Shadow Re: Slave

When Sunny arrived at the well, he heard Gunlaug's guards talking to someone — trying to coax them into handing over their memories.

He stepped silently out of the shadows behind them and spoke, his voice dripping with mockery.

"What are you doing here? Talking to a well? Have you finally snapped? Then again, you Gunlaug dogs were never known for your brilliance. Following that fat tyrant… pitiful."

The five men whirled around in unison, startled. One of them stammered, "N-no, we weren't doing anything…"

Sunny tilted his head, giving them a lazy smile. "Sure. You can tell that to the Ferryman — right after I kill you."

Before the men could react, a desperate but hauntingly beautiful voice echoed up from the depths of the well.

"Don't believe them! They trapped me here. They're trying to steal my memories. Please… help me! But be careful, they're dangerous!"

Sunny chuckled, amused.

"Tell me, who are you? And why should I even bother dragging you out of that hole? You're asking me to fight five of Gunlaug's lackeys for your sake. That could make my life very inconvenient."

The voice hesitated, then answered, a little frantic, "My name is Kai… and… I could pay you! I'll give you soul shards. Or even one of my memories."

Sunny grinned.

"Is that so? Then tell me — would you give me all your memories?"

Kai froze.

The voice above him clearly belonged to someone powerful. And unpredictable. He could be worse than the others, far worse. After all, who wandered the Dark City alone at night? Only Effie — and even she rarely did it during the day without backup. Whoever this was… was stronger than her. Stronger, or completely insane.

Kai tried to think, to calculate the odds, but before he could form a response, the man chuckled again.

"Relax. I'm just messing with you my dear friend. I wouldn't steal a memory from you — not even one. In fact, I'll kill these five idiots for free. No charge. It's a pleasure, you know?"

Kai shuddered. His Flaw told him the man was telling the truth.

And that made it worse.

Who in all the known realms found pleasure in killing five people for no reason?

But more unsettling was what the stranger hadn't said.

He'd offered to kill the guards for free… not to free Kai for free. In fact, he hadn't said anything about letting him out at all.

Kai swallowed hard.

He didn't need to speak to know he wasn't fine — no lie could mask what was clawing at his chest.

Still, the voice above continued, as calm and casual as if they were discussing weather.

"But if you want me to free you, you'll have to do four things for me."

There was a pause.

"Sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?"

Kai hesitated, then asked cautiously, "What kind of four things?"

He barely got the words out when he heard the sound of flesh striking stone. Then another. Then three more. The guards screamed — and fell silent.

The stranger spoke again, his voice almost cheerful.

"Oh, nothing too outrageous. At least, I think so. I don't actually know what the last task is yet. But I'll only tell you the first one before you accept the deal."

Kai felt a chill run down his spine.

He didn't know why, but it was like the man knew about his Flaw — and was weaponizing it by only telling the truth.

Everything about this made him uneasy.

And yet… he listened.

The unknown voice spoke, calm and deliberate:

"I'll give you two thousand soul shards. You're going to use them to buy the most useless memories Stev has. Then bring them to me."

Kai froze. Two thousand soul shards? That was… absurd. No one he knew had ever held that many, not from hunting. Maybe Aiko — maybe — but even then, it was hard to believe.

Before he could respond, the voice continued:

"Oh, and since I'm feeling generous, I'll tell you the fourth task, too. Convince Aiko to work for me. Her first job will be to search for anyone with useful talents — but I'll explain the details to her personally, once she agrees. Use the soul shards to brag a little, tell her there's more where that came from. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Kai was quiet for a moment. The first three tasks, then… none of them inappropriate. He let out a breath.

"Fine. I'll do it."

The voice chuckled. This time, it carried something else — a darker edge, twisted with amusement.

"You know, I said none of the tasks were inappropriate… and I meant it. But you don't know what I consider appropriate. Killing someone, for example — perfectly fine, in my opinion."

Kai's expression turned to stone. He'd been played, and he knew it. He clenched his jaw.

"…Are you going to get me out of here or not?"

The laughter faded. Then, without a sound, the massive stone covering the well was lifted and set aside — as if it weighed nothing.

Kai blinked in surprise. The five men who had thrown it over him had struggled to do it together. And now it was gone, just like that.

When he was pulled up and out of the well, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He had expected someone like Gemma, maybe Effie. Someone big. Someone strong.

But standing there was a small, ragged boy with dirty hair and a face half-covered in soot. His clothes looked like they'd been scavenged from a corpse, barely holding together.

Sunny noticed his expression and smiled faintly. "I know, I look like a nightmare creature. But I swear I'm not."

Kai shook his head. "No, that's not it. I was just wondering how you lifted that stone by yourself. Is your Aspect strength-based?"

Sunny shrugged. "Not really. I just picked it up like this."

He grabbed the same stone, lifted it effortlessly… and then threw it twenty meters down the street, where it smashed into a crumbling wall.

