I suppose your goals will become my goals too." He added and chuckled afterwards.

Nephis looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He wasn't sure what was going on inside her head, but he let her think whatever she wanted to think. Instead, he asked his final question.

"Well then, Neph. What are your goals? I would say that I am dying to know, but I am not. I am curious about your answer though."

In return for her blank, boring expressions, Sunny gave her a huge, radiant smile. He proceeded to wait for the beautiful girl's last answer.

"I will destroy those three ghouls, I will destroy the Spell and then… I will destroy this world."

***

On the Forgotten Shore's sky, no moon and no stars shone, it was an entirely black sky devoid of any signs of light. The three Sleepers bundled close to each other in the darkness, they could not start a fire because that would bring certain doom. The dark seas all around them surged, ruthless waves were rising and falling, harrowing creatures hid deep below the cursed waters.

Sunny looked around himself, mainly aiming to see how the two girls, who were brought here along with him, were faring. Nephis was sitting next to the blind oracle, her posture was slightly hunched, her face expressionless and her right hand was resting on her wrist. She looked as if she was immersed deeply in her thoughts, Sunny assumed that the girl was still processing their earlier conversation.

He felt pleased with the result, he wanted to instill the idea that their goals overlap and that they share common enemies. He wished to stay by her side and was fairly certain that she would let him into her closed off world in the end after they finished their talk. Sunny was pretty confident, he knew Nephis and knew she longed for someone she could rely on to have her back.

On the coral mound, at which they were hiding, a pale young man suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, I know you guys aren't asleep yet. How about we talk for a bit?" Sunny waited for a reply from at least one of the girls.

"About what?" Cassie was the one who answered him, as expected.

Sunny turned to Nephis and saw she was now looking their way as well.

'I guess she's interested'

"Well, we should tell each other about our abilities. We might be stuck together for a while." He took the initiative and continued speaking, introducing his abilities first.

"My powers revolve around shadows, I can use them to augment myself and create a small area around myself where I can see everything that's going, and visibility and sensory ability are reduced slightly. I can also detach my own shadow and send it out as a scout."

"My attributes give me a slight affinity to divinity and shadows, one of them also makes it so that unlikely events happen around me, both good and bad."

Both of the girls looked at him with puzzled looks after the last part. But Sunny did not expand on the topic and let them introduce their powers. Cassie went first.

"I can see people's attributes and also have prophetic visions of either the past or the future. They can be symbolic or direct, it depends. I don't have any combat ability and both of you know about my Flaw already…" Her words trailed off and a touch of gloom appeared on her face.

"Hey, hey, I already told you that your abilities are plenty useful. Don't look down on yourself Cass." Sunny attempted to cheer her up.

Following those words, Cassie's face perked up a tiny bit and it was Nephis' turn to speak. Both of them looked at the slender, under-dressed girl and waited until she began talking. After a brief pause, she finally spoke.

"My attributes give me an affinity to fire and light. I also have a strong affiliation to divinity. And… and my ability can be used to heal, to attack and to augment... I have two Memories at the moment: the golden rope and a sword." She paused for a moment and continued.

"The rope can change its length and is very sturdy. The sword has a slight protection against soul attacks and is very sharp." Nephis finished talking.

Sunny was quite surprised, she shared practically everything this time around. It seems like she trusts them quite a bit.

In the past, Cassie met Nephis in the Labyrinth for the first time, but this time they introduced themselves much earlier. After all, Nephis was the one who approached them in the cafeteria. Albeit, it was because of her curiosity towards a certain lightless shadow…

And there was no need to think about his and hers relationship. It was completely different at this point. Sunny was ecstatic after realizing just how much she trusts them this time. It was a good step towards developing her personality, which was quite underdeveloped at that moment.

***

Their introductions had already ended. As Sunny was about to go hit the sack, out of nowhere, Nephis approached him.

"What's up?" He asked simply.

"I wanted to ask you something." The girl said simply, she had a slightly curious expression on her face. Just what could she be curious about?

"Sure, go ahead and ask."

After a few moments, her question had landed.

"Do you know the legend of Odysseus?"