Shadow Slave: The Blessing of Fate

The Wilderness Survival classroom was spacious, tastefully decorated... and completely empty. Seems like no one took the course, just like last time. No one except Sunny, that is. Julius was sitting behind a wide wooden desk. He had a gloomy look on his face, noticing Sunny standing inside the entrance, the old man perked up.

"Come in, young man!"

Julius was excited about the fact, that someone was actually interested in the course. It was a bit of a sad sight. Sunny knew how immensely important this area of study was for surviving inside of the Dream Realm. He was a bit frustrated at the fact, that such a kind, cheerful old man, with a mind brimming with exciting and helpful knowledge, seemed underappreciated by the kids studying at the Academy. The least he could do for Julius, was to join the course again. Even if he didn't actually need it.

Sunny looked around the classroom, before talking to Julius.

"It's an honor to meet you, Awakened... No, Teacher Julius. My name is Sunless." Sunny bowed slightly.

Julius's face perked up even more at the mention of his name, before he had to chance to introduce himself. It looks like the pale young man in front of him recognized him.

"Ah! How wonderfully exciting to meet a youngster, who recognizes me. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Sunless." Julius asked with a wide, happy smile.

"How could I have not heard of an accomplished explorer, such as you sir? I've read a bunch of your exploration reports and studies on the history of Dream Realm, they were wonderful!"

"Oh, you! You truly honor me with your kind words and praises, it's been an awfully long time, too long even, since I've met a person so young, yet seemingly so passionate about the rich history of the Dream Realm and its vast regions! Ah, how this warms my old heart..." Julius remarked, his smile turning even wider. He looked as if he would start crying tears of joy any second now.

"So tell me, Sunless. What brings such an astute young man here?"

Sunny looked at Julius with a cheerful grin and said.

"I've come to take the course, of course! It sounds exciting to me." Sunny replied.

Continuing on: "Knowing that someone such as yourself, would be the instructor for this course, I just knew, that I had to take it on. I've even heard, that you were a student of the great Professor Obel at some point!"

His thoughts wandered off back to his experiences in Antarctica, he didn't let it show on his face though. The fall of the supposedly impregnable fortress, that Falcon Scott was supposed to be. The deaths of millions of citizens. The death of Professor Obel. The deaths of the brave men and women, who stayed and took up the fight. His cohort... Samara, Dorn, Belle and Quentin, who he was unsure as to how he ended up. They had died because of that hell. Most frozen completely, by that wretched thing. The Winter Beast... Sunny wasn't going to let that happen again. He is going to make sure, that everyone survives, that Falcon Scott isn't going to fall. He will rip apart the Corrupted Titan with his own hands, if he needs to.

"Ah, yes. That old man sure was an interesting teacher indeed! Though, he might have been a little disappointed, after I decided to take on a different field of study all together." Julius laughed.

"Come sit, young man! I am practically shaking with excitement, wanting to share knowledge and experiences. Debating with someone, who has an actual interest in the same field, is truly wonderful! Come, come. Sit down, please!" Julius ushered Sunny to a chair, his face beaming with joy, he sat across him and they started talking. Their debate took a very long time.

***

"Wow, just wow! Sunless, you sure know your stuff! I don't think there is much I could teach you at this point." Julius remarked.

"Haha, It's really nice to hear that, Teacher. It's exciting to refresh my mind a bit. But I still have a lot to learn." Sunny laughed, his face had a kind, light hearted smile on it.

"I do wonder about that. By the way, how many courses have you taken on? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"I don't, I've taken on this course and the Combat course. I was thinking about taking a course on sorcery, but in the end I decided against it. A month to prepare may seem long to someone, but I still have a lot of things I wish to accomplish before I enter the Dream Realm again."

Julius nodded. He didn't ask Sunny about the things he wanted to do, which Sunny appreciated. It would be quite troublesome to explain all of it and his reasoning for certain goals he had in mind.

The lesson ended soon after that. Sunny had a bit of time to relax before his next lesson, now a combat one, would start. He didn't need this course as well, but it was crucial to join it this time around. He wanted to make a better impression on Nephis, since she was a part of this class as well.

***

In a large dojo, Sleepers were being separated into groups based on their level, such as novice, advanced or expert, as well as their weapon of choice. Some would be assigned a personal tutor or paired together.

Currently, a group of students was taking turns delivering their strongest punches to a wide plate attached to a special power-measuring machine. After each strike, the machine would display a number corresponding to the individual's physical strength.

Many Sleepers had combat-oriented Aspects and other abilities, which enhanced their might in various ways. The machine was taking all of that into account, it was a marvelous result of ingenious engineering. The techniques and training of the individual Sleeper also affected their result.

