Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2733

2733 /2756

The deepest level of the abandoned factory was dark and quiet, illuminated only by the light of radiant Memories. Usually, such enchanted lanterns looked warm and inviting, but as pieces of cement scraped under his feet in the dead silence, Sunny could not help but find their familiar radiance eerie instead.

There were no members of the Shadow Clan here, no government specialists, and no Fire Keepers either. The only people waiting for him at the end of a desolate hall were a blind seer and the last daughter of the Immortal Flame clan, the ruler of humanity herself — they were Nephis and Cassie, naturally, which temporarily made the old underground factory the most exalted place in all of existence.

Sunny greeted them somberly.

"Long time no see"

Nephis gave him a peculiar look, making him smile faintly.

He had, in fact, seen her this morning — naturally he had, considering that they always woke up together. However, even a few hours of separation could be considered a long time, and he was entitled to his subjective opinion.

Cassie simply nodded, then turned to a heavy metal door.

The cell where the prisoner was being held had been reinforced to contain an Awakened. There was a complicated weave of runes shimmering on the alloy, as well, having been drawn by Cassie herself to isolate this hidden space from the outside world. They did not know what kind of threat the prisoner could pose, exactly, so they had prepared for as many complications as they could.

Even though the man locked inside was hidden from view — or possibly because of it — the very sight of the imposing cell made Sunny feel a hint of an ominous premonition.

For some reason, he was reminded of the dungeon hidden under the ruined cathedral of the Dark City. It was there that he had found the ancient corpse of a Nightmare Spell priest, read the dreadful prayer to Weaver carved into the floor, and inherited Weaver's Mask.

‘Hail Weaver, was it?'

They had worked hard to catch the man locked inside the enchanted cell.

“It's a bit peculiar, isn't it?"

Remembering all the efforts that went into arranging today's interrogation, Sunny could not help but think about how incongruous it all was.

Here they were, putting in work hours to stave off the end of the world, as if it were the most mundane thing to do. At some point, world-ending threats had become the new norm, so much so that even the emergence of a creepy mind-altering Sovereign felt like nothing new... which was not to say that they underestimated how perilous the Dreamspawn really was. Sunny often saw Nephis standing on the balcony of the Ivory Tower, gazing down at the world below with a distant expression. Every time, he knew that her mind was elsewhere, lost in the billions of small flames burning brightly in the vast expanse of her splendid Domain.

Some of those flames grew brighter over time. New fires ignited in the darkness as children were born or learned about Changing Star and were inspired by her. But at the same time, too many flames were extinguished every day.

Nephis felt their absence, and even if she did not show it often, he knew that she grieved the loss of their light.

It was just that now, not all of the flames that disappeared necessarily meant that somewhere out of there, a person had died. Some of them, as Nephis suspected, simply ceased to be subjects of the Longing Domain, becoming servants of Asterion instead.