Shadow Slave

The three of them sat down and were presented with old-fashioned, paper menus to make their choice from. Sunny stared at the word "steak" for a bit, then shuddered and shifted his gaze to the salad section.

A few minutes later, a waiter approached to take their order. Effie spoke:

"I guess… three portions of bibimbap, three portions of samgyeopsal, three bowls of jjajangmyeon, and three portions of tteokbokki."

Then, she turned to them, smiled innocently, and asked:

"...Oh, and what about you, guys? What are you going to order?"

Sunny almost choked on the water he was drinking from a beautiful crystal glass.

The waiter, though, somehow managed to keep a straight face.

'What a professional…'

...Since they were seated in a private booth, Kai finally took off his cap and sunglasses, then smiled brilliantly. His voice sounded so sincere that it irked Sunny... a little.

"It's so nice to see you, Sunny. Effie and I were really worried!"

Sunny cleared his throat.

"That's, uh… thanks. I guess. I sort of… assumed that you wouldn't notice that I was gone."

Effie sighed.

"I am starting to wish that I didn't, you idiot! Anyway… what the hell happened? Why were you gone for an entire month?"

He hesitated, then said:

"Do you want to hear the long version, or the short version?"

Kai gave him a curious look:

"Let's start with the short version, I think?"

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

"Alright. Well, in that case… it basically just wanted to find clues about a hidden treasure, but ended up almost being eaten by a treasure chest, falling into a bottomless abyss on top of a devil's corpse, and being burned by divine flames. Luckily, there is this voice I can hear in my head sometimes, and it helped me to only get burned a little."

Effie tilted her head and gave him a strange look. Kai's smile paled a little.

Sunny took a sip of water and continued in a carefree tone:

"Anyway, deep in the void, I found a black tower. There were some broken dolls and a rotting severed arm inside, which I… uh… ate, sort of. From the black tower in the abyss, I went to a white tower in the skies, and then rode back to the ground on a dragon's tail. That's basically it. Oh, and before all that, I kind of killed myself, I guess. Got a very nice Memory out of it, too!"

The two of them stared at him for a few moments, and then sighed almost simultaneously.

Kai shook his head.

"I take it back. Let's hear the long version…"

***

Sunny explained the sequence of events that led to him being gone for more than a month, keeping a few things to himself — like the true number of the miraculous coins he had collected, everything having to do with Weaver, and the real reason for why he was so desperate to grow stronger as fast as possible.

When he was done, Effie giggled.

"Well. That [Fated] Attribute of yours has really been in overdrive lately, hasn't it?"

A sour expression appeared on Sunny's face.

"I guess. I had solid three months of nothing too bad or too good happening before that, though. But that's the thing, when it does finally happen, one thing usually leads to another. It's not all terrible, though. I had to work really hard to survive, but other than that, this expedition was a windfall for me."

Kai took a sip of tea, and then said thoughtfully:

"And what about this voice… Mordret? Do you trust him?"

Sunny hesitated, then shrugged.

"After I made sure that he is not just a figment of my imagination, I came to believe that Mordret is indeed one of the Lost, and most likely an Awakened just like we are. Most likely, he can communicate with me over a large distance because of the mirror shard I picked up after putting down that strange artificial Echo of his. Other than that, though… I don't know. He is very mysterious, to say the least."

He thought for a bit, and then added:

"Every piece of information he had given me turned out to be true, so far. And very helpful. I might have not been alive right now if not for him. So it's hard to say, really."

Kai smiled.

"Well, in that case, he is alright in my book."

Sunny paused as the waiter approached to bring the dirty dishes away and refill their glasses. After they were alone once again, he remained silent for a bit, then turned to Effie:

"But anyway… I do believe that what he said about the Seed is true. I think I can get the Obsidian Knife, which is supposed to make the Nightmare easier. So… I wanted to ask. Effie, I know that you can snap your fingers and have a dozen of the most powerful Awakened cohorts in the world accompany you to conquer the Second Nightmare. But... would you consider… challenging one with me?"

He expected her to tease him a little before giving an answer, but Effie remained quiet for a bit, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. After a while, she said:

"Challenge a Nightmare? Now, barely four months after we had become Awakened? Are you crazy, Sunny?"

He smiled.

"No, I don't mean now. Both of us need time to grow stronger and prepare, of course."

After saying that, Sunny looked away.

"...In seven months. After the winter solstice. That's when I plan to return to the Ivory Tower and go into that Seed. Will you come with me?"

Effie looked at him for a long time, then smiled, too.

"Sure. Why not? I wouldn't have it any other way, even. But, Sunny… I have one condition."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Really? What is it?"

Effie glanced at Kai, then said calmly:

"You need to convince Cassie to join us, too. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but it doesn't matter. Members of a cohort don't need to be friends. They just need to work well together… and our cohort worked perfectly, back on the Forgotten Shore. Caster is dead, and Nephis is gone… but Cassie is still here, and we both know how invaluable her Aspect is."

As Sunny's face darkened, she added:

"Plus, isn't she anchored at the Night Temple? She can help you get the Ivory Knife, as well. That princeling said that having both would be much better. A Nightmare is a Nightmare and will be absolutely deadly, no matter how prepared you are. Letting go of any advantage is stupid."

'Convince Cassie…'

A wave of anger and protest rose from the depths of Sunny's heart. Even though he had time to recover from what had happened in the Crimson Spire and understood the reason why Cassie had done what she had, he was still full of resentment. He was still hurt. He was still unwilling to even think about forgiving her…

But Effie was right.

No matter how he felt about Cassie, she was a boon for any cohort… especially now, since she had grown much more confident in her powers after becoming an Awakened. She also had other survivors of the Forgotten Shore following her as they waited for Nephis to return, and the connection to the Clan Valor emissaries in the Night Temple.

He didn't have to forgive her to fight side by side with her. He just had to trust that she won't betray him again… which he reluctantly did. Even though Sunny didn't want to give Cassie the benefit of the doubt, he knew that she had learned a bitter lesson.

A heavy sigh escaped from his lips.

'...What should I do?'

…It was at that moment that Kai, who had remained silent during their conversation, suddenly spoke:

"If you don't mind… count me in, too. I want to challenge the Second Nightmare with the three of you, guys, as well. In fact… even if you do mind, I insist!"