Shadow Slave: Foreign shadow

(Warning! This chapter contains explicit scenes rated R, if you’re... who am I kidding? You’ll read it anyway.

Read it, but remember: the Lord is watching you, and he likes what he’s looking at!)

[Author’s note: Goddamnit! This should have been chapter fifty, not fifty-six. Can you imagine? Chapter fifty—Fifty Shadows Darker. It would have been so perfect. But no. I have dishonored myself.]

*Author does Seppuku* Happy reading!

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Sunny woke up slowly as the first light of that winter dawn filtered through the bathroom window, caressing his pale face. Despite having used a pillow as a backrest on his makeshift porcelain bed, a dull, throbbing ache shot up his spine the moment he tried to stretch his arms. ”Yawnnn... AH!”

​Then, he opened his eyes.

​The first thing he saw was the disgruntled face of Myriad Shade. She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, one leg elegantly crossed over the other, her arms folded tightly beneath her generous chest. She didn’t look angry, exactly—more like she was deeply offended about being left out of a very important event.

​”What?” Sunny asked, his voice thick with sleep. He tilted his head, completely clueless about his current predicament, his arms still stretched upward mid-yawn.

​Thene didn’t say a word—not that she could, anyway. Instead, her lips stretched into a knowing smirk, and she gave him a brief nod, as if to say, ”You know exactly what.”

​Purrrrr... Purrrrr...

​It was then that Sunny’s senses finally caught the soft, rhythmic purring of a cat. Fully awake now, he realized there was a warm, comforting weight pressing down on his abdomen. Lowering his gaze, he noticed a suspicious lump beneath the blankets, right over his chest.

​Without a second thought, the boy grabbed the edge of the sheets and pulled them back, revealing a little golden cat sleeping blissfully curled up on top of him.

​Cassie was currently resting peacefully against him. One of her hands was gripping his shirt tightly, as if anchoring herself from falling into the abyss, while her right ear was pressed flat against his chest. The steady, sweet sound of his heartbeat acted as a lullaby, cradling her in a deep slumber.

***

​”Achoo!”

​Nephis sat up in Sunny’s bed, shivering. While the mattress itself was incredibly comfortable and warm, the same could not be said of her bedmate, whose body temperature rivaled a solid block of ice.

​Sniffling with a mild incoming cold, Changing Star watched as Yuki, already out of bed, ungracefully stretched her arms to shake off the lingering drowsiness.

​Nephis then looked around, searching for the third member of their impromptu slumber party, but found the spot empty. ’Where’s Cassie?’ she wondered.

​Right on cue, the bathroom door clicked open. Out stepped the blind seer, wearing a bright, radiant smile, followed closely by Sunny, who sported the grim, exasperated expression of a man who had absolutely no idea how to explain himself.

​”Good morning,” Cassie chirped at the other two.

​”Morning,” Yuki mumbled, bringing a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn. Her eyes were still half-closed, a clear sign she wasn’t used to sleeping in a foreign bed.

​”Good morning,” Nephis greeted them. She shifted her gaze from the blonde girl with the plastered smile to the black-haired boy with the guilty, cornered expression right behind her. ”Did you go wake Sunny up?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

​”Mhm!” Cassie nodded eagerly, turning her head slightly to muffle a giggle, while Sunny simply let out a long, exhausted sigh.

​Shortly after, the girls gathered their things and prepared to leave his dorm room together, agreeing to meet up for breakfast in a bit.

​”Good! I hope you all enjoyed your stay at Sunny’s Marvelous Hotel. Now, if you’d please?” Sunny kindly gestured toward the open door, eager to reclaim the sweet privacy and blissful solitude of his room.

​”See you later, Sunny,” Nephis said, waving. ”Achoo!” she sneezed immediately after.

​”Bye,” Yuki added, massaging her temples. The lack of sleep was getting to her; adjusting to a new environment on the first night was never easy.

​Then, it was Cassie’s turn.

But instead of walking straight out and offering a polite smile like the others, she suddenly turned to face him. Reaching out, she grabbed the collar of his pajamas, pulled him down slightly, and pressed her lips firmly against his neck.

​Sunny’s eyes widened in sheer shock. His heart skipped a beat, and his jaw dropped at the utter unpredictability of the gesture. She didn’t bite him, but she did leave behind a faint, glossy mark on his skin.

​”See you in a bit, Sunny,” she whispered, releasing her grip and slipping out of the room with a mischievous smile.