'I think, I could get a twelve, without augmenting myself, this time.' Sunny thought.

He was extremely proficient in combat in general. The numerous combat styles he knew due to the knowledge he had retained from the past. The ones, that he had learned when he was increasing his proficiency in his very own battle art, Shadow Dance. So far, Sunny wasn't able to unlock the Aspect Legacy. He wasn't sure, if it was due to the fact that his Aspect had changed, or due to him not meeting certain conditions, which were unknown to him. He was thinking about the reasons, that could have caused this.

'Perhaps I have to enter the Dream Realm first. Or maybe the trigger is to first dream of the beautiful woman slave dancing...'

He wasn't sure, what to make of it all. The dream came to him after he had finally grasped the essence and foundation of the elusive battle art, that hid inside his shadow. But Sunny already knew all of this, in fact - he should be able to reach up to the third step of his Aspect Legacy's mastery immediately!

'Maybe I need to get [Blood Weave] first? Wait, that doesn't really make sense at all...'

He was thinking of reasons, some of them completely ridiculous. But he was pretty sure of one thing. Likely, if he actually obtained the Aspect Legacy again, the fourth step wouldn't be achievable yet, due to the fact that he didn't have a way to make shadows tangible. But if the ability he gains in the future after ascending remains the same, he should be able to accomplish that.

As he was contemplating all of that, his turn to strike at the machine finally came. Sunny stepped forward and with the best form he could have struck with, he delivered a swift punch.

The machine displayed his result: fourteen.

Quite a few people were surprised at the fact, that the scrawny, almost unnaturally pale Sleeper was able to achieve such a result. But most of them just laughed it off, likely thinking that he had a slightly powerful Combat-oriented Aspect, that increased his power exponentially.

Only the ones, who were fairly proficient in combat knew, that he had struck with beautiful, perhaps even perfect form. Some of these people had an astonished look on their faces and some seemed interested in the outskirts teenager. Unfortunately, or perhaps thankfully, he wasn't in the same group as Nephis, who seemed to be just standing around in a corner with her back against the wall, seemingly immersed in her own thoughts. So she wasn't able to see his result. Sunny was sure, that he had underestimated himself and had overdone it a bit. He would make sure to tune it down a bit from now on, he didn't want to impress the rest of the Academy. He was just looking to impress a certain silver-haired girl.

With their group finished, it was finally time for Nephis's group to step up. Sunny waited patiently until it was her turn to strike at the machine. The slender girl approached the machine, and without much preparation, delivered a sudden, crushing blow. It was an impressive punch, but Sunny knew she had more in her.

After a short pause, the machine displayed the result: sixteen.

'It's good that you're careful Neph, with that sneaky bastard ogling at you, it's good that you haven't shown more.' Sunny remarked with a satisfied expression.

After that, only Caster remained. Sunny wasn't able to see the punch perfectly, since Caster's Aspect increased his speed to an extreme degree. But he was able to catch on unlike most in the room. Two numbers appeared on the screen soon enough.

Twenty-one.

Everyone gaped at the display, stunned. More than a few admiring looks were thrown at Caster, who simply bowed and took a step back. Instructor Rock smiled.

"Not bad. Now, we will move to sparring and evaluate your general level of training. I need two volunteers to begin."

Nephis was the first to step forward and walk to the center of the ring. A couple of seconds later, a tall and extremely muscular Sleeper followed and faced her.

"The rules are simple. Make your opponent's back touch the floor or throw them out of the ring. Use whatever abilities and techniques you find appropriate."

'Oh, the slaughter is starting!' Sunny chuckled inwardly.

Sunny was watching with amusement on his face while Nephis was massacring all of the Sleepers in the room. Her composed expression on her face unchanging, she was like a statue, a very beautiful statue. Finally, it was his turn - it was his chance to make an impression.

Sunny stepped into the ring and gazed at Nephis, she spared him a bit of a curious look. She had most likely recognized the pale kid in front of her. She didn't stop to talk to him and took up a stance. He did the same. Their fight began.

Sunny took the first move, he covered the distance between him and Nephis. He shifted his weight and swung his arm, aiming at her face. Nephis evaded the strike with ease, but immediately following that, the young man's body had twisted and a kick followed, targeting her left side. It was a swift and perfectly executed move. Nephis took the blow with her left arm and jumped back a tiny distance.

She now had a curious look on her face, she didn't expect such a nicely executed move from the pale Sleeper. She decided that it was her turn to take a swing at him now, and barraged him with a flurry of swift, powerful punches, mixing in a few kicks to throw him off his balance. In a way, it was almost like a dance of sorts.

