Shadow Slave

Chapter 37 Getting To Know Each Other

Sunny was slowly growing fond of having conversations in the dark. Without the burden of light, people were more relaxed and honest. It reminded him of the frequent blackouts that used to sweep through the city when he was a little kid. His family had no choice but to huddle together and spend a few hours doing nothing but talking to each other.

Now, these dark hours had become some of his most precious memories.

He was silent for a few moments and then said:

”Since weʼre going to be depending on each other, should we share what abilities and Memories we have at our disposal?”

This was a logical suggestion. If they were going to fight side by side, knowing each otherʼs strengths was more or less vital. Still, he noticed Nephis glancing in his direction with a guarded look on her face.

Luckily, he was obscured by darkness.

”Iʼll start,” Sunny said, both to show his sincerity and to reveal information about himself in a controlled manner.

If he took the initiative to talk, he still had to tell the truth, but how much and to what extent was still for him to decide. If they were to ask and he had to answer, however… things would become unpredictable.

”My attributes give me an affinity to shadows. I also have a slight affiliation to divinity. Lastly, I am prone to finding myself in unlikely situations.”

Cassie listened carefully, and then lowered her head, as though embarrassed.

”Uh… he is telling the truth. Not that we doubted your honesty!”

ʼWhy not? I spent so much time earning the reputation of a pathological liar!ʼ

Sunny cleared his throat and smiled, hiding his nervousness:

”Really? Thatʼs good to know. But… why are you so sure that I am being honest?”

The blind girl shifted a little.

”Oh! Thatʼs my Ability. I can ”see” peopleʼs Attributes. Sometimes, I also receive, uh, ”visions”. They can be about the future or the past. I mean, thatʼs what I think… it only happened a couple of times.”

Sunny swallowed, but then relaxed.

ʼSo, she is an oracle of sorts. Luckily, her insight is limited to Attributes… otherwise, Iʼd be in real trouble. Still, Iʼll have to be careful around her.ʼ

He finally realized how the blind girl had known about his birthday. The question was whether she had seen it in a vision of the future or in a vision of the past. If it was the former, was it safe to assume that he would certainly be able to celebrate at least one more birthday?

Or did knowing the future actually affected and changed it? For example, after learning that he was definitely going to survive, Sunny might have naturally relaxed and lowered his guard. Then, he would die as the result of it. It surely seemed possible, right? Thatʼs assuming that the future could be changed. But maybe it wasnʼt? Then…

Feeling his head hurting, Sunny decided to avoid this line of thought for now. Instead, he hid his inner turmoil and said in a friendly tone:

”Thatʼs a good Ability. Speaking of Abilities: you have already seen mine. My shadow can move independently and explore. It canʼt affect the material world, but we share sight and hearing. That way, I can spot danger before encountering it. The shadow is fast and stealthy: it can go anywhere and is almost impossible to notice. Oh, I can also see in the dark.”

He smiled, expecting the girls to understand and appreciate the utility of his Shadow Scout. Their reaction, however, was a bit strange: Nephis slowly turned her head in his direction, while Cassie became a bit pale and raised her hands to cover her chest.

”Uh… what?”

Nephis frowned and said in a flat tone:

”Have you ever used your Ability in the Academy?”

Sunny blinked.

ʼWhat a strange question!ʼ

”In the Academy? Sure, of course. Why?”

Oh, right… they think that Iʼm a pervert…

Crap!

Before the girls could say anything, he hurriedly raised his hand and blurted:

”But I have never used it to do anything improper! You have to believe me!”

Fortunately, it was the honest truth. However, both Nephis and Cassie looked skeptical. Sunny gritted his teeth.

”I had more important things to do than… than whatever youʼre thinking about! I spent almost every waking hour learning how to survive!”

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

”I havenʼt seen you in class… even once.”

Sunny chuckled.

”Of course, you didnʼt. While you were busy wiping the floor with other Sleepers, I was studying Wilderness Survival.”

It was Changing Starʼs turn to blink.

”Wilderness… what? There is such a course?”

Cassie seemed equally puzzled.

”Yes, there is. It might seem like an afterthought for most people, but for an outskirts kid like me, who never went to a fancy school or saw a private tutor, learning how to survive in the wilderness is the difference between life and death. Without it, I would have drowned the moment we were sent to the Dream Realm.”