​Sunny exhaled sharply, massaging his temples. ’Perfect,’ he thought. ’Just one more thing to worry about.’

​Turning around, he walked back into the center of his room, finally ready to get dressed and face the new day.

​SLAM.

​The sudden, violent sound of the door shutting behind him made the blood freeze in his veins. Sunny swallowed hard.

​Slowly turning his head, he saw Thene standing right in front of the doorway. Her hand rested on the deadbolt. She locked it with two definitive twists, and then, with a sharp, brutal motion, snapped the key off entirely inside the lock.

​CLICK. CLICK. SNAP.

​Every metallic sound felt like a death sentence. Her eyes—black and shiny as two obsidian gems—made zero effort to hide her true intent. They burned with a primal hunger completely unparalleled by anything he had ever seen.

​Sunny found himself gulping again. An irrational fear made him break out in a cold sweat, but before he could even utter a single word of protest, Myriad Shade lunged forward, tackling him violently onto the soft mattress behind him.

​That day, Sunny arrived late to class.

***

Thene had been patient. Very patient.

​She had tolerated those little wixen constantly circling her master. She had sent him painfully obvious signals about exactly what she wanted him to do. She had waited for her master to finally muster the courage to tear her dress of shadows off with his teeth, knowing full well he had zero experience.

​Not that she had any, either. If Myriad Shade hadn’t spent the last few weeks rigorously studying ”the subject” by abusing that strange image-projecting device her master called ”communicator”, she wouldn’t have known where to begin without relying purely on the raw, primal instincts of the flesh—or, in this case, of the shadows.

​But now, that patience had dried up. It was time for Myriad Shade to take what she wanted.

​Two souls, one pristine and the other pitch-black as the night, lay upon a soft silk bed large enough to fit a handful of people. The rumpled sheets were still imbued with the lingering scent of the three girls who had occupied it the night prior. The surrounding shadows fell completely silent, respectfully averting their gaze as the two lovers prepared to finally bridge the inviolable gap of the flesh.

​Pinned beneath her, lying flat on his back against the soft mattress and dressed in black pajamas, was a young man. His posture was stiff, his limbs practically paralyzed at his sides, and his heart hammered in his chest with the force of seven stars. He possessed a pale complexion and a face with sharp, maturing features, though it still retained a faint trace of boyish youth. His hair was as black as ink. The morning light filtering through the windows wasn’t merely reflected in his dark eyes; it was completely devoured by the shadows dwelling within them. He was the kind of youth who would inevitably bloom into a striking, jade-like beauty.

​Yet, in that precise moment, undeniable fear swirled within those black pools. It was the fear of losing something precious he couldn’t quite name, but even more so, it was the sheer terror of the unknown that awaited him if he couldn’t find the courage to take this leap.

​’N-no... no. No. It’s too soon. This should take at least two thousand chapters! Am I really ready? Is the world ready? Are the readers ready?!’ he panicked inwardly. His mind scrambled to invent a myriad of excuses, his heart desperately searching for a grounding force, even though his body had already entirely surrendered to the inevitable.

​Straddling him was a young woman of otherworldly beauty, with hair like a starless midnight sky that cascaded gracefully down to her hips. Her body was slender yet athletic, as if flawlessly sculpted by a dark divinity. Every curve of her form, every delicate feature of her face was utterly sublime, captivating the eye.

​She wore a breathtaking black dress that left her shoulders, back, and upper chest entirely bare, flowing down into a skirt that reached her ankles. She towered over him, bracing her hands beside his head to prop up her upper body. This position aligned their lightless gazes perfectly, while the rest of her weight rested firmly on her knees alongside his hips.

​As a shadow, Myriad Shade was incapable of speech. And if there was even an ounce of apprehension within her, it was completely eclipsed by the playful, almost childish spark gleaming in the dark gemstones of her eyes. She looked less like a predator about to claim her prey out of raw desire, and more like a mischievous girl pulling an innocent prank.

​The two stared at each other for what felt like a fraction of a second, yet simultaneously long enough for distant stars to crumble into dust and be reborn as white dwarfs. It was a suspended moment in time where one would typically expect a breathless sentence, a passionate declaration of intent, or a single word to seal the gravity of the act.

​But there were no words. There were no sounds.

​Before either of them could fully process it, Thene’s exquisite face dipped down toward Sunny’s, and their lips finally met. It began as a chaste, innocent kiss—but soon, their tongues began to dance together like falling petals caught in a warm spring breeze.

