Shadow Slave novel Chapter 693

Sunny was in his room, watching as a Memory disintegrated into a whirlwind of shimmering sparks, a dark expression on his face. He didn't need the Spell to inform him to know that he had just lost another one…

And yet, the ever-helpful Spell still whispered into his ear:

[Your Memory has been destroyed.]

Sunny snarled, then shook his head bitterly and summoned the runes, intending to check on how many expendable Memories he still had left. It was then that he decided to check on Neph's progress, which had long ago become a deeply ingrained habit of his.

Seeing that Changing Star was still alive and fighting brought him both relief and grim motivation.

Already sensing what he was about to see, Sunny stared at the runes and read:

Name: Nephis.

True Name: Changing Star.

Rank: Dormant.

Class: Tyrant.

Shadow Cores: [5/7].

Shadow Fragments: [0/5000].

He looked at the runes for some time, then sighed and dismissed them.

Just a few days ago, she was still far away from reaching the fifth core. After the Red Colosseum and his battle with Nightmare, the gap between them had shortened even more… but now, Neph had gone and done something crazy again, making it grow vast and infuriating once more.

He stared at the walls of his room darkly. It was as though the two of them were constantly playing an insane game of tug of war, fully knowing that one wrong move meant death, but equally unwilling to let the opponent win.

And from the very start of it, he had never been in the lead.

'How… tiresome.'

Sunny shook his head, realizing that he was in no mood to blindly throw himself at the impregnable barrier of weaving anymore. At least not today.

…His solemn mood changed, however, when the shadows he had stationed across from the sorcerer's door saw it open, and the familiar figure walk out, then wince at the bright sun.

Noctis looked a bit disheveled, with dark circles under his eyes and slightly messy hair. Considering who it was, though, Sunny could only guess whether the immortal was tired, or just hungover.

Still, this wasn't a chance he was ready to miss.

Wasting some essence to step through the shadows, Sunny appeared a few meters away from Noctis and looked at him with a guarded expression. The sorcerer blinked a couple of times, then put on a friendly smile:

"Sunless… you are still here? Haven't we just talked?"

Sunny inwardly rolled his eyes.

"...That was two weeks ago. Fifteen days, technically."

Noctis raised an eyebrow, shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, and then cleared his throat.

"Oh… really? I, uh… well, what a nice day! Can I help you with something, then?"

Sunny stared at the sorcerer for a few moments, then nodded.

"Yes. Yes, in fact, you can."

The immortal Transcendent smiled brightly.

"Well, why didn't you say so! We are friends, are we not, and friends are supposed to help each other… so, what do you need?"

Sunny gripped the emerald amulet tighter, hesitated for a second, and then said:

"...Can you teach me sorcery?"

***

Noctis continued to smile for a bit, then laughed.

"That's it? Sure, no problem. I am the greatest sorcerer in the Kingdom of Hope, after all! Under my guidance, you will become a distinguished sorcerer yourself in no time. Let me think… if we start right now…"

'How confusing…'

The sorcerer, meanwhile, ignored his befuddlement and continued:

"However, not all names are equal. So are simply given and aren't worth much, while others have to be earned… and those names, the true names of things, hold power over them. Names are a powerful thing, Sunless… and so, a long time ago, people who learned those names could share in that power. However, their authority was obscure and fleeting, since it was only invoked when someone said the names aloud… and saying them with a mortal mouth was not an easy feat."

He suddenly smiled.

"But that was what made Hope's invention so ingenious, you see! Once writing appeared, one with enough knowledge could connect the names to material objects, granting the invocation permanence. Of course, it is not that simple… in fact, knowing the names of things and how to shape them into songs and phrases is incredibly hard, because with the knowledge of names comes the knowledge of everything."

Noctis let out a heavy sigh.

"Simply scribbling a rune without understanding its meaning would not do anything. So, it takes centuries to learn the very basics of runic sorcery. Unless you are intrinsically predisposed to it, of course… which no one is, except for Hope herself. But I will gladly teach you everything I know! If you have a century or two to spare, I mean..."

The sorcerer smiled brightly and stared at Sunny, sincerity written all other his obnoxiously beautiful face.

'That slimy bastard…'

Of course, Sunny did not have a couple of centuries to spare.

But… maybe… he didn't need to.

'Names are a powerful thing…'

Suddenly, a seed of an idea appeared in his mind.

"I… uh… maybe some other time."

Noctis sighed with regret and opened his mouth to say something… but the four-armed demon was already gone, swallowed by shadows.

The sorcerer stared at the shadows with a sour face, then shook his head and sighed again.

"What a strange fellow…"