Shadow Slave: Foreign shadow

​’I intend to leave Nephis at the Forgotten Shore to rot,’ Sunny declared flatly. His onyx eyes showed no mercy, the abyss within his irises seeming to deepen into a darker hue. His hands were clasped before him, elbows resting on his thighs. A casual, everyday smile played on his lips.

​> the Jiminy Cricket stammered, its jaw dropping. It was so shocked by his declaration that it nearly jumped. For a moment, its usual scholarly and wise persona crumbled entirely.

​’You heard me!’ Sunny sighed, the shadows in the room shifting as if to acknowledge his resolve.

’Listen...’ he explained. ’I’ll try to find a way to warn the others about the portal’s problem. I’ll secure a pawn to sacrifice and push Nephis through that gateway myself—kicking her ass if I have to. If Caster is no longer avaiable, I’ll grab the first unlucky bastard I find, break his legs, and left him there. However...’

​He paused. In the silence, doubt and fear seemed to wage a silent war for dominance within his soul.

​

’If none of that works... if all my plans and preparations go up in smoke... if I truly find myself out of options...

​Then, and only then... I will choose to be selfish.

I will take that step forward and enter the portal, leaving Nephis behind to whatever fate awaits her on the Forgotten Shore.’

​A weight that had been pressing on his shoulders and heart suddenly seemed to settle. And Sunny felt... relieved.

​

’As for the rest, I don’t care.’

​The Jiminy Cricket, still standing on the desk and having recovered from the initial shock, let out a long sigh. His tone sat somewhere between a reprimand and weary acceptance.

>

​

’So?’ Sunny cut him off, his voice laced with acid. ’I miss the part where that’s my problem.’

Then he added: ’I’ll do my best to avoid such an outcome. But if I’m forced to choose between Nephis and me, I’m choosing myself.

And let’s be honest: considering how she treated me at the gates, I highly doubt she’d choose to be altruistic either, and you can bet that when the time comes, she will surely pay me back in the exact same coin.

​I’m not a hero, and I have no intention of sacrificing myself. Besides...’

A short, manic laugh escaped him.

’Unlike Sunless and Cassia, who always had to suffer because of Fate, Changing Star has only ever benefited from it. The more I think about it, the more certain I am... If Sunless had made this decision back then, Nephis would have dealt with Caster and returned to Earth immediately, without wandering for years to find her way back and avoiding the fated outcome.

​At the end, selfishness is the only right path.’

​Silence crashed into the room like an avalanche. The only sound was the faint, rhythmic snoring of Thene behind him. Having grown tired of playing with her shadow-blocks, she had curled up on the floor to nap. Her chest rose and fell in time with her breath—a rather unusual sight, considering shadows had no biological need to breathe.

​Sunny pulled his chair back toward the desk, tucking his feet underneath. ’Moving on,’ he said, shifting his focus to the list on the right.

Sunny picked up the pen and hovered over the first entry of the second list—those three cryptic question marks. He could have called it many things: that mysterious presence that had intervened during his First Nightmare when he was paralyzed by fear, a silent force that pushed him forward when he couldn’t take another step. Lacking any real clue as to its identity, he left it as it was.

​Sunny placed his left hand on his right shoulder, recalling the sensation—the weight of a fatherly hand steadying him in his moment of need, like a warm light igniting within his soul to guide him back from the brink.

​>

​Dropping his hand, Sunny gave a slight shake of his head. ’I don’t know. It’s not clear. I only know it manifested during my First Nightmare and vanished immediately after. And then you, my Flaw, tell me there’s a mist—a mist I can neither see nor perceive—within my Soul Sea? It makes no sense. It’s as if there’s a ghost inside me playing tricks.’

​He had initially toyed with several theories, suspecting perhaps [Shadow Weave] as the real culprit, but they had all proven fallacious or incomplete. Even the Spell remained silent on the matter. Since the presence hadn’t proven harmful—quite the opposite—Sunny decided to set it aside for now.

​It was time to discuss [the Heart].

​’After receiving the Heart God’s blessing, the attribute description changed from ”received” to ”inherited.” If that’s the case, from what I know, there is only one person currently in possession of the Heart Lineage. But why would he give it to me? And for what purpose?’

​At the end of the second point, Sunny drew an arrow pointing right and scrawled a single name: Dreamspawn.

A question mark beside it occupied nearly a third of the page. He wasn’t sure if writing the name would have the same consequences as speaking it, so he stuck to the title.

​> the Jiminy Cricket asked, its curiosity piqued.

​Sunny looked up. ’Mmh... maybe. I’ve considered it. The problem is, I don’t exactly know how. The Spell gives no instructions, and in the original story, it was never explained how the Dreamspawn did it. Do I have to drink a drop of blood from the other lineage holders? Or... I don’t know, reach inside them and grab something?’ He gestured with his left hand to explain.