​And within the boy’s mind, a long-buried spark from the past violently reignited.

​(Flashback: Sunless’s First Nightmare. Time period: One week before the arrival of Goliath and his army.)

​In an ancient, majestic sanctuary where sultan-shadows banished the light and made their home. Under the thick canopy of a great tree, where a pale yellow curtain of light pierced the gloom—the only place in the temple’s perpetual night where the sun’s tears were allowed to fall—sat a young woman of breathtaking beauty, dressed in black. She was Thene, the Priestess of Shadows.

​”There you go, little shadow,” Thene said, kneeling on the ground with a voice both solemn and ceremonial. She was tending to a small scratch on a boy’s knee with tender care. ”Now, you can go back to playing with the others, but try to be more careful.” She concluded with a small, light laugh, her voice brimming with maternal warmth.

​”Thank you, Priestess,” the boy said with the innocence of one who had yet to know the thorns of a rose. He threw his arms around her neck in an energetic hug, then released her just as quickly to sprint back to his friends.

​Thene remained on her knees on the damp earth, watching the boy run carefree through the temple garden. A finger came up to cover the smile that blossomed on her lips; she knew all too well that he would soon find another scrape, and she would be there to patch him up again.

​”You’re incredible,” a voice said from behind her, heavy with exasperation.

​It was Sunny. Sunless. At that time, he was inhabiting the body of young Thamriel—the future candidate for the receptacle of the God of Death and Mysteries.

​Thene, hearing his voice, didn’t rise. She merely turned her beautiful face toward him. The moment their ink-black eyes met, her expression shifted from the mechanical, solemn line of a priestess to a bright, mocking crescent moon.

​”Oh, my! My, my!” She brought a hand to her mouth in a playful, exaggerated gesture. ”Is that jealousy I detect?” Her voice, usually melodious and calm, was now laced with teasing. ”Because if you’re frustrated, my dear pupil, I know a perfect way to work that energy out. Shall I teach you, or would you prefer to learn on the field?” She winked. By now, her double entendres were the only sense she spoke in.

​Sunny rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated by the Master of Shadows’s relentless banter. He dismissed her cynical invitation with a sigh, sat down to her left, and pulled his knees to his chest, wedging himself into the narrow space in the tree’s shadow.

​”I’m talking about this,” he said quietly, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

​”Hm?” She tilted her head, confused by his sudden shift in tone.

​Sunny turned to look at her. ”I’m talking about all of this.” He gestured vaguely at her, then at the sanctuary. ”How do you manage to... to maintain this attitude? So solemn, so... priestly. And then—the moment it’s just me, the twins, or Father Gaston—you show this other side. This radiant, vibrant face, as if nothing is weighing you down. How do you hide your scars so well, and yet let us see your light?”

​He paused for a moment, looking into her brilliant eyes—obsidian gems that looked back at him with boundless, neverending affection.

​”This side of you that teases, that laughs so ungracefully... that is the most beautiful version of you. And it breaks my heart that you keep it hidden from the rest of the world. Am I jealous? No. Knowing you trust me enough to be yourself fills me with a joy I can’t even name. But seeing you force that polite, empty smile for others... seeing you bury your light behind this sacral mask... it hurts. It hurts me. And I wish I could fix it, but I don’t know how.”

​Thene, whose mouth had been primed to retort with another quip, froze. Her expression softened, the playfulness draining away to reveal a quiet, raw vulnerability.

​Before Sunny could process the movement, something soft and damp brushed gently against his cheek. His pupils dilated; his entire body went rigid.

​As Thene’s lips pulled away, Sunny reflexively slapped his own cheek, pressing his palm against it as if to verify that the world hadn’t just ended. He blushed furiously, his whole face turning slightly crimson. He stared at the Priestess, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. His jaw dropped. But before he could even speak, she pressed a finger to his lips, their faces inches apart.

​”Shhh,” she whispered. ”Don’t tell the twins about this. Otherwise, they’ll get jealous.”

The wind was whistling loudly.

​She didn’t add anything else. It was as if that gesture hadn’t been a stolen kiss, but the most natural, effortless thing in the world.

​The air brushed through Thene’s hair, and her pale skin and delicate features seemed to glow against the darkness of her eyes.

​In that moment, Sunny couldn’t help but think that she was the most beautiful creature in the world—two worlds, even.

​(Back to the Present)

​After a round of deep, desperate, and hungry kisses that lasted a fraction of a minute—a timeless span where they explored each other’s mouths—their lips finally parted to allow the boy a ragged breath.

