Shadow Slave: The Blessing of Fate

The Sleeper part of the compound was relatively small and situated in the southern part of the Academy, surrounded on all sides by training fields and parks.

It was a low, modern building constructed with reinforced materials. Like the majority of buildings in the Academy, most of it was hidden below the ground, leaving only a couple of floors above it. With its white, pristine alloy walls and wide windows, from what Sunny remembered - it looked quite beautiful in the summer, contrasted against all the greenery around.

Inside, the building was spacious and well-lit. Sunny and Nephis were taken to a large hall where a hundred or so Sleepers were already waiting for the beginning of the induction ceremony. Most of them were nervous, tense and excited.

'Naive fools...'

It was a very hectic time around the winter solstice, Sleepers were about to drift off into the Dream Realm, like a bunch of children finally leaving their cribs, all excited to learn more, play around - it was anything, but a time to play around though.

Sunny and Nephis looked out of place, not only were they both wearing a simple police-issued tracksuit, but they didn't even bother to bring any belongings along - not like they had any to bring after all. They stood out like a pair of sore thumbs. Except for some of the Legacies standing around, most people weren't aware who Nephis was. But they would soon find out.

They didn't yet know, that she would go on to become the talk of the two realms and become a savior to them, one that's looked up to by all.

Sunny wasn't intimidated by the atmosphere in the room at all. It was a bunch of mostly inexperienced teenagers, for crying out loud. It was like chatting with a bunch of Rain's classmates to him. The students were looking to share their experiences, find new friends and potential allies to travel the Dream Realm with. The last time he went through this, everyone hated him. They considered him completely insane. But there's no reason to make himself into a fool this time around.

***

The conversations Sunny went through were... normal. It wasn't anything exciting. They mostly consisted of rich brats flaunting their all-powerful Aspects and their extravagant Memories, that they had either actually obtained themselves - which wasn't the case most of the time, or were given to them by their families and clans. Some of them were ridiculously pompous and perhaps too excited to slay monsters, like the characters in webtoons and novels. And some seemed to be completely depressed.

It was a sad sight, watching the students that would rather not go through this whole ordeal, being forced to fight in this forsaken world. They were just children...

'Poor kids... Just like you, I would like nothing more than to just go and live a peaceful life, but I don't have that choice. Not yet at least...'

He also saw Caster and the group of Sleepers hanging around the guy, of course, they were all astonished by his incredible Ascended rank Aspect and things he went through to get here, further increasing the fame and glory of the Han-Li clan.

'Stupid rich bastard, showing off for your amazing clan, acting like you're a saint and so full of honor... yet you're an assassin who wishes to kill a teenage girl. What a combo...'

He didn't talk to them this time, there wasn't a reason to make a fool of himself in front of them. If they're not going to approach him themselves, he isn't going to bother with them. And Sunny wasn't completely sure of how he would act during a conversation between him and Caster.

Losing interest in Caster, Sunny walked back, looking to find a certain quiet blind girl sitting on a bench in a secluded corner.

She was sitting there just like last time. Her features were delicate, she was very pretty, one could say that she was breathtaking even. Her clothes tidy and neat, tasteful, yet not overly expensive. With her pale blond hair, big blue eyes and exquisite face, she looked like a beautiful doll.

Sunny knew, this doll would one day turn into a very crafty, cunning habitual liar. Her role as a witness to Fate, singing praises to those who have fallen, to be the one to carry their memory. He didn't envy her, no one deserved such a fate. Even though she never apologized to him. After the events of their Second Nightmare and Antarctica, he wasn't really mad at her anymore. In fact, he was happy to see her right now. Thanks to her ingenious plan to break Fate, to give Sunny a chance at freedom. He was now finally free.

He sat down next to her on the bench and spoke out to her with a cheerful tone to his voice.

"Hey there. Looking a bit lonely. Are you doing alright?"

