Shadow Slave

The small dinner was very enjoyable for Sunny. In fact, after being under crushing pressure for pretty much the entire past four months, this sudden moment of levity made him feel like he was on the verge of melting into a puddle of jelly.

It was as though the outer edges of his being had been turned into a harsh, rigid shell by the immense strain of the disastrous war, and now that the shell suddenly disappeared. he could not quite remember how to keep himself together without it.

Still, he managed.

The five of them ate and chatted relaxedly, sharing small details about their lives in recent months. Sunny especially had a lot to say.

All of them were experienced combatants, but he now possessed precious knowledge of the intricacies of the type of war Effie and Kai would soon be exposed to.

The Southern Campaign was different from the usual tribulations Awakened faced in the Dream Realm. The terrain was different, the climate was different... even the cycle of day and night was different. More importantly, the forces arranged against them were different, as were the forces on their side.

In Antarctica, Ascended and Awakened had the support of mundane soldiers and modern technology. Sunny had learned a tremendous amount of lessons about how to bring the two together - in no small part because he had commanded a mixed force of Awakened and mundanes in conditions so desperate that anything less than perfect cohesion would have meant certain death.

Unlike him, who had been a part of a small and exceedingly elite unit, both Kai and Effie were placed in command of large detachments consisting of rank-and-file soldiers. To them, this practical knowledge was more valuable than gold.

Small things like using fire resistance enchantments to increase the tactical flexibility of MWP flamethrowers, efficiently triaging mundane soldiers that had been infected by the Spell, managing the ammo consumption of the vehicle turrets in relation to the essence consumption of the Awakened - and a thousand more things like this could only be learned through experience... or being taught by someone with such experience.

Of course, his friends were bright people and immensely talented warriors. In time, they would have reached the same conclusions, but that time could very well cost many lives. That was why Sunny was in a hurry to share his hard-won expertise.

The only problem was that actually going over everything was bound to take way more time than they had... so, at some point, he simply used the [Blessing of Dusk] enchantment of the Graceless Dusk to establish a mental connection and share his insights in a more direct fashion.

Needless to say, his sudden ability to transmit thoughts telepathically startled his friends greatly.

Effie flinched, almost falling from her chair. and looked at him with wide eyes.

”Aaah! What the hell, Sunny?! You’re in my head!”

Sunny paused, suddenly realizing that he should have probably warned them before establishing the connection. He chuckled awkwardly.

”Oh... sorry, I should have explained first. One of the enchantments of my tunic... it’s a tunic, you troglodyte... allows me to establish a mental link with other living beings. ․. Don’t worry, though, I can’t read your thoughts - and in your case, Effie, I wouldn’t even want to! Gods, I shudder just imagining what is going on in that depraved head of yours. In any case, you have to willingly transmit a thought for me to receive it. Imagine it as thinking out loud.”

She hesitated for a few moments, then instantly sent over a mental image that made Sunny spit out his drink and glare at her with murder in his eyes.

Effie grinned, then waved a hand.

”Alright, alright. I get it. What a great enchantment!”

With the help of the [Blessing of Dusk], the conversation flowed much faster.

Eventually, though, both Kai and Effie had to leave. They had just arrived at their assigned siege capital, after all. so there was a lot for them to do. In fact, days like this, when all five could freely gather in the Dream Realm together, were bound to be rare until the Antarctica operation was over.

Cassie excused herself, too, returning to the root chamber of the tower to continue studying the runic circle.

Sunny and Nephis were left alone in the sunlit hall.

He hesitated.

Throughout the dinner, Sunny had avoided speaking about the matters that gnawed on him - the war between the great clans and their plans for Antarctica. In fact, he felt reluctant to start that conversation even now.

However, he had already learned the unpleasant lesson of what happened when he postponed important conversations until the last possible moment.

Sunny’s relaxed expression slowly changed to one of grim sharpness. Looking at Nephis, he leaned back a little and asked:

”You told me before that Valor and Song would most likely turn the Southern Quadrant into their private battlefield. How sure are you of it now, after four months?”

Neph lingered for a while, her beautiful grey eyes clear and calm. Then, she said: ”I am pretty sure. In fact. it has already been set in stone.”

Sunny let out a resentful sigh.

”Damn them!’

He gritted his teeth, staring into the distance with a harsh expression. Suddenly, the shadows in the corners of the hall seemed much darker.

”This is... insanity.”

Sunny shook his head, feeling a strong desire to break something.

”This is pure madness, Neph! I’ve been told that the great clans have long given up on the waking world. Standing aside and watching the lives of hundreds of millions of people be destroyed is already unforgivable. But coming to mess things up even further is just beyond all reason! I just... I just don’t understand.”

Changing Star looked at him evenly. Then, a strange, joyless smile slowly appeared on her face. ”I can help you with that.”

Sunny frowned.

”What exactly do you mean?”

Nephis sighed, then looked away.

”You’ve done a lot in the past four months, Sunny. Cassie and I might not have gone through as much as you have, but we haven’t been idle, either. We’ve managed to discover a few things... although not as many as I would have liked. After all, it has only been a few months. They don’t trust me much, yet.”

She paused for a moment.

”This war between Valor and Song has always seemed a little strange. And now, I think I know why. A lot of things still remain unclear, but we did solve the most important mystery.”

Changing Star looked at him and said:

”The true reason why the great clans are at war. Do you want me to tell you? That will certainly help you understand.”