Shadow Slave

Washed in the ghostly light of the nascent dawn, Sunny and Kai were walking through the ruins of the cursed city. The night was slowly crawling away. Its retreat made one of them feel safer, while the other one grew uneasy without the familiar veil of darkness hiding him from the world.

‘I have almost forgotten how mournful this place looks when the sun is up.’

Somewhere in the distance, the waves of the dark sea were halting their eternal assault on the stone walls of the ancient city. These walls had withstood thousands of years of wear and abuse without allowing even a single drop of black water to seep through. Sunny suspected that they would stand unbroken for a thousand years more.

Suddenly uncomfortable, he turned his head west and found the distant silhouette of the Crimson Spire. The menacing structure was looming over the Forgotten Shore like an evil omen, spelling doom to anyone who would dare approach it.

‘…Maybe not.’

Sunny had chosen a complicated and meandering route to reach the castle. Kai, who was less familiar with the cursed city, simply followed behind. The charming young man was alert and collected, his bow ready to send arrows flying at any moment.

They had to circle around many areas where especially terrifying creatures were known to dwell and hunt, making slow progress. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

At some point, Sunny raised his hand, gesturing for his companion to stop. He peered into the distance with a deep frown on his face.

Kai glanced at him and whispered:

“What is it?”

Sunny brought a finger to his lips before answering:

“Shh. Listen.”

Soon, they heard an eerie sound that resembled stifled, heart-wrenching weeping. It was as though there was a crying woman in the fog ahead of them, slowly drawing closer. Her trembling sobs made both Sleepers shiver.

Kai looked at him and asked without much confidence:

“What are the chances that it’s actually a human girl?”

Sunny gave him a crooked smile.

“Low.”

Without needing to discuss it, they hid behind a large pile of rubble and waited. Pressing himself against the cold stones, Sunny sent his shadow to climb the building and observe the surrounding streets. Kai saw the shadow off with a bewildered look, blinked a couple of times, but didn’t say anything.

A minute or two later, Sunny glanced at him and asked:

“Where are your arrows?”

The charming young man hesitated, then said:

“I usually carry a quiver with a few dozen arrows that were specially crafted for me by one of the best blacksmiths in the castle. But the gentlemen who put me in that well… may they rest in peace… weren’t kind enough to let me bring it.”

Sunny gave him an amused look.

“So that bow of yours is actually useless?”

Kai lingered for a few moments before answering:

“…I also have arrow-type Memories.”

“How many?”

The elegant archer lowered his gaze in embarrassment.

“Uh… two. Will that be enough?”

Sunny was silent for a bit, and then answered in a flat tone:

“No. I don’t think that will be enough.”

Out there in the fog, his shadow was looking at the creature that had been producing the heart-wrenching weeping.

It was not a human girl.

A massive, four-legged beast was walking through the morning mist. Its flesh was rotten and emaciated, hanging from the bones like a tattered coat. Sunny could clearly see the white arcs of its ribs through the holes in the rotting hide, the unnatural darkness hiding behind them, and the powerful jaws of the partially bared dog-like skull that were full of terrifying teeth.

One didn’t have to be a genius to understand that the horrid creature was one of the Fallen masters of the ruined city.

As he was looking, the beast opened its maw and produced another long, human-like sob, then stopped and listened, as though waiting for an answer. When nothing happened, it lowered its head and slowly continued on its way.

Luckily, although their hiding spot was somewhat close, it wasn’t actually on its path. If nothing changed, the Fallen would walk past without even noticing them. They just had to wait.

Sunny sighed.

“We’ll have to stay here for ten minutes, at least. Get comfortable.”

Once again, Kai didn’t ask anything, simply taking Sunny’s word for it. It seemed as though his strange ability to sense lies made the charming Sleeper less prone to having a lot of questions.

Which was a wonderful quality to have, as far as Sunny was concerned.

With nothing to do but wait, they had a bit of time to rest and catch their breaths. Sunny summoned the Endless Spring and took a few sips of cold, sweet water. Noticing that Kai was staring at him, he hesitated, then passed him the beautiful glass bottle.

The charming young man drank greedily, as though someone dying from thirst. Come to think of it…

Feeling a little guilty, Sunny asked:

“When was the last time they gave you water?”

Kai detached himself from the bottle, wiped his lips, and smiled in pure delight.

“Ah. Two or three days ago, I think. Thank you kindly!”

He returned the bottle and looked at Sunny with curiosity.

“Hey, Sunny. Can I ask you something?”

Sunny tensed up and gave the charming archer a dark look.

“You can.”

His eyes, however, hinted that he shouldn’t.

But Kai either didn’t notice the menacing glare or wasn’t bothered by it.

“You came to the Forgotten Shore this last solstice, right?”

“Yeah.”

Sunny held his breath, guessing what the beautiful Sleeper was going to ask him. How they had survived in the Labyrinth? Why he had abandoned the castle? How he had survived in the ruins? Each of these questions could potentially lead to a disaster.

Kai leaned forward with excitement in his eyes, hesitated for a second, and then said:

“What… what’s the top music video in the charts out there right now?”

Sunny blinked.

‘Uh… what?’

That was absolutely not what he had expected to hear. Noticing that the charming young man was staring at him with anticipation, he shifted and answered with a bit of uncertainty:

“That… uh… I have no idea.”

Kai sighed, clearly disappointed, but then suddenly smiled again.

The smile was wide and dazzling.

“…Can I you ask you another question?”