Shadow Slave

Eventually, the concert was over.

Gale received a thunderous applause and left the stage after a deep bow and a heartfelt speech expressing his hope to meet his fans in the Dream Realm one day.

By the time he finished speaking, countless people in the audience were openly sobbing.

Kai seemed a little down, as well.

Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then gestured toward the curtain.

“I think you should go and congratulate him, anyway. The guy is leaving for a whole new world… a deadly world full of inconceivable monsters, no less. Past grudges or not, he’ll feel better knowing that he has a friend there.”

Kai remained silent for a bit, then nodded slowly.

“Yes, I probably should. But not immediately… there is a whole ceremony to these things, you know. Plenty of famous people in the audience today, so they will all go backstage now — unless they say at least a couple of words, they will be seen as rude. Then he’ll have to thank the crew, the band, and the dancers. Then have a conversation with the managers. I’ll go after that.”

Sunny was reminded that Kai could see through the curtain — and through the walls, as well. So, he was probably looking at what Gale was doing right now.

He shifted uncomfortably, trying to hide the fact that the oppressive force trying to expel him from the waking world was almost unbearable now…

Almost, but not quite.

He could still stay for a bit.

Sunny leaned back and sighed.

“I met Jet before coming here. She has resigned from the government, did you know?”

Kai nodded.

“Yeah. We talked.”

Sunny blinked a couple of times.

“Huh? What the… why was I the last one to find out?”

Kai looked at him and smiled.

“It’s just that we are in similar situations, she and I.”

Sunny frowned slightly.

“How so?”

Kai remained silent for a bit, then shrugged.

“Well, you know. The Fourth Nightmare awaits.”

He sighed.

“Actually, we’ve been talking about it for a long while. Jet has been preparing a replacement for the past year, and I… I didn’t really have to. Truth be told, I don’t have a lot to do in Ravenheart these days. Why do you think I was able to come here on such a busy day?” Sunny scratched the back of his head.

“I didn’t think about it at all, to be honest. I often forget that not everybody has seven bodies at their disposal.”

Kai chuckled.

“That’s… something. But yes, despite the fact that people still call me the Steward of the West, in truth, my presence there has been redundant for quite a while. Ever since the Plague, I think.”

He shook his head.

“Seishan has the situation under control. And she is much more embedded in the former Song Domain than I am. She has her sisters, as well, and they are managing things fine.”

Kai scratched his nose.

“And things are… awkward between us, sadly.”

Sunny looked away.

He knew what Kai had gone through during the Dreamspawn Plague. But actually, Seishan had gone through the same horrid thing as well — and it was difficult to say who had been hurt by the experience more.

Being tortured was definitely a terrible experience, but was it worse than having your mind stolen and torturing someone against your will? It was hard to say.

The situation was only made worse by the fact that Kai had a messy relationship with the Song sisters. So, it was no surprise that things were awkward between them.

Sunny remained silent for a few moments, then asked in a neutral tone:

“What about Morgan? The two of you were close.”

Kai shook his head.

“Morgan returned to Bastion, so… we don’t see each other much.” Sunny sighed.

“So, the Fourth Nightmare. You have decided, then?”

Kai nodded.

“I hesitated for a long time. But eventually, I made up my mind.”

Sunny felt both relieved and anxious. He lingered for a short while, then asked:

“So what made you decide?”

Kai chuckled.

“You.”

He leaned back and looked at Sunny with a smile.

“It was something you said in Ariel’s Game. But also… I am sorry, Sunny, but I don’t think that you have an objective understanding of what the Fourth Nightmare is. And how abnormal you and Nephis are. That was what helped me decide.”

Sunny blinked a couple of times, then raised an eyebrow.

“What? Why am I abnormal, all of a sudden?”

Kai chuckled and shook his head.

“You… you just never stop to consider if things are possible. No, rather, you do not understand that things that are possible for you are not possible for everyone else. You are so powerful that your entire perception of power is skewed, Sunny. One day, a long time ago, you decided to pursue strength… and in your mind, it’s just a question of luck and effort — of success or failure.”

Sunny was confused.

“Of course it is. What else can it be?”

Kai smiled.

“What I am trying to say, Sunny, is that the Path of Ascension is not a straight road. You succeed, and succeed, and succeed… until you fail and die. That is how you see it, but that is not how it is — for most people, success is simply not an option. Their paths are shorter than yours. Most Awakened will never become Masters, and most Masters will never become Saints. And among the Saints, almost no one will ever become Supreme. Not for the lack of effort, but simply because it’s not in their nature.”

He looked into the concert hall, where the audience was slowly flowing toward the exits.

“You once mentioned that even in ancient times, Supremes were exceedingly rare — so much so that the emergence of a new Supreme completely changed the hierarchy of all mortal realms. But we, children of the Age of the Nightmare Spell, are spoiled. Our world has already given birth to eight Supremes, and we are preparing to create more.”

Sunny frowned.

“I still don’t understand what you are getting at, Kai.”

Kai’s smile dimmed a little.

“I am saying that the pool of people who even have a chance to become Supreme is limited, Sunny — and more than that, it is almost exhausted. There’s barely a handful of those who are qualified to try left, and there won’t be more. If humanity survives long enough to have a new generation, that generation will be weaker than ours, not stronger. So…”

Kai shrugged.

“The mere fact that I am one of those who have a chance is reason enough to try. In fact, it’s imperative that I try. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, knowing that I wasted my potential despite how scarce potential is.”

His smile disappeared.

“Plus, I tasted enough powerlessness in my life, Sunny. I want to be powerful, too. I want to reshape the world according to what I want it to be… I dare to try.”

He laughed quietly.

“The world and I… we need to have a conversation. I am going to scold the world for being so heartless, and for that, I need to become someone whom the world will listen to. So, the Fourth Nightmare. I’ve decided to abandon objectivity and be abnormal, too.”

Sunny studied him for a while, then let out a quiet scoff.

“Buddy… you should have just said that you want to be like me. I mean, who can blame you? I am pretty awesome, after all. Even I want to be like me — all seven of me, no less…”

Kai closed his eyes for a moment, shook his head, and then rose from his seat.

“The scariest thing is that I know that you are telling the truth. You always do! So, I think I am going to go see Gale now… thank you for coming with me, though!”