Shadow Re: Slave

When Sunny arrived in Kai's room, the handsome archer was already waiting for him, seated on the edge of the bed, deep in thought. He flinched slightly when Sunny appeared out of thin air, but quickly composed himself and smiled.

"Sunny, you're back. I got all the memories you asked for."

Sunny returned the smile with a nod. "That's great. Now, transfer them to me while I tell you about your next task."

As Kai began the transfer, Sunny's tone grew calm and focused.

"Alright. For your final task, you're going to meet Changing Star. Get to know her, talk with her a bit. And then… decide for yourself whether you want to join her mission or not."

Kai raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Sunny continued.

"But if you do decide to join, you'll also be my eyes and ears. Let me know how far her plans have progressed. Report on everything they're doing. I'll need that intel to adjust my own movements accordingly."

He turned away as if to leave, then paused mid-step.

"Oh, and one more thing. If you meet Changing Star, don't mention my name. Don't lie either—just be careful with your words. Say I'm your employer, your benefactor… whatever works. But don't give away too much."

Kai simply nodded, almost absentmindedly. By now, nothing Sunny said could truly surprise him anymore. He had long accepted that his friend operated on a level far beyond what was normal. The mention of 2,000 soul shards alone would be enough to get anyone branded insane or accused of lying—and Kai hated liars more than anything. His flaw made him hypersensitive to deception. It was why he respected Sunny… even feared him a little.

And then, just like that, Sunny vanished again—leaving no trace, as if he had never been there at all.

When Sunny reappeared in Seishan's room, she was already seated—composed, poised, her face unreadable. She didn't flinch. Not this time.

She had expected him.

Still, she hadn't actually seen him arrive. One moment, the room was empty. The next, he was simply… there. As if the shadows had always included him, and she had just failed to notice until now.

Sunny offered her a bright smile, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes. He looked entirely too pleased with himself.

Seishan didn't speak immediately. She simply raised her gaze, eyes calm, lips unmoving.

She had used his absence to think—deeply.

About everything he had said.

And the truth she didn't want to admit.

She didn't have a choice.

Not here. Not in this cursed place. He was her best, possibly only, path out. But that didn't mean she would stay bound to him forever. Once back in the waking world—once among her people, her resources, her mother—perhaps the balance could shift again.

Maybe betrayal would be necessary.

But… who would she betray?

Sunny?

Or her mother?

The thought unsettled her more than it should have.

Ki Song had raised her. Shaped her. Forged her like a blade meant for war. Seishan had lived her entire life in the shadow of her name, molded by duty and bloodline. Loyalty to Song wasn't a question—it was a condition of her existence.

And yet…

Sunny had shown her something different. A power that didn't come from birthright or bloodline, but from raw will. He spoke with conviction, not as a follower of some old legacy, but as someone who intended to remake the world.

But the thought that he might be right was even more unsettling, perhaps even terrifying.

Seishan sat in silence, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her face composed, her posture perfect.

But her thoughts were anything but still.

But even as that thought surfaced, another rose to meet it.

Did she even want to betray him?

She hated how right he had sounded. About the Sovereigns. About the impending collapse—if it was really true. About the need for change. Most damning of all was how much she already knew he was right.

Still… she hadn't abandoned her hope in Ki Song. Not yet.

She was torn. Between two worlds. Between two futures.

And so, when Sunny finally broke the silence, his tone amused and light, she didn't show anything.

"Have you made up your mind, Princess?"

Seishan gave a quiet chuckle. A bitter one. Then she nodded, voice dry but resolute.

"Yes, I have. I'll be your partner in crime… For now... she added in her thoughts. So—what are our next steps?"

Sunny's grin widened. It annoyed her more than it should have.

There was something insufferably calm about him. He was almost cheerful—despite the fact that he had just cornered her into a decision that would pull her away from everything she'd ever known.

He had threatened her.

But he'd made the choice feel inevitable. Framed it as survival.

And somehow, that was worse.

He had demanded allegiance. By simply spoking truths that didn't leave room for resistance. Truths she already suspected, but never had the strength—or proof—to say aloud.

By agreeing to his offer, she wasn't just making a strategic move.

She was breaking something.

A quiet fracture, deep beneath the surface. A severing of old loyalties, even if the cut wasn't complete yet.

Because while he had said many things, he'd never once mentioned her sisters.

Not the other daughters of Song. He didn't mention them at all, so she made a mental note to ask him about them later.

It was just her mother. He broke her away from her mother. Even if he only planted the seed of a doubt in her mind, she knew it was there.

Even worse, she was angry at how beautiful he looked. Not in an obvious way, like Nightingale, but in a more subtle way that was still too beautiful.

More dangerous.

More real.

"I presume you've already begun negotiations with Princess Changing Star?" he asked.

"Yes," Seishan replied. "We've started speaking. Tentative, so far. No real progress."

"Then change your approach," Sunny said, still smiling. "Start supporting her instead. At the next meeting, offer something tangible. Tell her you'll handle the Lord of the Dead."

Seishan blinked.

"You want me to offer to kill a Fallen Tyrant? Just like that?"

Sunny tilted his head. "Not you. Me. But through you. That's the point."

She hesitated. "And if she asks how I'll manage that?"

Sunny's smile lost its warmth—just slightly. "She won't. She'll think it's a bluff. That you're manipulating her. Let her. Once the Lord is gone, she'll understand."

Seishan looked at him for a long time.

"You're using me."

"Everyone uses everyone, Princess. I'm just honest about it. I at least am being honest and tell you that and for what i am using you"

She gave a small sigh, but it wasn't resignation. It was calculation. She was already adjusting, adapting.

"Fine. I'll say it. But I hope your dramatic entrance doesn't cost me credibility."

"It might," Sunny admitted with a shrug. "But the death of a devil has a funny way of rewriting reputations, and you'll be helping me, too. He is not a normal Fallen Tyrant. First, I'll test my strength against a Fallen Devil alone. You'll watch me and learn how i fight and how you can complement it. I already know how you fight, so you don't need to do that. After I have regenerated, we will go fight the Lord of Death."

"When's your next meeting with Changing Star?" Sunny asked casually, as if they were discussing a tea schedule.

Seishan's eyes narrowed slightly. "In one week."

Sunny nodded. "Good. Then we'll meet tomorrow. My place."

She raised an eyebrow.

He smiled, far too pleased with himself. "I live in the cathedral above the Fallen Devil. Technically, I suppose you could say I lost my private security asset… but honestly? Worth it."

Then, tilting his head, he added, "You know the one I mean, right?"

Seishan didn't answer immediately. She didn't need to.

Of course I know it, she thought. Who doesn't?

Everyone in the Dark City did.

A massive black cathedral, looming above a section of ruin that evenfull cohorts refused to approach. A place so drenched in silence and rumor that most simply avoided it out of instinct.

Then, suddenly, he disappeared as if he had never been there.