Her moves had a nice flow to them, connecting almost perfectly, yet Sunny was able to evade them all. He was doing a dance of his own, only his one was even better. He moved in between her strikes perfectly, like he had predicted them all with ease. However, he was merely evading. He didn't strike back, or more like Nephis didn't give him a chance to strike back.

Her fighting style now took on an even more aggressive approach. It was ruthless and almost barbaric, which he didn't expect. Was she being agitated by Sunny? ...

He didn't have time to think about it, because just then, an extremely powerful and swift kick was flying at his right side, while his right hand was bent awkwardly due to her relentless strikes, unable to guard himself against it and with no position to move to, to save himself, he wasn't able to do anything. She hit him around the area where one of his kidneys was located, Sunny was pushed back.

'D-damnation! It hurts like a bitch...' Sunny grunted.

He had no time to lose on being in pain, he decided to take on an aggressive approach himself. He started dancing while throwing swift punches and kicks at parts of her body, that she wasn't protecting. Nephis was able to predict most of his moves, but due to the weird formlessness of his battle style, some of them hit her without her even realizing what had just happened. Even though Sunny no longer had [Bone Weave] to make his joints more agile and make moves, that should be normally impossible for normal humans. He was able to replicate some of them to a very impressive degree and change them accordingly.

She was now smiling slightly, it seems she was amazed by Sunny's moves. Looks like an impression was made. Although, he knew that after this performance, she would start to get suspicious of him. But at this very moment, they both were enjoying themselves greatly. Sunny decided to end it soon. They had exchanged strike after strike for a while. But Sunny didn't intend to win against her, in fact, he wasn't sure if he could. Sunny took a powerful blow into his stomach and was pushed back greatly. Just then, when Nephis was about to strike again until he put both of his arms into the air and exclaimed:

"I surrender!"

He didn't notice till now, due to being completely immersed in the duel, but everyone in the room was gaping at him and Nephis. Their performance was astonishing, it was unlike anything that some of them had ever seen. It wasn't just a battle, it was like a war. Their battle strategy, their precise movements, taking blows that enabled them to strike at the other with an even greater blow. It was utterly insane and terribly beautiful.

'Oh... I think I was enjoying myself too much. That's... not good.'

The noise around the room grew even more. It felt like being surrounded by a bunch of screaming animals. The room gradually quieted down, but the whispers didn't stop.

"Alright, quiet down people!" Instructor Rock shouted.

"Amazing performance, Sleeper Sunless. Your combat ability is truly impressive." he told Sunny with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you, Instructor Rock. But I was still defeated in the end, she is way too good." Sunny replied.

Instructor Rock nodded at him, it seemed that he might have had more to say, but there was still one person awaiting his turn to fight with Nephis.

Caster.

The guy in question stepped into the ring and bowed slightly to Nephis.

"Lady Nephis, are you alright? If you are too tired to continue, we can duel another time."

Nephis shook her head, without any words, she took up a stance.

"As you wish, please excuse me in advance."

Just then, Caster seemed to have suddenly ceased to exist.

However, it was only an illusion. The truth was that he was just moving so far that the human eye wasn't able to keep up with his movements. If it wasn't for Sunny looking through his shadow, instead of his actual eyes, he might have not been able to perceive his movements too.

A hazy blur streaked through the air and in a fraction of a second, Caster had covered the distance between him and her and delivered a devastating blow. Nephis was more tired this time around, but she still attempted to deflect the strike. Slightly turning her slender body, the blow which was aimed to disrupt her center of gravity, connected with her shoulder instead, sending her into a spin.

The last time this battle had happened, Nephis was in a much better condition to fight. But she was pulling her weight nonetheless. With Caster disappearing again, he tried to circle around her and attack from the back. Nephis was aware of that and just before he put all of his weight into his fist, she changed her stance and threw her elbow back with immense force.

She was still able to pull of a similar feint to the one, she had done before. Although, it wasn't as powerful due to exhaustion. Using his unbelievable swiftness, Caster had avoided it and immediately proceeded to trip Nephis. Just before she was about to hit the ground, he grabbed her gently by the collar to slow down her fall, allowing the girl to land on the floor without any impact.

Nephis had blinked a couple of times and looked up at him. The whole altercation lasted no more than two seconds.

'Well, it was to be expected. She didn't beat him the first time around and now I tired her out even more beforehand.' Sunny remarked in his mind.

***

After that, the introductory combat class was over. Sore from the beating they received, Sleepers headed for the showers. And Sunny was preparing himself for what was about to happen.

