Shadow Slave

Soon enough, Sunny found himself hiding in the shadows of a spacious chamber on one of the upper floors of the Mainmast Pagoda, not far below Jet’s private garden. Jet herself was leaning back on a chair, looking out the window with a relaxed expression on her pale, radiant face.

There was a knock on the door, and a few moments later, it opened, revealing a few familiar faces.

Naeve, Bloodwave, and Aether — the last Saints of the fallen House of Nights. Sunny did not know the last one personally, but he had heard a lot of good things about the outstanding young man, who used to be the most promising scion of a Great Clan once. Well... technically speaking, Saint Aether wasn’t that young anymore. If he was considered young, then so was Sunny, and Sunny did not feel like a young man at all. If anything, he felt ancient. He felt way too old to be dealing with all this crap.

‘Ah, I suddenly feel for the captain of the Homicide Division, back in Mirage City..’ His questionable relationship with age was probably the consequence of living seven lives at the same time and containing a legion of dead shadows in his soul.

That, and the countless forgotten years he had spent in the Tomb of Ariel.

In any case, the House of Night had been absorbed into the government and was now a part of its forces. So, these three proud Legacy Saints were Jet’s subordinates — which was a good thing, considering that they were the best candidates to solve the riddle that Weaver had left in the night sky. There were other surviving members of the House of Night bearing the title of Nightwalkers, but none were as powerful and knowledgeable as these three.

Jet smiled.

”Gentlemen. Please, have a seat.”

They must have witnessed the celestial conflagration that had happened earlier, so there was little point in postponing the discussion. Sunny barely suppressed his curiosity... but before Jet could broach the topic, Bloodwave asked in a grim tone:

”Is it true, Soul Reaper?”

She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. ”What, exactly, are you talking about?”

The three Saints looked at each other. Eventually, it was Naeve who spoke, his voice just as concerned as his uncle’s.

”That monster, Mordret of Nowhere. Are the rumors true? He is a Supreme now, and Lady Nephis strike a deal with him?”

The rumors seemed to have reached the Night Garden, already. Hidden in the shadows, Sunny sighed.

He himself was uncomfortable with the uneasy alliance between the Human Domain and Mordret. Few people trusted the King of Nothing... but no one had suffered from his wicked ways like the surviving members of the House of Night had.

So, it was only natural that they would be unhappy with the news of his ascension to the throne of Supremacy, let alone of the deal between him and Changing Star.

Jet studied the Saints of Night with a neutral expression, then shrugged.

”It’s true.”

They were dismayed. Even Aether, who usually maintained nearly flawless decorum, allowed emotion to show on his face.

“How can this be?”

The air in the room had turned noticeably chilly and heavy with tension.

Jet let out a long sigh, then looked at them with a dark expression.

”Why, what did you want her to do?”

She leaned back and crossed her legs.

”Did you want her to start a new war, perhaps? It has not even been two years since the mess in Godgrave, but I guess another war between Supremes is just what we need.” ℞𝘈ꞐỔᛒÊ𝙎

Naeve frowned.

“That’s a very callous way of looking at things, Jet. You know what that man has done — to us, and to all of humanity as well. Lady Nephis cannot trust him. He must be eradicated.”

Jet smiled darkly.

”I know, Naeve. But I also know that he is immortal, Supreme, wields a Divine Aspect, and inhabits millions of vessels. Who is going to eradicate him? You, me? Or do you want Nephis to kill him, somehow, while we cheer her on from the sidelines?”

Naeve gritted his teeth, unable to find an answer.

In that silence, Bloodwave murmured in his deep voice:

”Is that such a big deal, though? She killed two Supremes before, and seemingly without much trouble...”

It was obvious he was simply venting, so no one took his words seriously.

Sunny was a bit hurt, though.

‘Hey!’

Sure, from the sidelines, it must have looked like Nephis finished him off easily. But even if the whole thing had been an act, he still had his pride.

‘Should I have resisted a bit more before being cut down?”

Sunny shook his head, then assumed a tangible form.

“Actually, she only killed one Supreme.’ Walking out from the shadows, he offered the Saints of Night a smile and sat down near Jet. Noticing their confusion, he then realized that they probably had no idea who he was.

‘Oh. Awkward.’

After all, very few people had known Master Sunless — and most of them had only seen him from afar on a calamitous battlefield. ‘Well, apart from the regulars of the Eye Candy Cafe... the radiant Emporium, I mean the radiant Emporium cafe!”

In any case, for most, the Lord of Shadows was associated with his fearsome mask. The Sains of Night had not participated in the Godgrave military campaign, so they would have met either of his incarnations.

So, Sunny smiled and offered helpfully:

”Oh, I am the Lord of Shadows. You can call me Lord Shadow, or simply Shadow. I also respond to the Dark Lord. Or Sunny.”

The three Saints stared at him with wide eyes.

Sunny’s smile dimmed a little. He cleared his throat.

“As you can see, the news of my death was grossly exaggerated... well, actually, I did die for a bit. But being dead grew old pretty quickly, so now I’m back.”

He remained silent for a few moments and then added in a light tone:

”So, as far as killing Supremes goes, Nephis and I are tied for first place. For now, we are.”