Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2463

Chapter 2463 The Lives of Others

Sunny lingered for a few moments, then threw a brief glance at the door behind which the waitress had disappeared. No one else was in the deserted diner, and the pedestrians rushing past the dirty window could not hear them.

He raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

Effie let out a long sigh and poured herself a cup of water before speaking again. Eventually, she leaned back and said in a low tone: frёeωebɳovel.com

"Well… I don't know how you came about, but I was home — the home of the newly promoted Detective Athena of Mirage PD, that is. A married woman with a loving husband and an adorable kid… a couple of adorable kids, actually, a boy and a girl. Needless to say, those were not my kids and not my husband. So, when he went for a kiss, I was understandably not having it."

Sunny frowned.

"Wait. You were aware of who you really are from the start?"

Effie nodded.

"Yes. We entered the Hall of Imagination… then, my memory is a bit hazy. The next thing I knew, I was standing in a living room, folding laundry. I was alone, mundane, and completely turned around. Before I could really figure out what had happened, I was assaulted by two overly enthusiastic kids who wanted to play cops and robbers with mommy."

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

"What the hell is cops and robbers?"

Effie scoffed.

"It's a local version of Awakened and Abominations, naturally. Anyway, yes, I was never under the illusion that I was the real Detective Athena. The kids were sweet and adorable, so even though I was weirded out of my mind, I went along with what was happening and tried to slowly regain my bearings while playing with them. That was how I figured out the basic facts about this place and learned to rummage in my counterpart's memories. So, everything went well… until her husband showed up."

Sunny smiled darkly.

"What? Did you smack him when he went for a smooch?"

Effie let out a joyless chuckle.

"No… maybe I would have, but my instincts are still those of a Saint. You know how it is — we need to be careful around mundane people, so the thought of striking him never even crossed my mind. I just dodged away and let him know in no uncertain terms that there would be no smooching, kissing, squeezing, fondling, or canoodling of any kind."

Sunny gave her an exasperated look.

"I don't need the details, you know?"

She grinned.

"Why, not a fan of canoodling? That is not what Neph…"

Sunny scoffed.

"Hey, lady. I am not a fan… I am the artist."

Effie stared at him silently for a few long moments, then threw her head back and exploded with laughter.

"Oh… oh, gods! Did… did you really just say that?"

Sunny raised his chin defiantly and suppressed a smile.

"I did. Not only did I say it, but I also meant every word."

She continued to laugh for a while longer, then wiped the tears off the corners of her eyes and looked at him with a wry smile.

"You know, Shadow Boy… you are actually not that scary up close, are you?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Not unless you are scared of innocuous stuff like dark demigods who command legions of dead souls and can damn you to eternal servitude, with not even death offering escape… I guess."

Effie grinned.

"Right."

She studied him for a bit, then sighed.

"Well, in any case. The second I refused the affections of that man — the moment I broke character — something very creepy happened."

He frowned.

"What?"

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify