Shadow Slave novel Chapter 158

Chapter 158 Invisible

After about a month of living in the outer settlement, Sunny woke up one morning with the feeling of not belonging anywhere in this world. This familiar feeling had pursued him for most of his life, and had returned recently after being gone for some time.

With a sigh, he rose from his narrow cot and summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud. The stone lodge was already full of sounds and voices. The tempting smell of breakfast filled the air.

Coming out of his small room, Sunny saw a bunch of Neph's helpers rushing here and there, busy with various tasks. Some of them stopped to greet him, others did not. He paid no attention to them and went outside to wash his face and take a look at the sky.

The grey sky of the Forgotten Shore looked as it always did. Nothing ever really changed in this loathsome hell.

On his way back, Sunny noticed a gaunt figure standing hesitantly near the doors of the lodge. The ragged young man looked very familiar.

Reaching into his memory, Sunny identified him as the friendly, but nervous receptions from the castle. His clothes were much less clean and tidy than they had been before, and his face had become even thinner.

The young man had clearly seen better days.

'What is he doing there?'

Coming closer, Sunny called out to the young man:

"Uh… Harper, right? How come you're here?"

Harper flinched, then looked at him with anxious eyes:

"Oh… Sunless! It's, uh… it's so nice to see you."

Sunny stared at him for a while, then asked bluntly:

"Did they kick you out of the castle?"

Harper's face instantly fell. Lowering his gaze, he stayed silent for a few moments, and then said quietly:

"I haven't been able to pay the tribute anymore. So… yes. I guess they did."

Then he glanced up, hesitated, and asked in a weak voice:

"I… I heard that I can get some food here?"

Sunny tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"Sure. Usually, we give out meat after the hunts. But if you're hungry right now, I'm certain there's something we can do. Just talk to… uh… a girl with red hair. She's in charge of breakfast, I think."

Harper smiled, too, the weak light of hope igniting in his eyes.

"Really? They will just give me a meal for free?"

Sunny shrugged.

"Why not? We have enough food right now. Most of those guys and girls are always here, anyway. They're like guests that won't le… uh, doesn't matter. They help around, doing this and that, to express their gratitude, I guess. If you feel guilty just eating for free, ask them for some chore. This might not be the Bright Castle, but you'll see that life here can be not bad as well."

Guiding the gaunt young man inside, Sunny directed him toward the kitchen and sighed.

Even castle dwellers were now coming to their lodge. If this went on, he would have to share his room with some random stranger. What a joke.

Entering the main hall, he noticed Nephis and Caster standing near the window, discussing the approaching hunt. This morning, there were several hunters from other parties surrounding them. The cohort had been planning a big joint hunt for a while now, and today was the day.

'Did they just... start without me?'

Hiding his discontent, Sunny walked over to the group of hunters and greeted them. Caster smiled at him, while Nephis simply nodded. The other hunters glanced at the new arrival and didn't pay him much attention.

'Fools. If you knew who stands before you…'

Consoling himself with these childish thoughts, Sunny listened to the discussion. One of the hunters was speaking:

"...South of the collapsed lighthouse is a good choice, but the Awakened creatures living there have an incredibly sharp hearing. Attacking them in large numbers won't be easy."

In the past month, their lodge had gone through a transformation. The remnants of broken furniture were long gone and replaced. Some of the new pieces of furniture came from the ruins, some were made right here by the craftsmen of the outer settlement. There were monster hides and decorations hung on the walls, making the space look neat and presentable.

These days, the lodge appeared as the headquarters of a small, but prosperous Awakened cohort. There was even a large map of the Dark City on one of the walls, with various symbols marking all kinds of useful information.

Currently, the hunter was pointing at a particular spot on the map:

"This spot right here is much more promising. Blood Fiends are known to dwell in these parts. They hibernate during the day, so if we manage to find a lair or two…"

Caster shook his head.

"The area you're suggesting is too close to the territory of those strange living statues. We all know how formidable those bizarre creatures are. I still think that south of the lighthouse is better. We just need to think of a way to deceive the hearing of the monsters…"

Suddenly finding something that he could be helpful with, Sunny said:

"Uh, I have a bell that can…"

However, his voice drowned in the buzz of the conversation. No one paid attention to his words.

Embarrassed, Sunny inhaled deeply, waited for a few seconds, and spoke again:

"Actually, we can use one of my two sound-producing Memories to…"

But right at that moment, Caster seemed to come up with a brilliant idea. Everyone listened to him, turning their backs to Sunny. It was as though he was completely invisible.