19 Chapter XIX: Meet the Creep

Dawn came on its usual time, brightening up the world and causing the Great Titan to retreat back to its hiding place in fear of its brilliant rays.

William awoke from his dream-less sleep without much fanfare like he had just been closing his eyes. He didn't feel the usual groggy feeling when waking up nor the desire to continue sleeping.

'Still can't get used to this type of pseudo-sleeping,' thought William. As a living undead, he still can sleep unlike regular ones, although it has literally zero benefits for him. He felt like he had just closed and opened his eyes, yet hours had passed while he was in slumber.

He looked around to observe the state of his companions. Cassie was huddled beside him with her long, blond hair covering bare shoulder. Due to the enclosed nature of the shell, there was barely any illumination, so he didn't see the small smile on the blond oracle's face as she slept.

Moving on to his new companion, he saw Nephis asleep while leaning onto the bony structure with her sword firmly gripped. She was ready to defend herself even as she slept.

Honestly, he couldn't blame her. She had gone through a lot of shit as a child, being born from a half-dead mother, to her dead-beat dad fucking off and being allegedly killed by his companions by the age of four, to the many assassination attempts on her life as she grew up.

Truely, the childhood fitting Shadow Slave's 'main character'. Yet, the same character was sitting before his very eyes. She was no longer a bunch of descriptive words but rather a living, breathing person. He would do well to remember that.

'Time to wake them up.'

William gently shook Cassie's shoulder with his hand, "Cass, wake up."

The oracle shifted a bit before finally opening her blue eyes. She blinked a few times before raising her head and letting out a cute yawn, "William? Good morning. Sorry for sleeping on your shoulder."

"No problem. Can you try and wake Nephis up. I would've tried, but I don't want to get stabb-" he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. "Never mind, she's already awake. Good morning."

Nephis was staring coldly at the white-haired boy in front of her before nodding, "Good morning."

"Okay, now that we're all awake, let's start the day," as he said that, the bony shell separated at the center and retracted back towards William - reforming the top part of his armor.

Nephis watched with a hint of fascination as the armor reformed back to its original appearance. Then, she remembered how he climbed the cliff by creating spider appendages from the armor's back.

Nephis had read about many types of memories due to her being from the Immortal Flame clan, but this was the first time she saw a memory such as this. What she knew for sure was that a normal awakened couldn't acquire such a memory. Even if they did, it would be at a price.

'His weird sword first and now this armor of bone,' she pondered, her mind rifled with suspicion about the male before her, "where did he acquire such armor? Clan Song? Possibly Valor?'

William was naturally ignorant of this as he was no esper, and he was busy rummaging through the contents of a weathered, brown leather sack. It was the [Scout's Sack] memory he received the day before. He had used it store their provisions last night before the storm.

Putting his hand into the sack, he discretely used [Prestidigitation] to flavor up the smoked meat inside before taking out a few pieces and offering them to the two girls. He would've preferred to heat it up, too, but that would put too many questions on the table that he was not ready to answer yet.

"Thank you," Cassie took her portion appreciatively and began eating in small bites with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired sleeper glanced looked at the meat and William with suspicion.

"It's not poisoned, I assure you," stated William in an exasperated tone when he noticed her expression. When she didn't show any signs of accepting the food, he just shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Just as he was about to take back the food, Nephis' stomach made an audible sound that caught the attention of the other two Sleepers. The heir of the Immortal Flame clan snatched her portion of food from William's hand and began eating while still holding onto her poker face. Yet, there was a faint red dusting on her cheeks.

William also ate his food while an amused expression graced his features as he watched Nephis's eyes widen in shock at the taste of it. She must've felt his gaze since she didn't raise her head and started eating with renewed gusto.

'Poor girl must've been famished.'

Soon enough, their meager breakfast was finished and washed down by water from Cassie's [Eternal Spring].

With their meal finished, the trio descended down the cliff and continued their journey through the Coral Labyrinth.

################################

Sunless stood next to the corpse of his most recent kill while admiring the memory he got from it.

In his hand was a sharp, light eastern-style sword that was about a meter long with the handle included. Its blade was long, single edged, and ended in an angular tip. The sword was forged out of azure steel with a cross-guard so minimalistic that it offered almost no meaningful protection to the wielder's hands.

(Image)

He summoned his shadow and wrapped it around the sword, causing it to become bluish-black. Along with the white sparkling patterns on its surface, the weapon looked like a portrait of a star-lit night sky.

The dark-haired boy waved around the [Azure Blade] a few times, trying to get accustomed to its weight. The air whistled as the blade cut through it.

He smiled in approval, 'Now I look like a real awakened.'

However, the smile soon turned to a grimace as he turned his dark gaze towards the corpse of the Carapace Scavenger.

Using the knowledge bestowed upon him by teacher Julius in the Survival coarse, Sunny used his new weapon as a butcher's knife as he cracked through the hard carapace and cut a few strips of tender, pink meat. His stomach growled in protest due to having not eaten anything in three days.

However, Sunny put his immediate hunger aside as he extracted a radiant crystal from the monster's chest - the soul shard.

He held it in his hands to absorb it, but nothing happened.

'As expected, it is useless for my progression,' thought the boy as he looked at the soul shard. Then, with a shrug, he threw the meat and the soul shard into a makeshift rucksack he weaved using seaweed.

Looking at the sun, he calculated that he had plenty of time to travel further before the Dark Sea resurged.

Unfortunately, he had injured his leg during his battle against the Carapace Scavenger, so walking was going to be a bit difficult. He could use his shadow to reinforce his body to decrease the pain, but he needed it to scout ahead for any enemies. Thus, he grit his teeth and limped away.

Hours passed as Sunny moved with difficulty and pain. His bruises and constant vigilance only slowed down his progress further. Every step he took made him feel pain in his leg, and it didn't help that the damned labyrinth became more entangled and confusing the deeper one went into it.

Even with the aide of his trusty shadow, he had to backtrack several times just to make sure he was moving in the right direction.

He was on a time limit before the black waters came back and crushed him like a bug. Shaking off the image from his head, Sunny gritted his teeth and marched onwards. He couldn't be too hasty since one single wrong turn ended up losing him several precious minutes, and he had to keep an eye out for other ambushed.

If he got attacked again, even with his new weapon, Sunny knew it would be the end of him.

Then, in his moment of deepest despair, his autonomous shadow saw something that stunned him.

In a clearing a few turns away from his position, there was a clearing where a battle was going on. Two of the same monster that had ambushed him were fighting a group of three people.

In actuality, only two of the three were fighting while the third was standing farther away from the battle with a worried expression on her face, which Sunny immediately recognized as the blind girl from the academy.

'Is that Cassia? How did she survive until now?' he wondered before he focused on the battle taking place.

Two vicious looking crab centaurs were facing against two people in one on one battles. One of the Sleepers, he recognized immediately as Nephis, the Changing Star, due to her unique hair color and facial features.

She was wearing what seemed to him to be a simple shirt with some sandals and a green cape that revealed much of her ivory skin to the open air. His eyes wandered over the lithe and toned body before he shook his head and got his mind out of the gutter.

His hormonal moment aside, Sunny watched with fascination as Nephis fought against the scavenger using her longsword. No, fighting is too crude a term to describe what she was doing. Rather than fighting, it was more like she was dancing as she weaved through the monster's attacks. The silver-haired Sleeper anticipated her foe to move before utilizing the gaps in its defense to deliver precise cuts and jabs.

Then, he looked over at the other battle and was shocked to find the brutalized corpse of the Carapace Scavenger with its pincers severed and one of its scythe-like legs crushed. The perpetrator was nowhere in sight.

'What the fuck happened?' Sunny thought in panic.

He looked around the clearing to see a figure clad in thick white armor charging at the monster Nephis was fighting with a big, sinister-looking sword held in his hands.

Suddenly, his vision changed and he felt himself getting pierced by the pincer of a Carapace Scavenger and then being ripped apart by it.

His breathing hitched and his heartbeat accelerated at a breakneck pace. Cold sweat coated his back and forehead and his irises widened at the scene.

Then, as soon as it happened, the scene vanished and he was back in the Coral Labyrinth alive and slightly well.

In panic, he looked around for any monsters that may have snuck on him but his vicinity was clear. Sunny could still feel his hear beating in his ribcage faster than it ever had before. He slid his hands over his [Puppeteer's Shroud] over his chest and felt for any new injuries.

"What the hell was that? I felt myself dying...," he muttered. When he looked back into the clearing through his shadow, the battle was already over. There was deep wound on the face of the Carapace Scavenger that had been fighting Nephis as it lay montionlessly.

In the few moments that Sunny had his gruesome experience, the Carapace Scavenger had been killed.

He saw Nephis going towards Cassia and bringing her towards the place where the armored Sleeper was going through the monsters' bodies: extracting meat and soul shards.

It was now that got to see his face that he recognized the armored figure.

'Is that.... William?' he thought in shock as he saw his fellow outskirts rat. 'How did he survive until now? What was he wearing? What was that sword? How is he so good at fighting?'

Many questions passed through Sunless's mind but he shook his head and focus on the most pressing matter at hand. People! He had finally found people!

Yet, came the inevitable question, 'Uh....what am I going to do now?'

He knew that he wasn't the best at winning people's hearts and he had spent an entire month making the worst reputation for himself at the academy so that others will avoid him.

'Good job, Sunny,' he congratulated himself self-deprecatingly. To think that the consequences of his actions would come and bite him in the ass; who would've thought it to be possible?

His self-derision aside, at least, he was useful. There was strength in numbers and even if he was not the best at combat; his ability to scout with his shadow was invaluable, wasn't it?

Also, William was there too. Surely, he would put in a good word for a fellow outskirts kid. On the other hand, he could also just stab him in the back to keep the company of the beautiful girls all to himself. 

Sunny knew that he, himself, would do that - after all, it was the outskirt's way.

It was at this moment of indecision that something happened that caused Sunny's blood to run cold and a shiver to run down his spine.

Two cerulean-blue eyes were staring right at him - or rather at his shadow that was frozen in place due to being discovered for the first time.

A smile crept onto the white-haired youth's face, "Well, well, well, if it ain't flower boy. Enjoying the show?"

His remark caused both Cassia and Nephis to look at him in confusion.

"Who are you talking to?" inquired Nephis in alarm as she summoned her sword.

"Just a friend from the outskirts hiding in the shadows. Come down here, Sunny. Don't make me come and get you. I know where you live."

Sunny had two options: either comply and descend to the clearing to face his unknown fate at their hands for spying on them or take his chances at calling William's bluff and just staying put.

His nature as an outskirts kid favoured the latter since he knew that unless he had a similar ability to him, William couldn't possibly go through the maze of intertwining coral to find him.

Yet, his belief was shattered right before his eyes.

William let out a tired sigh, "Fine, have it your way. Ready or not, here I come! Nephis, would you mind guarding Cass for a while? Thanks!"

Before Nephis could even reply or question what was happening, William was running off and to Sunny's horror, he was coming directly towards his position.

Like a bulldozer, he mowed down whatever coral stood in his way by using his large sword.

The feeling of imminent death returned to Sunny as he tried to limp away from his pursuer.

It didn't take ten minutes before Sunny was promptly caught.

"Nephis, Cassia, this guy here is Sunless," William introduced the dark-haired boy as he held him off the ground by the neck of his [Puppeteer's Shroud] like one would hold a misbehaving kitten, "Sunless, these two beautiful ladies are Nephis and Cassia. Say hello."

"H-Hi..," this is both the most awkward and the most embarassing moment in Sunny's life even more than the time he got slapped by Master Jet for staring at her assets.

The two girls remained silent, not knowing what to do in this situation.

Sunny spared a look at his shadow, which was scratching its head before shrugging back at him.

"Come on guys don't be so cold, he's harmless I promise," was what he heard William say before placing him onto his feet.

"No, had been watching us from the shadows," Sunny felt Changing Star's grey eyes pierced through him, "like a creep."That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"I'm not a creep!" he exclaimed loudly. This caused Cassia to be startled and hide behind Nephis which didn't win him any points with her.

Sunny truely didn't believe himself to be a creep, he was just overly cautious.

"Look I know he's a creep-."

"I'm not a creep!" Sunny reiterated.

This time William stared at him with half-lidded eyes, "Dude, I saw your shadow loitering around the girls' dorminatory while at the academy; plus, you don't have the most stellar of reputations. Just accept it and make it easier for all of us."

Sunny opened his mouth to refute only to close it again. He couldn't refute this time. He couldn't even lie his way out due to his flaw. He look like a creep when scrutinized at that angle.

'Damn it! I thought I was careful,' he thought as he looked at his shadow which seemed to be laughing its ass off, 'oh, you're so gonna get it you cheeky bastard.'

His silence against the allegations caused Nephis to look at him with a mixture of disgust and distrust.

"I suggest we leave him and go on our way. I don't feel safe traveling with the infamous pervert of the academy," was Nephis's suggestion to which Cassia nodded fervently. After hearing of Sunny's 'achievements' at the academy, his approval with both of the girls fell to the negatives.

"Wait, wait, wait!" cried the taller male in a placating gesture. "Aren't you being too cold-hearted. Look at the poor guy."

William pointed at Sunny who was trying his best to look as innocent as possible.

"He won't be able to survive here alone and he looks like he hadn't eaten since he came here. Sunny what can you do?"

With the spotlight returning to him, Sunless tired his best not to panic, "I...uh....I can use my shadow to scout the Labyrinth for threats."

Then he demonstrated that by moving his shadow from one end of the clearing to another.

"I am also proficient at survival techniques in the Dream Realm," he added to his sales pitch.

"See," said the white-haired youth to the Changing Star, "he's useful. Come on Nephis, you were like him were you not? Yet, we still took you in."

The silver haired female didn't like the way the armored male was talking about her like he had picket up a stray from the streets but she couldn't refute that he made some good points.

It was then that a new voice broke through the conversation, "I.....I say we allow him to join."

It was Cassia's soft voice that finally broke the tie between William and Nephis. Sunny looked at the blind girl like she was an angel that descended from the heavens.

Nephis looked at oracle like she had betrayed her by siding with William, "Why?"

"I trust William's judgement," was what Cassie replied with that earned her a pat on the head.

"That's my Cass!" said William excitedly as he ruffled her soft, golden hair.

Sunny watched Cassia's expression brighten considerably after William's compliment. It was as if she had anticipated this result.

A hint of doubt entered his heart.

'Did she know that this would happen? No, don't be foolish Sunny. It's just coincidence,' he thought as he slightly shook his mind off these useless thoughts.

"Alright," stated the tall youth, "welcome to the team Sunless. Do you mind if I call you Sunny? Sunless seems too dreary and we have enough dread as is."

"Do as you want," he didn't care either way, it was just a name and not the one he was most concerned for.

'I have to make sure not to spill out my true name by accident, or else....' Unbeknownst to him, one of his group members already knew his secret.

Seeing that the situation went out of her hands, Nephis let out an exasperated sigh before stating in her trademark cold tone as she watched the grey skies begin to darken slightly, "Let's get back to where we were before, we can't progress much more today."

"Yeah," agreed William as he stared at the two Carapace Scavengers, "with these two, we face a total of twelve scavengers until we got here."

'And my boys killed eight more on the side.'

Sunny's eyes widened in shock, they killed twelve of those beasts while only one almost killed him.

He looked at Nephis and William with a new kind of respect.

"By the way, I am ahead of you by two kills," commented William off-handedly passed by the silver-haired Sleeper.

'Is this a game to him?' wondered the dark-haired Sleeper.

"Its not a competition," replied Nephis as she helped guide Cassia towards the direction they came from.

'You tell him, Nephis!'

"Well, if it was, I am winning," William replied back he turned his back to them and marched on.

Nephis sighed while Cassia giggled next to her.

Sunless wondered if it was truely a wise choice to join these people.

Alas, the milk has already been spilled, all was left was for him to slip on it.

(7 personal kills + 8 minion kills. D20 = 4, 13, 4, 18, 12, 11, 11, 6, 16, 6, 9, 4, 2, 14, 12)

(+2 memories)

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A.N: For those wondering how he found Sunny's position; well, William does have two spirits that can be used as scouts so that's the answer.

Anyways, how was Sunny's interaction with the gang?

I personally found it strange that Sunny's actions in the academy don't have much consequences for him in the Dream Realm so I devised this introduction. I mean, the dude literally verbally assaulted most of the female sleepers due to his inability to lie due to his flaw.

Plus, no one can deny that he was being a creep while using his shadow to spy on people.

Happy reading and have a good day!