On a rare occasion, Nephis looked completely bewildered. She rubbed her wrists and stared thoughtfully in his direction.

”I see. I didnʼt know.”

Sunny grimaced and struggled to keep the venom from sipping into his voice. When he finally spoke, his tone was light and amiable.

”Thatʼs okay. Itʼs natural for someone of your status not to know…”

When he mentioned her status, a strange smile appeared on the Changing Starʼs face. But in the end, she didnʼt reply.

Sunny continued:

”Anyway, thatʼs my Ability. As for Memories, I have three. One is an armor, one is a sword, and the last one is a really loud bell.”

Now it was their turn to share. After a short pause, Nephis spoke:

”My attributes give me an affinity to light and fire, as well as a strong affiliation to divinity. I have two Memories: a rope…”

While she was speaking, Sunny was looking at Cassie, trying to read her expression. From what he saw, Nephis was telling the truth — but also, not the whole truth. And judging by how hard the blind girl was trying to hide her true feelings, the secret hiding among Changing Starʼs Attributes was not at all trivial.

ʼInteresting.ʼ

”...and a sword. The rope is very sturdy and can change its length. The sword is very sharp and can protect its wielder against souls attacks, to a certain extent. My Ability… can be used to heal.”

Sunny didnʼt miss the wording of the last part. ”Can be used to heal”... does this mean that its main purpose was something else? He was pretty sure that Nephis would not reveal all of her cards, just like him. However, healing abilities were extremely rare. Having one that could heal, but was not limited to healing — that would be simply unheard of.

But then again, she was Changing Star — one of the few people in history to receive a True Name in the First Nightmare. If Sunny were to consider his own Aspect Ability, nothing seemed impossible.

ʼI wonder whatʼs her Aspect rank is.ʼ

Outwardly, he pretended to be excited.

”Youʼre a Healer? Thatʼs great! Having a Healer among us is incredible luck!”

Cassie nodded and smiled.

”Neph is also an amazing fighter! You should have seen her dealing with those scavengers. Well… I also did not actually see it. But it sounded very scary.”

Sunny didnʼt need anyone to tell him how formidable of a warrior Nephis was. He had seen it with how own two eyes. Sort of. Actually, they were his shadowʼs eyes. Well… whatever it had instead of eyes.

Meanwhile, Cassie sighed.

”Itʼs my turn? Uh… my attributes are nothing special. I guess I have an affinity to revelations and fate. My Ability is like I told you before. Itʼs not very useful. About my Memories, I have three: the bottle, the wooden staff and this armor. You already know about the bottle. The staff can create wind. The armor is actually of the Awakened rank… uh, Neph gave it to me when we met. It has a very powerful protective charm.”

ʼSo… sheʼs not only carrying Cassie on her back, she even gave away her only clothes? An Awakened-rank armor, at that? What… what is Nephis thinking about?ʼ

The blind girl turned away and added after a while:

”I used to be a pretty decent fencer… before. Now I canʼt really fight.”

The last two sentences were obviously related to her Flaw. Sunny and Nephis, however, both chose to keep theirs secret. Despite the fact that knowing your companionʼs Flaw was also important for cooperation and having each otherʼs backs, sharing something like that demanded a very high level of trust.

Right now, there was no trust between them. And even if there was, Sunny did not plan to ever share his Flaw with anyone. Nephis, too, seemed to have a lot of secrets.

After a while, he said:

”Good. Thatʼs good. I think we have enough tools to survive, provided we use them right. I guess itʼs time to sleep?”

In the darkness, Nephis tilted her head, listening to his words with a distant look.

”Alright. Iʼll… take watch first.”

Sunny decided to be helpful and said:

”Actually, my shadow doesnʼt sleep. It can wake us up if something happens.”

Changing Star slowly smiled.

”Iʼll take watch first.”

Feeling a bit of coldness in her voice, Sunny sighed and shrugged.

ʼSuit yourself. What are you going to watch, huh? You canʼt even see anything! Whatever. Just donʼt blame me when something giant swallows us in the middle of the night…ʼ

Then he suddenly shuddered.

ʼWait... that was not a death flag, right? Right, of course not. No way...ʼ

😉