Shadow Slave

As much as the Song sisters were shocked to see Sunny, they speedily regained their composure. In truth, they must have suspected that there was something odd about his supposed death - the rest might not have seen it as peculiar, but several of Ki Song’s daughters had faced him on the battlefield.

They knew that he would not have gone down easily, especially not after attaining Supremacy.

’Needless to say, you should keep the fact that I am not as dead as everyone thinks a secret.’ He smiled at them pleasantly. They glanced at each other. Eventually, Revel shrugged. ’That should not be a problem.’

Sunny glanced at Death Singer dubiously, prompting her to grin. ’No one listens to what I have to say, anyway.’ She leaned forward a little. ’Except for you, Lord of Shadows! You are the only one who understands. Say, since you’re a Sovereign now… do you need a concubine? I can cook, I can clean! I can prophesize death, destruction, and doom! Oh, and I am very good at…’ She suddenly swayed and gave Seishan a reproachful look. Sunny, naturally, sensed the older Song sister gave the delicate oracle a kick under the table.

He barely managed to maintain his composure, his smile turning a little forced. ’No… no, I don’t need a concubine.’

Kai nodded seriously. ’He’s telling the truth.’ Then, he leaned toward Sunny and added in a whisper: ’She’s lying, though. She can’t cook or clean.’

Sunny stared at him flatly. ’I didn’t need to know that.’

Kai blinked. ’Oh. Right. Sorry…’

Seishan let out a long sigh. ’So, what exactly do you want from us?’

Sunny hesitated for a few seconds. He did not want to reveal too much, and at the same time, there was not much he could reveal - after all, he did not know what Weaver had hidden here, in the Jade Palace. Eventually, he said simply: ’I am searching for something in Ravenheart. Something that must have been hidden here a long, long time ago. Your mother knew this Citadel best, but I can’t ask her. So, I am asking you… how well do you know the Jade Palace?’

Seishan raised an eyebrow. ’How well do we know it? Quite well, I’d say. We lived here for quite some time as children. Obviously, most of us were anchored here as Awakened, as well - my other sisters spent much more time in Ravenheart than me, naturally, since I spent a decade on the Forgotten Shore.’

Revel nodded. ’Seishan was what… twelve, thirteen when our mother became a Saint? The rest of us were either the same age or younger. We would spend a few months in Ravenheart every year after that, until the Spell called upon us. Those who survived the First Nightmare would then come to anchor themselves in Ravenheart. So, we’ve been around this palace for most of our lives.’

Sunny remained silent for a few seconds. ’Were there places Ki Song paid special attention to?’

Revel tilted her head a little. ’Naturally, the Jade Palace hides numerous secrets. There are all kinds of hidden passages, secret enchantments, and strange places here. It is difficult to answer without knowing what exactly you are looking for.’

Sunny frowned. A few seconds later, he asked tentatively: ’Were there maybe areas that you were strictly prohibited from approaching?’

Seishan chuckled. ’Well… Howl and Stalker were forbidden from going near the deeper pools. I doubt that is what you are asking about, though.’

Revel glanced into the distance, thinking. ’The caves were mostly meant for puppets. We were not exactly forbidden from being there, though - there was just no point. Other than that, nothing comes to mind… naturally, it would have been peculiar if we loitered around the living quarters of the clan’s retainers.’

Sunny sighed. ’So, nothing really comes to mind?’

Both Seishan and Revel shook their heads.

Death Singer, meanwhile, gave them a peculiar look. ’Goodness me. My sisters are really old now. They don’t remember anything!’

They looked at her in confusion, causing the delicate beauty to sigh in exasperation. ’There was actually one room that we were completely, absolutely forbidden from entering. How could you forget?’ 𝑅áNő𐌱Ɛṧ

Seishan and Revel frowned. Then, their expressions changed, as if they remembered something that had long been forgotten.

Seishan smiled. ’Oh. Right…’

Revel, meanwhile, scoffed. ’That was a long time ago, but you are correct.’

Sunny glanced at each of them, then leaned forward a little. ’Well, are you going to tell me what that room was or not? An armory? A runic chamber? Perhaps some kind of hidden space where Divine soul shards that power this entire place are secretly kept?’

Death Singer shook her head energetically. ’No! It’s the Toy Room.’

Sunny blinked a couple of times. Then, he blinked a few times more.

Finally, he leaned back and asked in a bewildered tone: ’The… Toy Room?’

Seishan nodded. ’Yes. The Toy Room… and before you ask, my lord, it is just that. It is a storage room where various toys are kept - dolls, toy knights, playing sets, peculiar oddities, and the like. Most of it has long turned to dust, naturally, because these toys are as ancient as the Jade Palace. But some of them were preserved surprisingly well, and there are too countless to count.’

Revel smiled wistfully. ’Naturally, it was like a treasury for us when we were children. But… some of those toys were really dangerous. Some were even enchanted with mysterious magic. So, after a couple of incidents, our mother prohibited us from exploring the Toy Room.’

Death Singer glanced at Sunny pitifully. ’Yes. That was after someone… and I won’t point a finger at them, even if they are in this room… managed to vanish from the face of the Dream Realm for an entire week. Mother almost took the whole Citadel apart searching for them.’

Seishan smiled. ’So, yes. There was a place we were forbidden to enter, and that place was the Toy Room.’

’A toy room.’ That… was not exactly what Sunny had expected to hear.

A clue was a clue, though. He smiled. ’So… can you show me the way to that Toy Room?’