Shadow Slave

Rain looked at him with a serious expression, thinking.

Inwardly, Sunny sighed.

He still didn’t know how to change her mentality and make her vicious enough to survive the Dream Realm. He didn’t even know if he wanted to, and if that was the right thing to do.

At least she seemed to understand a little bit more about the truth of the world after surviving the Gate opening. For now, that was going to have to be enough.

And this conversation was his attempt to make the lesson stick.

After a while, Rain said with uncertainty:

“Survival?”

Sunny raised an eyebrow, looking at her with surprise.

What were the chances that, despite their different life experiences, his sister would answer the question the same way he had, all that time ago, in the desolate hell of the Forgotten Shore?

He remained silent for a while, remembering those terrible, wonderful days. Then, he shook his head.

“No. The essence of combat is murder.”

Rain shivered slightly.

“M—murder?”

Sunny nodded.

“Of course. What else would it be? You have to kill your enemy, or die. Either way, someone ends up murdered, and someone ends up as the murderer. So, the purpose of combat training is to make sure that you’re the murderer. It is really that simple.”

He paused, and then added:

“Survival is important, of course… but that can’t be your primary goal. Such a goal is a terrible one to have. Even in life, it is not enough. You have to survive to continue living, but if you only live to survive, then what is even the point? More than that, if you don’t strive for something bigger, something better, then you will only ever do what is required and nothing else. Which will make you weaker than those who want and dare to do more, and that weakness will cost you your life…”

His voice trailed off, and Sunny suddenly fell silent. Rain looked at him in confusion.

“Uh… Sunny?”

He blinked a couple of times.

“Yeah. Sorry. So…”

‘Well, what do you know? I guess it’s true what they say, the best way to learn is to teach…’

While trying to impart some wisdom, little as he had, on his attentive student, Sunny had accidentally stumbled on a truth about his own desperate desire to grow stronger. Everything Sunny had told Rain could be applied to himself. He had long ago abandoned his singular desire to survive at all cost, and now wanted much more.

But was his desire to live free and with dignity really comparable to Neph’s passionate, immolating obsession? Would he really be able to surpass her while being driven by such a mundane goal?

That… gave Sunny a lot to think about.

He glanced at Rain, and then continued:

“…Mastery of combat can be divided into two aspects. Mastery of the body, and mastery of the mind. Your body can be trained through exercise, but your mind… is much more tricky. If you can understand the true essence of combat, however — truly grasp it with your very core — then you will have enough clarity to master the mind…”

***

Sunny spent some time explaining the fundamental laws of combat — at least to the extent that he himself understood them — to Rain. In the end, he wasn’t sure that she really grasped the knowledge he wanted to share with her, but it was at least a start.

Thinking back to his own tumultuous education, Sunny couldn’t really blame her. It was hard, or maybe even impossible, to really understand battle without experiencing it. He had met Nephis after surviving the First Nightmare and several days of fighting for his life on the Forgotten Shore. Even then, it had taken being nearly killed by a carapace centurion for him to reach the state of clarity.

There were no carapace centurions around, and Sunny certainly wasn’t going to run her through with a sword.

So, for now, this was going to have to do.

After the verbal lesson, Sunny showed Rain a few basic stances and katas of Saint’s style, and watch her struggle to replicate them. The progress was slow, but she was really a talented kid. For now, what held her back the most was her weak body.

But that was okay. One couldn’t expect a teenage girl to be as strong as an Awakened. Her body could be trained… of course, Rain was never going to be as strong and resilient as a burly, able-bodied man.

But then, neither was Sunny. Due to his low stature and lean build, he couldn’t compete with people like Caster or Master Roan in terms of physical might. However, this could be mitigated by Aspect Abilities, absorbing fragments, and mastering precise essence control.

What’s more, sharp weapons were the great equalizer. The purpose of a weapon was to reduce the amount of force one needed to apply to deliver a lethal blow. Unless one planned to beat their enemy to death with their fists, technique and skill were much more important than pure strength.

And Saint’s battle style could make that inherent disadvantage even slimmer.

…After a while, Sunny judged that Rain had enough. The girl seemed to be sufficiently exhausted, and pushing further would not do her any good. He gestured for her to stop and placed the practice weapons back on the stand, then summoned the Endless Spring and offered it to the tired girl.

Rain was breathing heavily, her pale face glistening with sweat. Noticing the beautiful glass bottle, she smiled with excitement.

“Wow! Is that a Memory?”

Sunny tilted his head a little.

“Sure… why are you asking?”

The girl grabbed the Endless Spring and studied it from all sides, then cautiously took a few sips.

“You don’t get it! I’ve never seen a real Memory up close before. It… it feels so real!”

He stared at her in bewilderment.

“It is real. What are you talking about?”

Rain glanced at him with scorn, drank the water greedily, and then handed the Endless Spring back with a bit of reluctance.

“Did you get it after defeating some terrible monster? Or bought it?”

Sunny frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said darkly:

“…It was a gift, actually.”

She blinked a couple of times.

“Oh. From… from that friend of yours?”

He grimaced.

“No. Not from a friend.”

Then, Sunny dismissed the Endless Spring and headed toward the elevator.

“Anyway, it’s time for you to go. Otherwise, your parents might think that I have kidnapped you. Oh…”

He thought for a bit before saying:

“I, uh… I have some ice cream in the fridge. We can eat it before you go. If you want. Unless Effie had already devoured everything, of course.”

Rain giggled, then followed him with a very pleased expression.

Before entering the elevator, she threw one last glance at the Dreamscape pod, and then suddenly asked:

“By the way, the Dream Tournament is in a few days. Are you participating?”

Sunny scoffed and pressed the button, sending the elevator up.

“Do I look like I have time to play with kids in a playground? I have real things to do, you know!”

Rain glanced at him, and sighed.

“Yeah, I get it. What a pity, though. I hear that the main prize this year are especially amazing. You wouldn’t be able to win it, of course, but there are many smaller rewards.”

Sunny’s expression subtly changed.

As the doors opened, he looked at Rain, remained silent for a moment, and then asked in a very, very disinterested voice:

“Oh, really? There are prizes? Huh, how curious. What, uh… what kind of prizes are we talking about, exactly?”

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