​*Inhale* *Exhale* *Inhale* *Exhale* BA-DUMP. BA-DUMP.

​Sunny’s heartbeat was a ticking time bomb, a powerful, relentless rhythm echoing in the silence. Their gazes locked. He traced her obsidian eyes, the delicate curve of her nose, the exposed hollow of her throat, and the long, ink-black hair cascading to her hips like a starless midnight sky. His mind burned the image into his memory.

​Sunny loved Thene.

He had loved her in the past, and since she’d returned from the dead as his shadow, that love had transcended all ontological boundaries. It wasn’t the fleeting desire he’d felt when he teased Master Jet, nor the sweet, protective tenderness he felt for Cassie when he held her in his arms. It was a flame—a fire that burned with an intensity all its own, yet similar.

​Without breaking the tension, Thene rose slightly on her knees. With a single, silent command, the cage of her clothing dissolved. Sunny was met with the sight of a perfect Venus, sculpted by a divinity of darkness.

Her skin, black and lustrous as liquid ink, was fully exposed. His eyes hungrily took in her ripe, succulent breasts with their turgid peaks, traced the gentle curve of her hips, and finally settled on the center of her being, where she was completely unadorned.

​The sight sent a jolt of ferocity through him. His initial terror curdled into excitement, the two emotions becoming indistinguishable. His own clothes seemed to have vanished, likely disintegrated by his own subconscious willpower.

​Before Myriad Shade’s exposed, pulsing form, Sunny’s member rose, throbbing violently with need. Thene watched with delight. Not wanting to wait another heartbeat, she shifted, guiding her hips down toward his arousal. The velvet heat of her entrance brushed against his tip, the friction coating him in her slick, natural essence.

​Thene grasped his length with her right hand to steady him, and with a fluid grace, she raised her hips to position herself directly over him.

​”Thene,” Sunny murmured looking at her, his voice a ragged, desperate hiss.

​For one suspended instant, time and sound ceased to exist. They stared at one another, and in that gaze, Thene wasn’t smiling a mocking or playful smile. It was a curve of boundless, utter affection. She wanted this. She needed this as much as he did.

​Time resumed its flow.

​Thene lowered her hips. Sunny felt her internal heat envelop him, a slow, intoxicating pressure as she took him into her depths.

​”Gnn...” He gritted his teeth, suppressing a groan as the tightness of her walls massaged him, folding around him like silk.

​Thene, too, stifled a gasp, her head falling back as she felt the strain of their union. It was like a blade parting the darkness—a sharp, sweet friction that made her world reel. Sunny felt the tip of his resolve break through the final barrier, a single, glistening drop of obsidian fluid staining the sheets like a signature on a dark contract.

​Finally, Sunny was buried deep within her. The friction was rigorous, absolute, and perfect. They were no longer two separate souls in the dark; they were, at last, a single, indivisible entity.

​The two looked at each other, the gravity of their carnal union etched into their gazes. Pain, fear, regret, happiness, excitement... love. So many conflicting emotions were trapped within those four obsidian orbs—mere dark specks compared to the cold, distant stars, yet possessing a unique, unparalleled brilliance.

​Without a word—though she had none to give—Myriad Shade began to move her hips in a rhythmic, undulating motion. Her weight was nearly non-existent, a ghostly pressure against him. The bed springs groaned in protest against the intensity of their friction.

Sunny gritted his teeth, closing his eyes to endure the sharp, initial tightness of her walls gripping the base of his erection, a sensation that slid slowly toward the glans with every movement. Thene, too, pressed her lips together, letting the initial flash of sharp pain bleed away, replaced by a rising, euphoric tide of pleasure.

​Her hands pressed against his stomach, seeking an anchor. Sunny grabbed her hips instinctively, his capacity for rational thought failing to keep pace with the present. They were both losing themselves to the sensation of each other’s bodies.

​’Come on, Sunless, be a man!’ he mentally scolded himself, his internal monologue firing rapidly. ’It’s not like you’ve never seen a porn before. Let him who hasn’t cast the first [Ordinary Rock]!’

​Their fluids were providing the necessary lubrication, rendering each thrust less abrasive. The muscles of their hips, tempered by weeks of grueling melee training, began to loosen, finding a natural, punishing rhythm.

​With a surge of newfound courage, Sunny opened his eyes and took charge.

