Shadow Slave

Sunny blinked a couple of times, digesting her words.

A matter of life and death… if Nephis used these words, the situation was indeed dire. She was not someone to throw words to the wind.

However, she was also not to be trusted. No matter how much Sunny wanted for things between them to go to the way they had been before, he knew that it was impossible. There was no way back for either of them.

Sunny knew the true face of Changing Star now. He had seen the endless force of her conviction. In the flaming white inferno of her soul, all things were reduced to ash. Human concepts like loyalty, mercy, and affection had no hope of escaping that annihilation.

No matter what bonds connected them, Sunny could not trust Nephis to put them above her boundless obsession. If push came to shove, she would sacrifice anything… or anyone… to achieve her goal. Including him.

At least that was what he believed.

What's more, despite the fact that she tried to hide it, Sunny could feel that Neph's demeanor toward him had changed as well. He couldn't tell how exactly, but there was something almost imperceptibly different about how she looked at him.

Once broken, trust was not easy to put back. Perhaps it was simply impossible.

And yet… despite all that, was he really capable of refusing her plea for help?

Sunny sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

…No. No, he didn't think he was.

Even if things between them became strained, she was still one of the only two people he cared about in this world. The way he felt toward Neph was... was almost like a second Flaw.

No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't get rid of it.

Somewhere along the way, it had taken root in his soul. He had hoped that it will wither and die if they were apart, but instead, it just grew stronger. And now there was no escape from it.

Sunny could feel himself being pulled back into the mess of humanity once again. Damn it! This was exactly why he had been reluctant to return here. After suffering so much to leave it all behind, why would he ever want to abandon his peaceful, pleasant, delightful life of solitude?

'Curses!'

But he just couldn't refuse Neph.

…However, that didn't mean that he was going to become her compliant sidekick again.

Even if they were going to work together, they were going to do it on his terms.

'Focus! You came here to purchase Memories to feed for the Stone Saint!'

Changing Star was looking at him expectantly. Sunny tried to appear confident and casual as he said:

"We can have a talk, but not right now. I'll... come find you when I'm done with my business."

Whatever it was that she wanted to discuss, it could not be extremely urgent. After all, Nephis had no idea that he was going to return from the ruins today. If there was no time to waste, she would not be wasting it on him, logically.

Changing Star was silent for a few moments, her face indifferent. Then, finally, she answered in a flat tone:

"That is fine. You know where to go."

Sunny smiled.

"Oh, and if you don't mind, I'll bring Night with me."

Both of them stared at him with the same doubtful expression.

"You will?"

Turning to the charming young man, Sunny pretended to be surprised by his question.

"Don't you want to meet my other friends? They'll be able to answer all your stupid questions, for sure!"

Night hesitated.

"...I guess?"

"Wonderful!"

Sunny gave him a nod and glanced at Nephis, who was clearly wondering if her idol could really be trusted.

"It's decided then. Now, if you'll excuse us…"

Truth be told, he didn't trust the pretty archer that much either. But his ability to detect lies would come in incredibly handy during the conversation with Changing Star.

She was the one and only graduate of Sunny's school of deception and lies, after all.

Pushing Kai away, he waited until they were at an appropriate distance and asked:

"So what did you find out about the Memories?"

***

Soon enough, they were entering the Bright Castle. Sunny felt strange returning to this splendid, suffocating place. This time, he came as a guest of a well-regarded resident, not as a slum dweller seeking to exchange a soul shard for a moment of respite from the cold, darkness, and terror. The Guards did glance at him with disdain, but remained passive.

Walking under the swinging skulls, they entered the familiar hall of beautiful colored glass windows. The opulent desk that Harper used to sit behind was still there, only now, a similarly downtrodden young woman was scribbling on a piece of parchment instead.

The world didn't care about the death of one little human. It just moved on, instantly replacing that which was lost.

Forgetting it.

Sunny grimaced.

"So, you did find me some Memories to buy? What are the prices?"

Kai smiled, gestured him to follow, and said:

"I did you one better. I actually managed to get us an invitation to the Memory Market."

Sunny frowned:

"A what? Never heard of it."

The charming young man gave him a nod.

"That's not surprising. It's a place where you can peruse various Memories and purchase them for an acceptable price. Uh… I say acceptable, but you know who has all the shards in this place. So, usually, they only let the members of the Host in."

Made sense. Gunlaug would never allow Memories to freely circulate among people who did not belong to him. The Guards and Hunters, though, needed a place to exchange Memories that didn't fit their Aspects for either shards or something that did.

"Then how did you get the invitation?"

Kai shrugged.

"It's not that hard if you have the shards. Problem is, very few of us free folk do."

To Sunny's surprise, they actually entered one of the forbidden areas of the castle. After walking down a few long corridors and going down several flights of stairs, a sturdy wooden door appeared before them.

There was a symbol of a sword and shield drawn on it.

Winking at him, Night opened the door and walked inside.

Sunny followed.

Once he saw the interior of the room, his eyes glistened with excitement.