Kai stared in disbelief. Even Sleepers with physical Aspects rarely had that kind of power.

Sunny just laughed. "Don't ask too many questions. With a Flaw like yours, knowing too much might get dangerous."

He stepped closer, his voice casual. "Let me give you an example. First nightmare creature I killed on the Forgotten Shore? Corrupted."

There was a loud thud as Kai stumbled, falling face-first onto the cracked stone. Sunny barely held in his laughter as he helped him up, grinning.

"Careful now. Would be a shame to break that pretty face."

Kai was utterly baffled. For a whole minute, he couldn't move, let alone speak. Then, finally collecting himself, he asked, "You're joking… right?"

He already knew the answer.

Then something else struck him. He still didn't know what to call the ragged-looking boy. Frowning, he asked, "Never mind that. What's your name?"

The boy smiled brightly, as if the world wasn't a dark, twisted nightmare.

"My name's Sunless. But you, as my best friend, can call me Sunny. You're okay with being my best friend, right, Kai?"

Kai muttered, "Yes, yes… Sunless. Peculiar name."

Then it hit him. His Flaw hadn't reacted — not even a twitch. That meant Sunny wasn't lying. He really meant it.

"You… you really mean it?" Kai asked, his voice uncertain. "How can I be your best friend? We've known each other for, what, twenty minutes?"

Sunny chuckled softly, his smile still in place. "Because I don't have any other male friends."

It was a joke, but also not. The words hung in the air with unsettling honesty.

In this life, it was true. Sunny hadn't formed many bonds. Jet. Cassie. Nephis. That was it. And none of them would exactly call him "buddy."

Kai stared at him, disbelief crawling across his features. For someone who had lived such an extraordinary life — filled with fame, danger, and impossible feats — it was still hard to believe that this strange, disheveled kid had never had a friend.

"I had friends once," Kai admitted, though he wasn't sure why. "But after my Flaw awakened… i realized they had actually never been real friends"

He wanted to ask why Sunny had been so specific — male friends? Before he could speak, Sunny answered unprompted.

"I have some female friends. It's… complicated. Haven't seen them in four months. Actually, you're the first human I've talked to in all that time."

Kai was stunned. Four months?

What had this boy been doing?

"You live in the outskirts of the Great Castle?" he asked slowly. "You don't look like someone from the Castle. And you weren't exactly friendly when talking about Gunlaug."

Sunny shook his head. "No and yes. I don't live in the outskirts of the Castle… and I don't live in the castle either."

Kai almost tripped again. He had to focus just to stay upright.

What the hell is wrong with him? he thought. Either he's insane, and his Flaw doesn't react because he believes his own madness… or…

Or he lived in the Dark City. And that thought was far more terrifying than the idea of insanity.

Kai didn't want to ask. But Sunny didn't wait for permission.

"I live here," he said simply, pointing toward a massive, crumbling cathedral nestled among the ruins. "This is the first real home I've ever had… in both worlds."

Kai's face drained of color.

That cathedral. The one even the hunters avoided. The one said to house a Fallen Creature no one dared approach.

He grabbed Sunny's shoulder, just to steady himself. Sunny chuckled.

"Alright, alright. Don't pass out. You don't have to go inside. Just wait here while I grab the soul shards."

He set Kai gently onto the ground, then disappeared into the shadows.

A few minutes later, he returned — carrying a massive, thrumming sack slung over his back.

Whatever doubts Kai had left about Sunny's story vanished. The beautiful archer nearly fainted right there, on the spot.

It was too much. But he pulled himself together.

They walked in silence at first, then Kai began asking questions — about the waking world, music trends, anything to distract himself.

Sunny had come with the latest Winter Solstice. Last time, he'd been clueless. But this time, he was prepared. He'd spent time in the waking world getting briefed, gathering facts. Now, he delivered answers in a calm, almost smug tone, giving Kai detailed reports on everything the archer found interesting.

Eventually, they fell into a comfortable silence, walking side-by-side toward the outskirts.

The place had changed. Sunny had sent his shadow to scout it a few days ago, but even since then, Nephis had tightened security. There were guards now. A real gate.

They'd need to pass it.

Just as Sunny hoped, Kai handled it. When the guards asked questions, he pulled their attention away, never letting them realize that the small, dirty kid walking beside him was anyone worth noting.

The same trick worked at the castle gates.

Inside, Sunny turned to him and said, "Oh, right. One more thing. I'm changing one of my requests."

Kai arched a brow.

"You don't have to approach Aiko for me. I'll handle that myself. But…" Sunny paused, then added with a perfectly straight face, "Can I shower at your place?"

Kai almost stumbled again. He stared at Sunny, half-offended, half-disbelieving.

"You? Shower? At my place?"

Sunny grinned. "I might not look like it, but I hate being dirty. And I'm about to meet a real princess. Gotta look presentable."