Shadow Slave

The PTV stopped near a private dock hidden from view by a small park. Sunny turned off the engine and glanced at his companions, feeling an odd mixture of excitement and fatigue.

Truth be told, he was quite tired. Sunny did not quite remember when he slept the last time, and while this would not have been a problem in usual circumstances, he was a mundane person at the moment. His eyelids were heavy and his head felt like it was cast from lead, but at the same time, he was full of restless, frenetic energy.

‘Ah. I miss being a demigod.’

”Let’s go.”

They exited the vehicle and descended to a wooden pier that extended a small distance into the restless waters of the Mirror Lake. There, a beautiful wooden sailboat waited for them, ready to set sail.

Well, figuratively speaking. The weather was not conducive to raising sails, but the boat was outfitted with an electric motor, as well. It was the Other Mordret’s luxury yacht... or rather, one of his luxurious yachts. Of course.

A tall figure was waiting for them at the edge of the pier, hidden by the curtain of rain. With his long tattered coat, pale face, and emotionless expression, Mordret looked like Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld... the lake stretched behind him, and far in the distance, the magnificent silhouette of the great castle rose from the surging waves like a mirage.

Mordret looked at them silently. His eerie mirror-like eyes lingered for a few moments on his other incarnation, and then the empty cold void of his true self disappeared behind a pleasant smile.

“Well, this certainly brings back memories. Morgan, dear sister... we really should stop meeting like this.”

Still smiling, he looked back at the distant walls of the Castle.

”Granted, slowly crushing your spirit in those ruins was quite an amusing pastime. Splendid to see you as well, Saint Athena — you are a sight for sore eyes, as always. It takes a really special person to stay alive after being maimed, mangled, and killed by me so many times... allow me to extend my admiration.”

Effie looked at him for a few moments, then smiled.

”Oh? How about I extend my foot all the way up your ass, instead?”

Sunny winced.

Her words were somewhat crude... but she wasn’t wrong.

Looking at Mordret darkly, he said:

“Are you sure you want to make us angry at this point? Or do you think that I don’t have another Cursed Abomination stashed somewhere to drop on your deranged head?”

Sunny scoffed.

”In fact, I have five. Two Beasts, two Devils, and a Tyrant. So... mind your manners.”

Of course, he was talking about the Cursed Ones imprisoned in the Death Game and the terrifying Dollhouse. Unleashing them upon the world was not something he would do, of course, but the bastard did not have to know that.

Mordret’s smile turned a little forced.

”.. Apologies. Please, come aboard — there is no time to waste.”

They followed him onto the yacht. Sunny noticed that Morgan’s hands twitched a little when she was walking past Mordret — luckily, she did not pull her black leather gloves off, so it seemed that they would be able to maintain peace at least for now.

The Other Mordret could not pull his eyes away from his mirror copy. There was a faint, foolish smile on his face — as if he had met someone precious after a long separation. Mordret himself, however, did not even look his way, acting like his other part did not even exist. ℝä𝐍ỗВЕş

Standing side by side, they were... utterly the same. The clothes were different, and one was much more ragged than the other, but the similarity between them was so complete that it seemed odd. They looked more alike than identical twins. They were simply flawless copies of each other. Nevertheless, it was impossible to confuse them.

Or so Sunny thought, until the two shards of Mordret disappeared into the cabin and returned wearing each other’s clothes.

The Other Mordret — the pampered CEO of the Valor Group — was now wearing rags under a tattered raincoat. Mordret himself, meanwhile, was wearing a chic viridian suit with tasteful golden accents. He had styled his hair and changed his posture, appearing less imposing and more subdued.

Then, Mordret took a deep breath and plastered a faint, foolish smile on his face. Everything about him suddenly changed, as if he was reborn — his poise, his presence, his gaze...

A few moments later, Sunny was not at all confident in his ability to differentiate between the two Mordrets.

‘Thais... might be a problem.’

Mordret looked at him innocently and coughed.

”So, Detective Sunless, should we cast off?”

Sunny stared at him for a while, then nodded slowly.

”Sure. Let’s... do that.”

The boat was tied to the pier by a rope. Effie was the one who untied it and then jumped aboard, almost slipping on the wet deck — Sunny helped her regain balance and looked at the hazy silhouette of Mirage City, which was slowly drifting away.

After remaining silent for a few moments, he sighed.

”I feel like we won’t be coming ashore after arriving at the Castle. This place... was fun, in its own way. I never thought I’d ever witness how people lived before the Dark Times — before the resource starvation, the wars, the natural disasters, and the Nightmare Spell. In a world of peace, prosperity, and promise.”

He hesitated.

“And they still manage to make a mess out of it. Well... I guess that’s just human nature. What do you think?”

Effie looked back, too.

She contemplated her answer for a while, and then smiled.

“This place has chocolate milk and donuts. I’m going to miss it.”

Sunny sighed.

“And cultivation dramas. Those are great, as well.”

Effie chuckled, then unholstered her revolver and opened the drum, sliding the rounds into it one after another.

“You know...”

She loaded the last round and snapped the revolver shut.

”If we defeat the Castellan and regain control of this Component of Bastion, we might be able to fashion the Palace of Imagination into whatever we want.”

Effie looked at Sunny and grinned.

“We can even make that cultivation stuff you mentioned come true. Just imagine! You, me, Nephis, Cassie, Kai, and Jet taking a vacation here, building the most awesome of cultivation sects.”

Sunny rolled his eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that we’ll find a more useful way of controlling the Palace of Imagination.”

He remained silent for a while, feeling the boat accelerating beneath them, and then added:

“But if we do build an awesome cultivation sect, it has to be located on a mountain. An awesome mountain covered in cherry blossoms. With caves and deep pools of natural qi...”

The sailboat cut across the lake, coming closer and closer to the towering castle. The beautiful, ruined heart of Mirage City.