Shadow Slave novel Chapter 255

Chapter 255 Dawn Shard

As the last spark of light disappeared, Nephis tilted her head to the side and remained silent for a few moments. Then, she lowered her gaze and said, addressing the First Lord:

"Thank you."

She hesitated, as though wishing to say more, but eventually just took a step back.

Kai, however, wasn't that reserved. Bowing deeply, he remained with his head down for a while, then straightened his back, looked at the skeleton, and voiced something that a few of them must have been thinking:

"Thank you. We will… we will finish what you started."

His words echoed above the cold water, eventually disappearing into the darkness. A heavy silence settled above the shore of the underground river.

A few seconds later, the charming archer turned to the rest of them and asked with uncertainty:

"I think… should we bury him?"

The members of the cohort looked at each other. Before anyone could voice their opinion, though, Sunny suddenly spoke:

"No. Just leave him as he is. He wanted to be closer to his friends when he died, so… just don't touch him."

With that, he turned his head and looked away.

Since the First Lord died outside of the terrible maze, his shadow was gone, too. Now it was just dumb and empty, like most shadows cast by inanimate objects. He had not shared in the harrowing fate of his companions, which meant that Sunny couldn't help him reunite with them… even slightly.

Neither could they bring the remains of the First Lord back outside, to bury him near the girl who had died in the quarry.

It was better to just leave him be.

'Forget about it. Think of something else.'

Sunny had other matters to consider, anyway.

That strange Memory that Nephis had absorbed… he had never even heard of a Memory that could exist outside of someone's soul. Had the First Lord somehow relinquished the ownership of it, or was this a quality that all Shard Memories possessed?

And it was, without a doubt, another Shard Memory — just like Effie's spear and his own stalwart blade. That Memory was the reason why Changing Star had ventured on this expedition, to begin with. The thing that was supposed to somehow give her a chance of defeating Gunlaug.

Sunny stared at Nephis, then said:

"That headband… what is it called? No, actually, let me guess. Dawn Shard? Dusk Shard?"

Neph looked at him and didn't answer. Her ivory face was calm and inexorable.

Sunny grinned.

"...Full of secrets, are we?"

A hint of some deep, sharp emotion appeared in her cold grey eyes. A few moments later, she said:

"Weren't you the one who made it clear that you don't want to be a true member of this cohort? You chose to be a hired blade yourself… did you not? Why should I share my secrets with you?"

Sunny remained silent for a bit, then sighed.

"Well… fair enough. I did, and you have no good reason to share anything with me."

Suddenly, Nephis smiled.

"You can change your mind, you know. If you do, I'll naturally tell you everything."

He stared at her for a while, then shook his head.

"No, no need. Answer me one question, though. How exactly is that thing supposed to help us defeat Gunlaug?"

Changing Star lingered for a bit, then simply shrugged.

"See for yourself."

What he saw left Sunny breathless. _{freёwebnovel.com}