"Yo, dude! That was insane! I totally didn't expect that!"

"It looked like you were overwhelming her in the second half, just why did you surrender?!"

"In the first place I wasn't even intending to win, I just wanted to fight her and see. I am kinda sure now, that I wouldn't have won regardless if I surrendered or not. The girl truly is worthy of a True Name."

"Well, if she is worthy of a True Name, then perhaps you should be as well!"

"Yeah, something like 'Skinny Dancer' would totally suit you!"

The boys in the locker room burst into laughter.

'The what dancer?! What the Spell kind of a True Name is that?!' Sunny frowned inwardly at the thought. He already had a True Name and it was a much better one. Why would he degrade himself to something that sounded so awful!

Just then, a young man with brown hair and a gentle-looking, handsome face approached the crowd and spoke:

"It was a brilliant fight, I must say, I never expected that. If talented Sleepers like you were common, perhaps our world's survival in the future would be completely guaranteed." Caster remarked with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you for the kind words, Caster. I must say your fight with her was interesting as well. You were insanely fast, man."

"Haha, indeed. Although I won, Lady Nephis never used her Aspect in the first place. Who knows, what would have happened if she did." Caster chuckled, never letting his gentle mask slip. But Sunny knew, that if anything - Caster was probably suspicious of him, he wasn't quite sure what to make of Sunny, most likely.

"Well, you still beat that girl anyway, Caster! She didn't stand a chance at all!"

"She might have a True Name, but you still beat her without breaking a sweat!"

"Yeah, True Name? Who needs that? She's just a wannabe!"

Both Sunny and Caster frowned at their words. Caster turned to look at the last boy that spoke and pierced him with a cold look. That boy, just like him, was one of the few Legacies in their batch of Sleepers. He frowned, surprised by Caster's reaction.

"What is it?"

Caster gritted his teeth.

"I might have expected such behavior from the others, but you should know better."

The other Legacy raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Is there something special about that peasant girl?"

Caster's eyes widened. Sunny was a bit amused hearing his words, it seems like the boy really didn't have a single clue.

"Peasant... peasant girl? Do you really not know who she is?"

Caster opened his mouth several times, as though not sure what to say. Finally, he shook his head and answered:

"She is Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan."

As soon as he said that, the arrogant Legacy became deathly pale. Not paying him any attention, Caster continued.

"I trust that I don't need to tell you about her grandfather. Her parents were Smile of Heaven and Broken Sword."

Sunny didn't react at all, but the others in the locker room were astonished by those words. The Immortal Flame clan and her parents are known by everyone throughout the two realms.

"Then why... why is she so."

Caster sighed.

"Because they're all dead. The Immortal Flame clan is long gone."

For a few moments, the locker room was completely silent. Caster looked down.

"She's the only one left."

***

Later that day, when the lessons ended, Sunny approached the dojo's entrance and sent his shadow inside. Nephis was there, all alone. Practicing a set of moves, the ones that he knew well. It was the battle art she had inherited from her father, Broken Sword.

The gloomy shadow slid through the crack in the door and got closer to her and just watched her. After a while Nephis noticed a weird shadow, that didn't seem to belong there, it was the shadow of a not-so-tall man. She stopped moving and just stared at the shadow for a little bit.

The shadow suddenly moved, he waved his hand a couple of times and pointed towards the entrance, where a pale, scrawny young Sleeper was standing. His face had a gentle smile on it.

"Hello. Was it your shadow, that was staring at me just now?" Nephis frowned a bit with her words.

"Yes, I am sorry if it looked like I was spying, I wasn't sure at how I should approach you. I am really sorry about that." Sunny replied, bowing slightly.

"It's alright, let's get to the business, shall we? What do you want from me?" Nephis looked at him with a blank face. She didn't show him any emotion. But Sunny was pretty sure, that she was very interested in him.

"It's simple really, we had a hand-to-hand fight earlier today, and after that exciting fight we had, I was interested in seeing your skills with actual weapons. I saw you using a longsword just now, is that your preferred weapon?"

Nephis nodded and Sunny continued.

"If you're interested. I, myself, am quite the swordsmanship enthusiast. Maybe a spar would be beneficial for the both of us. Preparing for our departure into the Dream Realm with a worthy opponent can't hurt, can it?" Sunny said with a cheeky grin.

Nephis stared at him for a while after he had said that, she was most likely thinking it through very carefully. After a while, the girl finally spoke.

"Sure, bring it on." As she said that, she threw a practice sword, that was lying nearby, at him and smiled slightly.