Shadow Slave

Some time passed in silence, with each of them thinking about what their own fates would be in this cursed place. Finally, Sunny extricated himself from this dark reverie and asked:

"So you've been here all this time? How are you able to afford to live in the castle? Don't tell me that you have joined this… this golden serpent's army."

Caster sighed.

"No… no, I didn't. Although I'm going to lie if I say that I haven't been tempted to. One way or the other, all roads here lead to Gunlaug and his men. I don't think there's more than a handful of powerful Sleepers who have managed to remain independent. Currently, I'm one of them."

Sunny stared at him a repeated his question:

"How so?"

The handsome young man shrugged.

"My Aspect Ability gives me a certain advantage when it comes to escaping the clutches of the Nightmare Creatures. Not so much with killing them, though. I went on a few hunting expeditions with other independent hunters… but that was a mistake. We barely escaped alive. Still, it landed me a few soul shards. The rest I got from selling a couple of Memories."

Right… unlike them normal people, the proud Legacy had entered the Dream Realm with an entire arsenal of Memories that his clan had prepared for him. He had also started with a somewhat considerable amount of soul essence already absorbed, although it wouldn't have been too much.

Unlike Memories, which could be brought back to the real world by anyone, actual soul shards were physical objects, and as such, only Masters and Saints were able to transport them — because they traveled between realms physically, and not just in spirit like Sleepers and Awakened.

That meant that even rich Legacy clans couldn't afford to feed too much soul essence to their scions in advance. Masters were a rare breed, after all, let alone Saints.

In any case, Caster had it better than anyone else on the Forgotten Shore. His ancestral Memories were enough to buy him months, perhaps even years of a tranquil life in the castle. He could use this time to learn the ins and outs of the Dark City to become an independent hunter or reconsider his position and join Gunlaug's host eventually.

Even in this hell, his background gave him an enormous advantage.

'Lucky bastard…'

…But that still didn't explain why those thugs were so unwilling to get on his bad side.

Sunny frowned.

"Why were Gunlaug's men afraid of you?"

Caster looked at him with irony.

"Those two? Oh, right. You have just arrived at the Castle. Well… basically, there are different kinds of people serving Gunlaug. The guys you have so carelessly offended are members of the Castle Guard. They are at the bottom of the totem pole. They are also the weakest and have little to no real battle experience. What minor reputation I have is enough to make them think twice before messing with me."

For a second, there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Because of Caster's amiable personality, when talking to him, it was easy to forget what the word Legacy really meant. Legacies were trained to fight and kill since they could barely walk. Every one of them was a true powerhouse. Sunny had no doubt that Caster's actual reputation in the castle was not as negligible as he would have them believe.

After all, he was the only human… no, actually, the only being Sunny knew of that had managed to defeat Nephis in combat. And in terms of personal power, Nephis was as high as one could get in Sunny's heart.

No one else could even compare.

He was also sure that Caster's reputation was earned by spilling blood.

'I really… really hope that I won't have to face this guy in battle one day,' Sunny thought, feeling a cold sensation that he desperately hoped was not a premonition.

With a sigh, he tried to hide this unease and asked:

"So I shouldn't be worried about their retaliation?"

The amiable young man gave him a nod.

"The two guards you have humiliated might try to do something on their own, but there won't be any reaction from the Host itself. But I doubt that they will. Just don't antagonize them any further."

He suddenly grew serious.

"However, if they were Hunters or, even worse, one of the Pathfinders… even my name would not have protected you. You'd simply be dead. So, please, watch your actions in the future. This castle… in a sense, it can be as dangerous as the city outside. Especially for someone with your… uh… temperament."

'What's that supposed to mean?!'

Sunny wanted to bite back, but then closed his mouth.

…Yeah, he really did have a temperament that attracted trouble. Guilty as charged.

While he was reconsidering his life choices, Cassie suddenly spoke in a quiet voice:

"Caster… is there really no way out of here?"

The proud Legacy looked at her and remained silent for a long time, a somber expression finding its way to his face. His eyes were heavy and bleak.

After a while, he sighed and said:

"None that any of us can ever hope to reach, Cassia. As it is right now, this is where we have to live. Maybe… maybe something will change in the future. But for now, just take care of yourself and try to survive."

Standing up, he glanced at them one last time and smiled:

"It was so nice to see you, guys. Really. I'll leave you to your food now, if that's okay. If you need anything in the future, don't hesitate to come find me. My quarters are in the Tower of Dawn."

'Quarters… of course that miscreant has "quarters"...'

With that, Caster left, letting Sunny finally get to his stew, which was barely warm by that point.

'Great! Breakfast is ruined!' he thought angrily, drilling two holes in the tall Sleeper's back. 'His fault! It's all his fault, not mine. Yeah, definitely…'

***

Some time later, Sunny was lying on his bed with his eyes closed. The Tower of Dusk was calm and quiet.

It was time to send his shadow on a walk…