Shadow Slave

Walking over to Kai, Sunny cleared his throat and forced himself to not cover his eyes. The damn archer was just too dazzling. Him being shirtless in crowded places should have honestly been categorized as a public hazard back in the real world.

If not, there was a gross oversight.

‘I wonder how he was made. Probably in a secret government laboratory or a magic cauldron of some sort. I mean, there’s no way that this dude is the same species as me… right?’

After a few seconds of Sunny blankly staring at him, Kai smiled politely:

“Uh, Sunny? Did you want something?”

Sunny flinched and covered his eyes.

“Ah! Don’t smile at me!”

Kai blinked.

“…Alright.”

Breathing heavily, Sunny glared at him and slowly lowered his hand.

“That’s better. And yes, I did want something.”

Kai suddenly livened up and pointed at his chest.

“What is that? An accessory?”

‘What is he…’

Lowering his gaze, Sunny noticed the mysterious key hanging on a thread tied around his neck.

He didn’t really want to show it to anyone, but with the Puppeteer’s Shroud restoring itself in the Soul Sea, there were not a lot of places where he could hide it.

None that he was willing to use, at least…

Plus, no one else was supposed to be able to see the light of divinity, so to them, it just looked like a small iron key.

Sunny frowned.

“It’s not an accessory. It’s a key. ”

Kai hesitated.

“Oh. What does it open?”

Sunny shrugged.

“How should I know?”

The charming archer seemed a little confused.

“But if it’s not an accessory and it doesn’t open anything, why are you carrying it around?”

His questions were starting to get tiresome. Sunny sighed.

“To open something, of course!”

Kai scratched his nose.

“But you just said that you don’t know what it opens.”

Sunny gritted his teeth.

“It’s a damn key, right?! So it has to open something! I just carry it around in case I find something that can be opened by that damned key! What’s so hard to understand?!”

The beautiful archer gave him a strange look.

“Oh… I see. That definitely makes sense.”

‘Curses! That’s not how I planned to approach him…’

Sunny instantly changed his expression and looked at Kai with a wide smile.

…The sudden shift looked sort of creepy.

“Uh, what I wanted to say, Night, my dear friend… we are friends, right? Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I hope that this answer satisfies your curiosity. That’s something a friend would say… right?”

The charming young man gave him a dubious look.

“I guess?”

“Great! So we are friends. Well, some might say that it’s your lucky day, buddy. Because today — and only today, probably! — Sunny’s Gorgeous Emporium offers customers an exclusive friendship deal. Just for friends of the establishment. Aren’t you lucky?”

Kai suddenly coughed.

“…Wasn’t it Sunny’s Brilliant Emporium last time?”

Sunny blinked.

“Was it? Well, doesn’t matter. The deal still stands. Are you interested or not?”

The archer lingered for a few moments, and then cautiously said:

“But Sunny… you still haven’t told me what exactly that deal entails. Is it a deal for customers you consider friends or are you trying to sell me your “friendship”? Or wait, do you want to buy mine? Or both? Ah, I’m confused.”

As if waiting for that response, Sunny nodded energetically.

“Yes! I’m glad that you asked. In fact, I have an incredible item that I want to sell. It’s so incredible that I am even reluctant to part with it. But since you are my friend, I am willing to give it away. Practically for free. Full friendship discount, just for you. No need to thank me, really.”

Attracted by the noise, the others left what they were doing and were now staring at the two of them. Effie got distracted from preparing meat and was now observing the circus with an expectant grin.

Realizing that he is now the center of attention, Kai sighed.

“Alright, I’ll bite. What is that incredible item you want to sell me?”

Sunny remained silent for a few moments, and then suddenly stopped smiling.

“Oh, just something I had gathering dust in my Soul Sea. It’s a Memory that can serve as an endless supply of arrows. As long as you don’t miss.”

The beautiful archer’s eyes suddenly lit up. He glanced at his quiver and said:

“Wait… really? You really have such a Memory?”

ᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ɴ ᴏᴠᴇʟ After thinking about it for a long time, Sunny had decided to give the Blood Arrow to Kai. Having the archer of their cohort armed with it would make a lot of things easier during this journey.

He could potentially earn himself a bow in the future and learn how to use it, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Plus, with how dangerous the enchantments of the Blood Arrow were, nothing short of excellence would fly. And excellence took a lot of time to achieve, time that he didn’t have. So, giving it to a skilled archer like Kai was a better decision.

Their recent encounters with the iron spiders only made Sunny more certain that this was the right thing to do.

But he wasn’t going to give it away for free.

“Yes, I do have such a Memory.”

Then, he casually added:

“Oh, did I forget to say? It’s can provide an endless supply of arrows, and also all those arrows will be of the Ascended rank.”

A grave silence settled over the marble arch.

“You… you’re in possession of an Ascended Memory?”

That question was asked by Caster. Kai didn’t have to ask, because he already knew that Sunny was telling the truth.

His eyes slightly widened.

On the Forgotten Shore, Ascended Memories were exceedingly rare — for an obvious reason. Sleepers could only get one by defeating a Fallen Nightmare Creature, and there weren’t a lot of people capable of such a feat. Added to that was the fact that not every kill provided a Memory. In fact, most didn’t.

To receive one was the dream of every inhabitant of the Dark City.

Sunny shrugged.

“Oh, I have a couple. Why?”

…The other being the onyx armor. Which was broken and useless. But they didn’t need to know that, honestly.

He grinned.

“Only the best wares in the Sunny’s Astonishing Emporium! Wait, uh… was it astonishing? Ah, who cares. You get the sentiment.”

Caster shook his head.

“How did you get an Ascended Memory? You?”

The grin froze on Sunny’s face. When he spoke a few moments later, all humor was gone from his voice, replaced by coldness.

“Well, if you have to know. I got it by killing a Fallen Beast. Before you ask… this time, I didn’t have to shake my finger or spit. I just looked at it, and it died.”

Then, he turned his head and looked straight at Caster:

“I am very proficient in killing things, you know.”