Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3025

Back in Bastion, one of Sunny's incarnations was listening to the conversation between Cassie and the forgotten Saint of Mictlan, Inti. There were two more avatars of Sunny in Bastion, though — one of them was with Nephis, while the other had just delivered Rain and her cohort to the Ivory Island. Their minds had to be cleansed of the remnant traces of the Plague, if there were any, but they could not meet Cassie at the moment. All they could do was make themselves comfortable and wait.

That did not mean that Sunny had to wait with them, though, so he quietly sneaked away and returned to the city below, eventually finding his way to the quiet street where the Brilliant Emporium once stood.

The cozy brick cottage was gone, yet the land where it had once stood was still vacant, facing the glistening lake. The owner was Officially dead, but Aiko had managed to purchase the deed to the land under a false identity, so it still belonged to Sunny.

Since the empty lot was private and secluded, he liked to come here from time to time to rest his weary mind and relax. Now, too, Sunny sprawled on the grass, hidden from view by the slope of the shore and the shadows of tall trees. All of his other incarnations were busy conversing with people or performing important tasks, but this one had an opportunity to do something truly incredible...

To do nothing.

Enjoying the wonderful feeling of being absolutely useless, Sunny spent some time in solitude. The warm breeze, the murmur of water, the rustle of leaves, and the hum of the city in the distance washed over him like a gentle tide, making him feel at peace. One-seventh of him was at peace, at least — and that was already enough.

Slowly, he cast his shadow sense outward,

allowing his consciousness to dissolve in the endless movements of the city. He could feel countless people around him, all rushing to live their lives — men and women, mundane and Awakened, old and young...

Absorbed by the titanic kaleidoscope of their existence, Sunny felt his own self disappearing for a short while. And that... that was a sense of peace that no mundane feeling could compare to. This was true peace — the peace of non-existence. These days, that was more or less the only thing that made Sunny feel truly relaxed, removed from all his worries and duties. Being a demigod, he required a special kind of downtime.

‘Ah... I wonder when I'll get some time to myself again.'

Probably only after the end of the world. Sprawled on the grass, Sunny smiled.

He spent a long time enjoying the nothingness of it all. Eventually, however, a couple of the shadows he felt in the city reminded him that there were still things he had to do.

With a sigh, Sunny rose from the grass, dusted himself off, and stepped into the shadows.

He exited them in the private study of a manor that stood within the inner circle of the Castle's walls. Sunlight poured through a tall window, and a woman was standing in front of it, her silhouette contoured by the light.

Sensing his presence, she turned around and pierced him with a stern gaze.

The woman was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, her hair like a cascade of liquid gold. She studied him for a few moments and then acknowledged him with a court nod.

"Sunless"

It was, of course, Sky Tide — the ruler of the Chained Island and the matriarch of the White Feather clan.

Sunny stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, which prompted her to frown. He coughed.

“Sorry. It's just... I think it's my first time seeing you in casual clothes, Saint Tyris. I need time to adjust."

Her frown deepened, and she scoffed. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“I'm pretty sure that you saw me half-dead and wearing nothing but a hospital gown in Antarctica. So, there's no need for that reaction."

Sunny cleared his throat.

“Well, yes, that's true as well..."