Shadow Slave: Kindler of the flame

Sunny's POV

A week had passed since Sunny and Cassie had come to the Bright Castle to gather information on Gunlaug.

Now, they had no soul shards left to remain within its walls. As they made their way toward the castle's exit, Sunny glanced at Cassie beside him and wondered:

"Should I invite Solaire to meet Nephis? He's the only other person I've known longer than either Neph or Cas."

They slowly walked under the grey skies of the Forgotten Shore. Both took a deep breath as the bleak slums came into view. Cassie tugged on his sleeve.

"Where do we go now, Sunny?"

He sighed, looking at the pitiful sprawl before them.

"Where else? We go find Nephis now."

Cassie tilted her head slightly, then asked with a blank expression:

"But… how do we find her?"

Shrugging, he answered half-heartedly,

"We just follow this road. The place doesn't look that big. I'm sure we'll manage… somehow."

As they descended the cracked path, Sunny kept a vigilant eye out for any Sleepers wearing armor. After all, a Memory of armor—especially a powerful one—was exceedingly rare. If anyone would have one, it would be Changing Star.

In the distance, Sunny noticed a man walking down the road. He was clad in armor—steel scales wrapped in deep obsidian, with crimson veins pulsing softly beneath. Sunny narrowed his eyes.

"An Awakened Memory of the third tier. That's pretty strong. Who is he?"

As they came closer, he realized who it was and raised his voice.

"Solaire! Over here!"

Solaire's POV

"I don't think I'll be using that charm again for a while."

Solaire trudged forward, utterly drained. His essence had run dry, and he was on the verge of collapse. The fight had taken everything out of him.

Then, he heard a familiar voice call out. He looked around but didn't spot the source. Just as he was about to keep walking—

"Hey! At least reply if you heard me!"

Solaire flinched, startled, then took a step back to compose himself.

[Sunny… you almost killed me there.]

Rolling his eyes, Sunny asked,

"Are you free right now? We're on our way to meet someone, and it'd be great if you could join us."

Solaire really didn't feel like going anywhere in his current state, but Sunny seemed serious. After a pause, he nodded reluctantly.

[No… I'm free. I'll come with you.]

Cassie, gently tugging on Sunny again, looked forward and greeted him.

"Hello, Solaire. It would be really great if you could join us. We're going to meet Nephis."

Sunny bent toward her ear and whispered,

"He said he's coming."

Flustered, Cassie gave a small bow of apology, and the three of them continued down the road together. Sunny glanced sideways and remarked,

"That's a good armor you've got there. Where'd you get it?"

[Ah… I got lucky. Managed to land the last hit on an Awakened devil. This armor's pretty solid—much better than what I had before.]

At the edge of the slum, seated on a roof under the pale sun, was Changing Star.

She sat in silence, gazing at the sky. The soft light caught her silver-white hair, making her appear ethereal—beautiful and eerie. She had dismissed her armor and wore only a crude tunic, cinched at the waist with a rope.

Sensing their approach, she rose and leapt gracefully to the ground, landing lightly.

"Hey, Neph! Long time no see!"

Nephis glanced at Sunny and Cassie, then her gaze fell on Solaire. Sunny added quickly,

"Oh, I forgot to introduce—Neph, meet Solaire. He was my classmate in the Wilderness Survival Class."

[Nice to meet you, Lady Nephis. I don't know if you remember, but you once told me to eat more meat to improve my physique.]

Sunny blinked in surprise.

"Neph… gave someone advice? Is this true?"

Cassie looked blank for a moment. After Sunny conveyed what Solaire had said, she too looked stunned. The two stared at Nephis.

She was quiet for a long moment.

"I don't remember," she said at last, then turned and gestured for them to follow.

Inside the Shelter

The interior was spacious but stark. Broken furniture lay scattered, and cold wind whispered through cracks in the walls. Cassie, remembering something, stepped forward and held out a small bundle.

"Here, Neph. I brought you something to eat."

Nephis accepted it with a faint smile and replied,

"Thanks… do you all want breakfast?"

She walked over to a small table and pulled back a cloth, revealing a pile of juicy roasted meat—enough to feed ten people.

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"Where the hell did you get all this meat?"

Touching her hair in mild embarrassment, Nephis replied,

"Oh… a few nights ago, a big monster came from the road. I and a few others killed it. This is my share of the spoils."

Cassie's eyes widened.

"But I thought Gunlaug's men were supposed to fight off Nightmare Creatures!"

Nephis was silent for a moment before answering,

"They do… but only if the castle is attacked. They don't bother with the ones on the road."

Sunny and Cassie moved to sit at the table. Solaire remained standing awkwardly, unsure. Nephis looked at him.

"You can eat too."

Nodding, Solaire sat next to Sunny. After everyone had eaten, Nephis looked at Sunny with calm intensity.

"What did you learn about the castle?"

Sunny sighed and began explaining the order of things: the hierarchy, the living conditions, and how tightly Gunlaug controlled every aspect of life within the castle.

He then looked at Solaire.

"Anything you want to add? You've been there the longest."

Solaire thought for a moment. Sunny had already covered most of it. Then he recalled a conversation he had overheard between two guards.

[I can't vouch for the authenticity of this, but I heard some guards talking. They said the armor Gunlaug wears might actually be a Transcendent Echo.]

Everyone went quiet.

"…A Transcendent Echo?" Sunny exclaimed. "What the fuck?I thought it was an armor?"

Cassie looked alarmed. Sunny continued, frowning,

"Also, how can an Echo be armor?"

Solaire raised his hands slightly.

[Again, Sunny, I can't confirm any of this. It was just idle chatter from the guards.]

Nephis finally spoke,

"I see." She turned to Sunny. "You said five hundred people live in the castle?"

Sunny nodded. Nephis continued,

"The population of the slums is also around five hundred. And from what I've heard, every year, hundreds are sent to the Forgotten Shore."

She paused.

"But I haven't seen a single Sleeper from our crop here… except for the three—" She glanced at Solaire. "—ahem, four of us."

Scratching his head, Sunny muttered reluctantly,

"It's actually five. Caster's also here, living comfortably in the castle."

Nephis grew animated.

"Caster of the Han Li clan? He's here?"

Sunny tried not to grimace.

"Yeah. He's been here the whole time. Actually, Caster said only seven Sleepers were sent to the Forgotten Shore this year."

Then, glancing at Solaire, he added,

"Make that eight. Strange, right?"

Nephis narrowed her eyes.

"How does Caster know how many new arrivals there were?"

A good question—one Sunny had asked himself before eventually confronting Caster for an answer.

"There's an Artisan in the castle with a weird Revelation-type Ability. She can trace the general location of anyone you've ever met. Caster paid her a bunch of soul shards to check if any of his acquaintances made it here. She told him there were six."

Nephis was quiet for a moment.

"Only six…" Then she said simply, "Continue."

Sunny did. He went over everything he had learned—the vile politics, the cruel realities, and how the Bright Lord's control ran deeper than appearances suggested.

Cassie grew pale as he spoke. Nephis's expression darkened more with each word.

When he recounted the sham trial that ended with Jubei's execution, and how absolute Gunlaug's control truly was, Nephis's mouth twisted slightly.

Finally, he concluded:

"…and that's why Gunlaug can't be defeated. He controls everything—food, shelter, hope, fear. Power itself is his to give and take. Out here, he might as well be a god."

Nephis was silent for a long time.

"He is no god," she said at last. "Just an imposter."

She then turned to Solaire.

"I always wondered why none of his lieutenants tried to assassinate him in his sleep. That's how most tyrants fall. But if what you said is true… that might explain it."

Sunny sighed and continued describing Gunlaug's Aspect and how he got his golden armor—though now, it might even be a Transcendent Echo.

Then Nephis added something that stunned them all:

"There is a Gateway here, after all."

Everyone but Solaire was surprised. Sunny asked quickly,

"Then why hasn't anyone left?"

Nephis replied calmly,

"Why do you think? The Gateway… is in the Crimson Spire."