​Refusing to remain the submissive party, he placed his left hand on her right shoulder and smoothly inverted their positions. Thene didn’t offer the slightest resistance; she was far too intoxicated by the pleasure radiating through her nerves to care about the power dynamic. She simply sank back into the bed, her back resting against the mattress.

​Sunny didn’t dare break the momentum. As she settled, he resumed his rhythmic, mechanical pelvic thrusts, driving himself into her with precise intent.

​Thene’s mind, usually sharp and tactical, began to turn white with sensory overload. She reached out, pulling Sunny toward her, and captured his lips in a desperate, bruising kiss. They groaned into each other’s mouths, the sounds of their intimacy—the wet friction of skin against skin—filling the room. As they ground against one another, Sunny felt the firm, yielding pressure of her breasts against his chest; to his distracted, overwhelmed mind, they pressed into him with the soft, generous sensation of two perfect marshmallows.

​”Thene,” Sunny moaned softly in her mouth. Though she possessed no gift of speech, he could feel her soul calling out to him, a silent resonance that made him feel closer to her than he had ever been before.

​Sunny adjusted the angle of his legs, shifting his stance to optimize his thrusts, his rational mind sinking deeper into the abyss of her grace. In that fevered moment, Sunny felt a sudden, profound need to thank the Kamasutra, the deep-web archives of his past life, and his [Child of War] attribute—which seemed to be guiding his every motion with preternatural efficiency.

​’Hell!’ he thought, his pulse hammering against his temples. ’War God was a freak, and nobody ever realized it until now!’

Their bodies continued to dance, driven by the frantic rhythm of their beating hearts, while their tongues tangled in a desperate, breathless embrace. It was an ungraceful, primal hunger—a necessary collision of shadows and passion. The moment she sank her nails into his back, the sharp, electric sting was instantly anesthetized by the scorching friction of their union. Sunny knew it was time to push further.

​As his member throbbed deep within her, pulsing with a life of its own, he drew his right hand back from the mattress. His palms mapped the soft, ink-stained velvet of her silhouette, tracing the curve of her waist until he reached the swell of her chest. Those peaks had been taunting him since the moment they met; now, he finally laid claim to them.

​He cupped her breast, his touch firm and appreciative, instantly rewarded by a sharp, shuddering gasp from Thene. The sensation triggered a wave of excitement in her that he felt ripple through her body; her kiss became more aggressive, her grip on his shoulders tightening. Sunny felt the softness of her skin beneath his thumb, teasing the turgid tip as his other fingers kneaded the generous weight of her flesh.

​Unable to resist, he brought his other hand into the fray, claiming the twin treasure. Thene moaned into his mouth as he squeezed them with hungry, possessive intent. He leaned down, capturing one of her nipples between his lips, sucking with a voracious greed as if drinking the sweetest nectar from a golden fruit. His tongue swirled over the peaks of these dark masterpieces, his palate feasting on her responsiveness.

​”Thene, I...” After several minutes, the moment was upon them. Sunny felt his breath hitch, his vision swimming as his mind began to fray at the edges. The tension had peaked, and judging by the flushed, wide-eyed expression of his companion, Myriad Shade was teetering on the very edge of oblivion.

​Sunny tried to rise, but instead found himself driving deeper, his hips grinding against hers with a final, desperate surge. Their fluids mingled—the life of the boy meeting the essence of the shadow. The symphony of their gasps and the creaking of the bed reached a deafening crescendo.

​Thene grabbed his face, holding him firmly between her hands. She didn’t want to miss a single second; she wanted to see the man who had made her, the man who had claimed her, in the very moment of their shattering. Her beloved master.

​Their gazes locked, immutable and eternal. Their hearts raced in perfect synchronization, their bodies refusing to stop the rhythm even as the tide rushed in.

​And then, they shattered together.

​A heavy, torrential release of Sunny’s seed flooded her, painting her dark interior with the stark, radiant white of his vitality. Simultaneously, Thene arched her back, a guttural sound escaping her throat as her own release washed over him, a surge of dark, visceral pleasure that harmonized with the stain of her lost innocence. Throughout the entire explosion, neither of them broke eye contact.

​Sunny kissed her, then—not with the wild, desperate ferocity of moments before, nor with a chaste distance. It was a tender, grounding promise: I am here. I am with you. And she accepted it with the whole of her heart.

​Exhausted, they collapsed onto their sides.

​”Ah... ahahaha,” the two lovers began to laugh, the sound breathless and light. Sunny chuckled softly, and Thene let out a melodic, silent giggle. Looking at them, one wouldn’t have guessed they had just shared such an intense, carnal ordeal; they looked more like two children who had just finished a playful game of hide-and-seek.