Cassie turned her head his way, she was still blind, so she couldn't see actually him. Her gaze seemed sort of empty, her big blue eyes were looking his way, yet he felt as if they were actually looking through him, as though he was invisible. She spoke to him with a weak, melancholic voice.

"Oh, hello. I am fine, thanks for asking."

She was still looking at him, with a weak smile now creeping up its way onto her face, they kept talking and Sunny was doing his best to cheer her up, trying to make her laugh at some of his ridiculous experiences, of course he couldn't tell her that he actually knew her and she had a lot of to do with him experiencing some of those things too, but he was great at maneuvering around his Flaw.

***

"Hehehe, did that really happen to you?" Cassie giggled, she now had a wide smile on her face, it seems that Sunny was successful with his attempt to cheer her up.

"Of course it did! I never lie! I am the most honest person in the world, two worlds even!"

Sunny's wide grin transformed into a gentle smile and he continued talking.

"Hey Cassie, I know you have an awful Flaw. I really wouldn't wish it upon anyone. But hey! If you were given such a Flaw, your powers must actually be really powerful! I bet you will become an awesome, very powerful person in the future. No, actually I am sure of it!"

Cassie's expression froze at his words, a small tear streaked down her cheek and with a raspy voice she reacted to his words.

"T-Thank you... E-everyone, e-except my family, gave up on me, not even bothering to talk to me, but... you came and cheered me up. T-thank you so much, Sunny. It means the world to me." Cassie was stuttering and sobbing between her words, but she managed to say them out loud nonetheless.

Sunny pulled her into a gentle hug, making sure to not startle her much, he patted her shoulder first and only then, did he start to envelop his arms around her. She didn't resist him.

"I believe everything is gonna be alright. I believe in you, Cassie."

He patted her back and they stayed in their hug for a bit longer, before being disturbed by the beginning of the induction ceremony, starring Awakened Rock.

His speech didn't change since the last time Sunny heard it. It was the same every year, most likely. He didn't bother listening to it and just waited until the ceremony concluded.

***

After leaving Cassie, Sunny went to check out his new room in the dormitories provided by the Academy. It was just like he remembered. A bed with a soft mattress, a basic table and dresser, and a separate bathroom as well. It wasn't much, compared to the house he owned before, but it served its purpose well. And having a separate bathroom was pretty neat, he wasn't at all interested in sharing one with a bunch of teenage boys.

Sunny laid down on the soft bed and started processing his thoughts. He had to make some plans beforehand, he doesn't intend to go into things blind. He already managed to befriend Cassie, which was a good first step. And he seemed to have made a... neutral impression on Nephis? It didn't seem like she was suspicious of him, which was great. But during these four weeks, he should try and make her have a positive impression of him at the least. He wasn't trying to get that close to her yet. If he followed her around like a puppy, just like Caster did in the Forgotten Shore, she would definitely get more and more guarded around him. He was going to take things slow. There wasn't a reason to rush becoming trusted allies and friends, since they were going to be stuck with each other in the Labyrinth for a while either way.

After thinking things through, Sunny changed into fresh, new clothes and headed towards the cafeteria. He made sure to bless himself with a lavish feast and went to look for Cassie's table, knowing she would be sitting alone again. After he found her, he sat down and put down the tray with the mountain of food. Before digging in, he spoke out to Cassie.

"Hi Cassie, are you enjoying your meal?"

Cassie changed from an emotionless expression on her beautiful face to a wide smile once she recognized the owner of the voice that had sat down at the same table as her.

"It's really tasty, but it's nothing compared to my mom's cooking."

"Haha, sure." Sunny chuckled.

"What about you? Can this compare to your family's cooking?"

Sunny's expression turned grim after hearing what she had said.

"I don't... have a family, I lived in the outskirts before, barely scraping by."

Cassie's expression froze, realizing that she had said something wrong she spoke out to Sunny.

"I-I am so sorry! I-I didn't.. realize." Cassie's voice was very quiet, it was more akin to a whisper.