​Tapping the pen under the second point, he finally wrote: To be seen.

​

’In the meantime, I’ll focus on reclaiming the two lineages that are mine by right: Weaver and Shadow. Then, we’ll see.’

​Third point: Shadows and Memories.

​

’The Spell seems unaware of the changes in the tapestry of Fate, yet it grants me his same Memories. Honestly, I wish I had the same shadows too—call me sentimental, but I’d rather have the same ones. Unfortunately, I can only have seven shadows at a time.’

​>

Without moving his gaze, ​Sunny raised a finger, pointing to a shimmering golden runic window suspended in mid-air.

---

​Shadow: [Myriad Shade].

Attribute: [Shadow Slave].

”Myriad Shade is not bound to one of your Shadow Cores; your true soul casts her very existence.”

---

​’I’m not sure if this is the same as the original Sunless, but the runes are clear. Every Shadow is directly linked to one of my Shadow Cores and is cast by it. Therefore, I can only have seven... plus her.’

​Moving to the fourth point, Sunny recalled his knowledge of the Nightmare Spell, the Gods, and the Daemons. He tapped the pen in reflection for a few seconds, then crossed the point out entirely, writing [REDACTED] next to it.

​

’You know what? I’m going to keep my mouth shut.’

​> the Cricket asked, tilting its head.

​Sunny smirked. ’Because I know things I shouldn’t know at this stage of the story. Knowledge is power, and what I know is far too big for me right now.

It’s inevitable that I’ll end up helping Nephis if I want to leave the Forgotten Shore.

But... if the others did all the work while I sat back and relaxed, I’d be more than happy. But who am I kidding?’

​He paused, his expression hardening.

​

’It’s one thing a guy who wants to help her in exchange for salvation; it’s another thing entirely to be a stranger who reveals to her the secrets of the goddamn world.’

​He then considered another possibility. ’I also thought about using my knowledge to awaken without the Spell, but without unlocking the first step of my Aspect Legacy, that’s out of the question, at the moment.’

​Fifth point: Practicing the Shadow Dance.

​> the Cricket asked looking at the paper.

​’Currently, I have enough confidence to reach the first step in a week or two, at most I could get to the second, but it will take much longer. Trust me... it’s already a miracle I unlocked my Aspect Legacy this early.

Gaston was right: Shadow Dance is an art built step by step. Haste only slows down the learning process. It’s not just the mind; my body has to keep pace with this formless, insidious battle art.’

​Sunny made several notes on how to practice his battle art at the Academy, as well as devising ways to do so without being noticed.

​Meanwhile, in the background, Thene had risen from the ground. Waking up from her nap, she had shaped a ball and a hoop out of shadows and was currently dribbling across the room. Her long black skirt fluttered as she leaped for a slam dunk in mid air.

​Sixth point: Becoming Stronger.

Sunny drew two arrows branching out from the point.

​

’There are only two ways for me to gain more power right now. The first is through my Aspect Legacy; the second is through Memories.’ Sunny scratched his chin. ’I’ll have to train for the first. For the second... I’ll need to ask my zombie waifu, Master Jet, for a hand.’

​He marked everything down. Finally, he reached the last point—the most crucial one of all.

Point seven. This was less a topic for debate and more a question directed inward: Which mask do I want to wear?

​It was no accident that he had saved it for last.

Sunny possessed far more freedom, power, and experience than his original self at this stage of the story.

And caught between a pyromaniac madwoman hell-bent on destroying a higher entity, a world inching closer to its demise every day, and a forgotten God threatening to wake and corrupt all that remained...

​Sunny didn’t need to ask himself who he wanted to become. He already knew. He had long since made peace with his demons.

​Instead, he had to ask: What is my role in all of this?

​Sunny let out a long, heavy sigh.

Setting aside the pen and paper, he stared at the floor to his left, rubbing his temples with one hand while his right elbow remained anchored to the desk. ’This isn’t easy. Just by how I acted with Cassie earlier, I’ve flipped the dynamics of the original trio by a hundred and eighty degrees. And they’ll surely keep shifting from here on out,’ he mused.

​’I don’t intend to retrace my steps, nor do I regret my choices. It’s just...’ Sunny let his hand slide down his face, dragging along the mental block that the final point had generated.

​

’Let’s just say I need to think about it. I’ll use this month to figure out exactly what role I want to play, in accordance with my own desires.’

​> the Jiminy Cricket interjected, pulling him back from the whirlpool of his thoughts.

​’What question?’ Sunny looked up at him.

​> the cricket replied with a smirk laced with a hint of mockery. >