​Thene pressed her forehead against his, a gesture of quiet, infinite affection, while their bodies remained lazily joined in the afterglow.

​Sunny gazed at his Thene, and Thene gazed at her Sunny. Their fingers were tangled in a chaotic, beautiful mess—a masterpiece of overlapping limbs and flushed skin, warm despite the darkness of the room. They stayed like that for a long time, savoring the lingering contact and the sweet, heavy intimacy that had finally bridged the gap between them, a sanctuary the shadows had granted them.

​”I love you,” he whispered, and amidst the rumpled blankets, they lay in blissful, silent peace.

​”!”

​No sooner had Sunny closed his eyes than he snapped them wide open. Just as he withdrew from her, a slick trail of their combined essence spilling onto the sheets, Thene didn’t retreat. Instead, she lowered her head, her gaze shifting purposefully toward his waist.

​Myriad Shade had been a diligent student; she had learned a great many tricks for lovers from those strange videos in his communicator, and she was desperate to put that newfound knowledge into practice.

​Sunny’s [Child of War] attribute answered the new call to arms instantly. The slumber of exhaustion vanished, replaced by a fresh, surging heat.

​And so, the two began their dance upon the mattress once more.

***

Seven hours later...

​Professor Julius stood at the front of his classroom. His brow was furrowed, his hands planted firmly on his hips, and his feet splayed out like a duck, his right foot tapping repeatedly against the floor in impatient anticipation.

​Raising his right arm and pulling back his sleeve with his left hand, he checked his watch. It was a quarter to noon.

​’What in the Spell happened to Sleeper Sunless? He certainly didn’t strike me as the kind of scoundrel who would waste his time dawdling instead of attending class,’ he wondered, a bit annoyed. He was torn between marching down to the boy’s dorm to knock on his door out of sheer worry, or waiting just a little longer while the rest of his students reviewed their textbooks.

​Just then, a figure appeared from around the corner of the hallway. Julius raised a finger and opened his mouth to reprimand him, but the moment he got a good look at the boy, the words died in his throat, leaving his mouth hanging half-open.

​Sunless was walking—or rather, shuffling—with one shoulder leaning heavily against the wall, using both arms for support. He moved at a glacial pace, stepping carefully as if his hips were on fire and his legs had suddenly turned to jelly. His hair was still damp from a recent shower, but the most striking detail was his smile. It was far too wide, a goofy, dazed grin, as if he had just peeked beyond the pearly gates of paradise and lived to tell the tale.

​Sunny dragged himself along the wall until he reached the doorway of the Wilderness Survival classroom, that dopey smile permanently plastered across his face. Just a few steps from the entrance, his foot caught on empty air, and he pitched forward.

​Seeing this, Julius lunged forward, catching the boy by the arms just before he could faceplant onto the floor. ”Sleeper Sunless, are you alright, my boy?” the professor asked, his tone a mix of genuine concern and utter bewilderment.

​Sunny, struggling to regain his footing while Julius held him up by the shoulders, weakly raised his head to meet the professor’s bespectacled gaze.

​”Teacher,” he rasped out with a feeble voice, flashing a blinding, toothy grin that was meant to be a half-laugh. ”I think... I think I need some protein.” It was the only sentence he could formulate while his pelvic muscles screamed for mercy.

​Julius blinked. Once. Twice.

His analytical mind, sharpened by decades of teaching and academic research, processed every single detail in a flash.

​The professor took in the ridiculous, loopy smile on the boy’s lips, the dark bags under his eyes indicative of an impossibly long night, the heavy scent of body wash typical of someone trying to scrub away the evidence of a crime, the agonizing way he forced himself to walk, and finally, that undeniable, radiant afterglow he exuded. The teacher’s previous worry and anger over a skipped class instantly vanished, replaced by a fierce, paternal smile of profound pride. The tardiness was officially forgiven.

​”Hahahaha!” Professor Julius threw his head back and laughed heartily. He gave the boy an affectionate, heavy pat on the back that nearly sent Sunny tumbling to the floor all over again. ”Come on, my boy. Let’s get you something to eat!” he said between chuckles.

​With that, Julius slung one of the boy’s arms over his own shoulder and supported him as they walked toward the cafeteria. He guided him exactly the way a wise master would escort his favorite pupil to the winner’s podium after conquering an arduous, monumental trial.