"It's fine, really. I.. I did say that I don't have a family, but I wasn't completely honest... I have a younger sister. She was adopted by a rich family when she was really young. She was pretty cute and intelligent as a kid, so it wasn't a surprise. Rain has a comfortable and happy life now. I am truly happy for her." Sunny responded to her apology.

"Rain? Is that her name?" Cassie asked.

"Oh yes, she was born during a storm, so our mother named her Rain. Actually, I was born during a solar eclipse, that's where the name Sunless comes from."

"Our mom had a very poetic soul, you see?" Sunny grinned, his tone turning warm and light.

Cassie had a smile on her face yet again, it suited her much more than a sad look, or a cold one.

"I am sure she was wonderful. I am sorry for your loss."

"I sure think she was. To me... she was like a ray of sunshine. As a kid, she was my entire world. I thought she was omniscient and omnipotent at some point. But I realized, that she was actually just a very young woman, doing her best in harsh conditions, doing her best to make sure we survive. She was barely older than we are right now." Sunny said while a warm smile made its way up onto his pale face.

He was happy that someone could share the memory of his family, other than Nephis. Although, Nephis didn't know about it anymore.

What a predicament...

Sunny continued sharing a bit about his past outskirts life, Cassie listened to him intently, most of the time just nodding at his words, rarely adding anything to what he was saying. They finished their meals. After saying their goodbyes, they split up again.

***

Soon, Sunny found himself in a small office, sitting across from an administrative worker. The worker acted friendly towards him. Sunny's interview started.

"Would you mind telling me about the type of Aspect Ability you received, as in combat, sorcery, utility?"

He wasn't completely okay with people asking about his powers, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"It's alright, I guess. I'd say it's more utility-oriented than anything."

"I see. Are you able to directly deal damage with your Ability?"

"I guess not? I wouldn't be able to harm even a towel using it, I think at least..."

Sunny was playing around with his answers a bit, in the second question - the interviewer didn't specify if he meant his Innate Ability or Aspect Ability, so he was able to play it off as if he was clueless about his powers. It would be a quite troublesome, if he was being asked only about the nature of the powers that remained unchanged after coming back through time.

Imprinting the idea, that he still wasn't familiar with his Aspect, Sunny managed to talk his way through the interview. He was able to get a good enough result and the interview ended soon after.

He returned to his room, washed up in the private bathroom, that his room had. He changed into proper sleepwear and sank into the soft mattress. With a fluffy pillow under his head, he drifted into sleep soon enough, sleeping like a baby.

***

Early in the morning, Sunny took care of his appearance a tiny bit, washed up and went to the cafeteria, excited for the Sleeper's faces that the commotion, that was about to start, would cause. With the release of the official rankings, it'll be a loud morning.

Seemingly undisturbed about the crowd of people surrounding the cafeteria, he pushed through it and went to grab his breakfast. Sitting at Cassie's table, he said hello to Cassie and the social worker, that was aiding the blind girl, and dug into the meal in front of him, savoring not only the delicious food, but also the reactions of the people all around him.

"How... how can this be?!"

"I'm not seeing things, right?"

"What kind of a monster is she?!"

Nephis placed first, of course, but that wasn't the reason for their astonishment. It was the fact that she had a True Name. Sunny wasn't surprised by the fact, but he was amused by all the crazy looks the young students had on their faces.

This time around, Sunny placed a bit higher in the rankings, still below average though. He didn't need a high rank to prove that he has at least some skill, so he didn't mind not being placed higher than that. Cassie was still last, as expected.

Sunny looked towards Nephis, who was sitting quietly in a corner with a cup of coffee in her hands. She wasn't paying a lot of attention to the commotion, immersed in her thoughts. Her grey eyes were serious and distant.

"A Sleeper with a True Name? That's impossible!"

Well it wasn't. Nephis and Sunny were the proof of that after all. The commotion slowly died down, after Caster stood up and had a short conversation with Nephis. People were still shocked, but they were slowly getting back to minding their own business. But the whispers throughout the cafeteria didn't die out even after Sunny had finally finished his meal and left.