Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2563

Sunny and Nephis had stood on this exact spot eleven years ago, waiting for the gates of the Academy to open for them... well, it had been eleven years for the world, but a full dozen for them, considering the time spent in the Tomb of Ariel.

It was funny to think that they had not even known each other back then. They had not paid much attention to each other, either — Sunny had been busy thinking about the advice given to him by Jet during the drive from the police station, while Nephis was listening to music and looking at the walls of the Academy with an aloof expression.

They had just become Sleepers. And now, twelve years later... they were both Supreme. They were demigods wielding power so terrifying that the towering walls of the Acadely, which had seemed impossible to breach once, were not even worth thinking about. Sunny and Nephis were capable of conquering all of Earth now — or destroying it, if they so wished.

‘How times have changed.'

Sunny could not help but think about how much that short conversation with Jet had shaped his life. She had shared a few pieces of priceless wisdom with him back then — wisdom that she herself had earned by making mistakes and paying for each one with blood. Among other things, Sunny would have never chosen to dedicate his time at the Academy to learning how to survive in the wilderness.

He would have spent those few weeks training uselessly with a sword, instead. Then, he would not have had the knowledge to piece together the past of the Forgotten Shore... which was the start of it all. In fact, he would have drowned immediately after entering the Dream Realm on the winter solstice. It was Teacher Julius, after all, who had insisted that Sunny learns how to swim.

"It is odd to think that my life could have ended so ingloriously all the way back then."

A future Sovereign died as a Sleeper because he didn't know how to swim. That would have been quite a twist of fate.

Shaking his head, Sunny looked at the gates of the Academy. The sea of candles in front of them still burned — they had been placed there by those who hoped for Changing Star's safe return after the siege of the Crimson Spire, initially, but people continued to light new candles even now that Nephis was Supreme and ruled the entire world.

If anything, there were more candles burning in front of the Academy than ever before. The sea of fragile flames was very much like humanity itself, each one representing someone's hopes and dreams. Individual flames could be extinguished and snuffed out, but the radiance of the candles as a whole never dimmed.

If there was a physical representation of the Human Domain, this was it — the immortal flame that refused to go out, fueled by longing.

..And, of course, each of the countless candles had a shadow. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

No one was going to open the gates of the Academy for Sunny this time, and he did not need them either. Instead, he simply stepped through the shadows and entered the Academy grounds unannounced, moving unseen.

Updated first on lig‌ht‌no‌‌vel‌world‌.o‌rg

This soon after the winter solstice, there were not many Sleepers attending, so Sunny did not need to exert himself even a little to remain unnoticed. He cast his shadow sense far and wide, easily encompassing the entire Academy, and sensed every person within its walls — the students, the instructors, and the staff.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify