Shadow Slave

Sadly, everything pleasant had to come to a finish.

After experiencing a joyful and thrilling morning out with Tamar and Telle, Rain said goodbye to them. Tamar was off duty today, so she went back to the house her family was renting in Bastion. Telle, meanwhile, had a meeting with the leader of a merchant group that wanted to start a trade caravan to the Chained Isles.

Rain herself switched out of her pretty dress into the Puppeteer’s Shroud. The dress, the fancy shoes, and the earrings went into the Bag of Withholding — a thermos full of hot coffee came out instead, and she let out a deep breath of contentment after taking a sip, her back resting against a wall in a hidden alley.

A few moments later, her brother emerged from the shadows and gave her a curious look.

Rain raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

He paused for a bit, then shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing. Just… good job!”

That only made her more puzzled.

“With what?”

He smiled.

“Slapping that fool, of course! Ah, you really made your big brother proud… I guess it’s true what they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…”

Rain blinked a couple of times. Did her brother know that strange guy, Tristan? Well, looking back, that was only to be expected. The circle of Legacies was quite small, after all, and the Aegis Rose clan was well-known. Telle seemed to be familiar with at least one of the two young Masters, too.

It was a bit worrying, though, to hear that she was starting to act like Sunny.

That would be a problem!

Only Sunny could succeed at being Sunny.

Clearing her throat, she offered him her hand and smiled.

“In any case, I am ready to go.”

He pulled her into the shadows, and a moment later, they were on the Ivory Island.

The emerald grass swayed gently in the warm wind, and the sun was shining on the sparkling surface of a small lake. The beautiful white pagoda stood up into the sky behind them, surrounded by the white bones of a dragon that wrapped around it. ṞἁΝ𝙤βÊŜ

No matter how many times Rain visited the peaceful island, she could not help but feel a sense of wonder. She could not help feeling out of place here, either, as if she was a human who had accidentally found her way into paradise.

Rain looked around carefully.

“We’re outside?”

Her activity on the Ivory Island was of a secretive kind. So, her brother would usually bring her directly into the tower in order to avoid watching eyes.

He nodded.

“We had guests earlier, but they have already left. So, you can relax.”

They walked toward the Tower of Hope at a relaxed pace. Before too long, Rain looked up and asked suddenly:

“By the way, I’ve always been curious… what is that dead dragon doing here?”

At first, she had simply thought that everything on the Ivory Island was mysterious and magical. But as she grew more familiar with the place, the sun-bleached bones of the great beast started to look unusual.

Her brother glanced at the ancient remains and smiled.

“Oh, him? His name was Sevras, the Ivory Lord. He was the ruler of a place called the Ivory City, a descendant of Sun God, and one of the seven immortal Saints who protected the Demon of Hope. Well, before he went insane and died.”

Rain looked at her brother in surprise.

“Really? Wait, how do you know all of this?”

He paused for a moment.

“Ah, well. Some people you know met him in their Second Nightmare. How do you think Nightingale got that fancy title of his, the Dragonslayer?”

Rain’s eyes widened a little.

“Saint Kai? He killed this giant dragon?”

Her brother laughed.

“Sure. Of course, he was not Saint Kai back then, merely Awakened Kai. That crazy fellow! He literally jumped into the dragon’s mouth to kill him. Nightingale… he might look like a softy, but let me tell you — that was not even the only dragon he has killed…”

He grew silent for a moment, then added in an amazed tone:

“Now that I think about it, despite all that, he doesn’t just look like a softy — he is a softy. A dragon-killing softy. What a contradiction.”

Rain giggled and looked at her brother sideways.

“Oh? Just out of curiosity, how many dragons did you kill?”

He frowned, stayed quiet for a while, and then admitted reluctantly:

“None. I did get into a brawl with a dragon once, though…”

She moaned.

‘Why did I even ask?’

Soon enough, they reached a large chamber on one of the upper floors of the Ivory Tower. Lady Nephis was waiting there, gazing out the window.

Hearing them enter, she turned around and smiled.

“Rain.”

Rain bowed politely, momentarily dazzled by her stunning beauty.

“Teacher.”

Lady Nephis sighed.

“I told you not to be so formal. Just call me big sister…”

Rain grew a little pale.

“I—I wouldn’t dare! How can I call you that, Teacher? You are a Sovereign!”

Her brother stared at her, mouth open.

“Hey, hey… wait a second. I am a Sovereign, too! How come you have no problem calling me Big Brother? As well as all kinds of other, far less nice things!”

Rain and Nephis both looked at him silently.

Right. Her brother was a Sovereign, too.

She wrinkled her face for a moment.

‘Well, it’s his own fault! Who told him to act so… unsovereignly?’

Lady Nephis, Sunny, and Rain… the connection between the three of them was a bit strange.

Rain knew that her brother and the beautiful goddess of humanity were together. To be honest, she was more than a little bit proud of him in that regard. Way to go, brother! Of all the amazing feats he had done, winning the beautiful Changing Star — quite literally the most exceptional woman in the world — was perhaps the most incredible.

At the same time, it also felt satisfyingly right. Who else was good enough for her brother, after all?

Nobody!

Meanwhile, Rain and Lady Nephis had shared a brief link in the past, as well. Lady Nephis even seemed to remember her… she also knew that Rain was her partner’s student.

However, Sunny was keeping the fact that Rain was his sister a secret, for some reason. At least that was how it appeared… sometimes, it felt like Lady Nephis was aware that they were family, but sometimes, it felt like she was not.

Rain had cautiously tried to mention it in the past, but without success.

In any case, she could not bring herself to act casually around her stunning sister-in-law.

“Shall we begin the lesson?”

Fortunately, Lady Nephis saved her from having to answer. Her brother sighed and left them, saying that he would come get Rain in a few hours.

The lesson started.

Lady Nephis looked at Rain calmly.

“Your channeling has become sufficiently stable now, Rain. You are advancing very fast… so, starting today, I will teach you Names that are far more dangerous than what we have learned so far. These Names can destroy a Shaper if the Shaper loses control of them, so you must never hesitate while invoking them…”

Rain listened, her eyes gleaming with eager interest.