Shadow Slave

The Black Knight remained motionless for several minutes, silently observing the corpses of his enemies. Drops of blood fell from the blade of his fearsome greatsword, gathering into a puddle beneath his feet. The thoughts of the cruel creature were a mystery. To be honest, Sunny wasn't even sure that this unstoppable mountain of murderous black steel was sentient.

In that regard, the monstrous inhabitants of the cursed city were a bit strange.

Usually, Nightmare Creatures of higher classes possessed a perverse form of intelligence, which was often comparable to that of humans, and sometimes even surpassed it. However, that rule did not apply to every monster in this eerie place.

From Sunny's observations, the dwellers of the ruined city could be roughly divided into two groups. The first group consisted of various creatures that came here from outside the wall, be it from the Labyrinth or from the depths of the dark sea. These abominable things more or less followed the unnatural laws of the Spell that every Awakened was familiar with.

The second group was different. These creatures, he suspected, were either created from the remains of the ancient residents of the city or, creepily, had actually been them once. The wraiths, as he called them, were much more unfathomable and dangerous. Their powers and behavior refused to abide by any sort of sense or logic.

The Black Knight was one of these sinister revenants. That's why Sunny had trouble predicting his actions.

Most of the time, the regal devil was content simply patrolling the grand hall of the ruined cathedral and killing anything that dared to come inside.

Just like he had killed those poor fools.

With a sigh, Sunny lay down on top of the support beam and, not paying any attention to the deadly height of his improvised resting spot, closed his eyes. He wanted to take a breath before continuing with his nightly errands.

Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps informed him that the bastard had resumed his neverending patrol.

'Good riddance.'

Despite the fact that nothing was disturbing his peace anymore, Sunny still felt strangely restless. His inner voice was in the mood to chat.

'Uh, Sunny. Aren't you forgetting something?'

He frowned. What was there to forget? He was just catching his breath before going out again. He also had to wait for the right moment to scavenge through the possessions of these dead hunters…

'You just killed six people. Don't you feel guilty?'

Sunny was a little startled by this question. Curious, he listened to his emotions and came to the conclusion that no, he did not feel guilty at all.

This was his third time killing a human being. Granted, the first time happened inside a Nightmare, where people were supposed to be simple illusions. However, Sunny wasn't sure that he believed in this theory. The old slaver's anguish had felt awfully real to be just a figment of his imagination.

The second time… well, he didn't want to think about that. That happened in the castle, anyway, and that part of his life was over.

The third time was the cleanest of them all. Those thugs were going to rob and kill him, anyway. Sunny had seen through their intentions long before pulling on the invisible string and sending their leader into the cold embrace of death.

He could have tried to run away, but… they were very rude. If the thugs had insulted just him, Sunny might have tried to end the confrontation without bloodshed. However, they insulted Nephis. Bastards deserved to die.

Despite the fact that his relationship with Changing Star had become strained, he still cared about her a great deal. Leaving the castle did not mean that he had forgotten their friendship. It's just that… there were more reasons to leave than to stay.

With a sigh, Sunny summoned the beautiful bottle made out of patterned blue glass. This was the farewell gift that Cassie had given him before their parting. He cherished this Memory very much.

Bringing the bottle to his lips, Sunny took several sips of cold, delicious water and opened his eyes.

He didn't want to rest anymore. Better to get moving…

***

Before venturing out again, Sunny returned to his room and walked over to a large iron chest that was standing in one of its corners. Exerting some strength, he lifted the heavy lid and admired his treasure pile.

Inside the chest, more than a hundred beautiful soul shards were glowing softly in the dark. The sight of them always lifted Sunny's mood.

Despite the fact that he himself had no use for the soul shards, they were still a valuable resource. Here on the Forgotten Shore, shards were a form of currency among the Sleepers. A hundred of them was an unimaginable amount.

After a lifetime of being a pauper, Sunny was finally rich!

"Money, I have so much money…"

If a person wanted to live inside the castle walls, they had to pay a tribute of one soul shard every week. Those who could not afford it were forced to remain outside, living in a makeshift settlement just beyond the gates, which was often attacked by the monsters. Even so, they had to pay for food or go out and hunt themselves, which more often than not led to their deaths.

With how much Sunny had gathered in these three months, he would have been able to live in the comfort of the castle for years… if he wanted to. Which, of course, he did not. Why would he pay for accommodations when he already had a palace of his own?

One with no noisy neighbors and a fearsome guardian protecting the premises, no less.

Putting two new soul shards in the chest, Sunny glanced at his dragon hoard one last time and closed the lid with a satisfied smile.

Perhaps it was time to visit the castle again and buy a few things… no, no. He had already bought everything he needed the last time. Spending too many shards would make people doubt that he was as pathetic as everyone thought he was.

Of all the Sleepers in the castle, only three people knew that he was not just good at hiding in the shadows and avoiding danger. They were Nephis, Cassie… and Caster.

That damn bastard...