Shadow Slave Fanfic: The Song of The Shadow Beast

Now, Sunny didn't feel as bad as he had just a couple of minutes ago.

It could have been far worse, and he knew it. After all, no one had been burned to a crisp, and he didn't have another knife sticking out of his neck.

Granted, the little stunt Silent had pulled had only been possible because Sunny wanted to see if she would actually go through with it. And when she did, he had been shocked to witness just how fearless the little kitten really was...

…until she wasn't.

But that was in the past.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, he had other issues to deal with. At the moment, everyone was still processing the events of the last ten minutes or so.

Emotions ran high. Some were angry, or at least frustrated. Others had taken the revelation quite well…at least better than they had during the Battle of Godheart.

Of the three who had faced him that day, only one had truly surprised him. Bin had managed to leave even him speechless.

No matter how much he had speculated about her reaction, she had still caught him off guard in the end.

Not just him, Nephis, too, was struggling with her inner turmoil.

'Well, at least I'll have hot water for my coffee later.' He mused, thinking about how differently things could have turned out.

But now, there was a more pressing issue.

Four out of the seven sisters had just discovered what…or rather, who…he truly was. As far as they were concerned, they had no reason to believe he was actually human.

Until now…

The gap between the being they had fought in the Battle of Godheart and the one they had found fake-sleeping on a magnificent tree was simply too vast.

Sensing someone's gaze, he turned toward them.

In an instant, Howl averted her eyes, her expression unreadable. But if anything, he sensed a hue of disappointment in her shadow.

That… made him chuckle.

'Anything is better than them being afraid of me right now. I'm sure Revel will help with that.'

He cleared his throat to address the currently not-so-proud wolf, who was still debating whether to hide in her room or kick her jaguar sister in the head first.

With his usual calm voice and signature smile, he faced her.

"Why are you suddenly avoiding my gaze? I'm not a Nightmare Creature." A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head leisurely. "That's not how you've been acting before. What changed, Howl?"

Sighing to herself, she mustered up the courage to look at him, just as she had been doing for the past few days.

She didn't know how she would ever recover from the shame she felt at this moment.

But what other choice did she have? It wasn't as if ignoring him would make him disappear, no matter how much she wished it would.

Doing her best to keep her voice even while suppressing the trembling in her body, she answered.

"I was going to pretend you don't exist, you know? Like a scary bedtime story parents tell their kids so they'll behave."

Her gaze dropped to the floor, her eyes falling on the wooden planks beneath her.

'I'd like for those to just open up and swallow me whole, please. Yeah… that would be nice.'

But reality was cruel.

Not that it was impossible, things like that did happen in this world. But without Sunny's command, the Mimic remained dormant.

For now…

"I think we both know that won't happen," he mused. "But… why do you suddenly feel so defeated? Ashamed? Maybe even frightened?"

She couldn't believe it. Even now, he was playing dumb, as if he didn't perfectly understand why she and the others felt the way they did.

So, she took a different approach.

It was time to vent.

Her heart pounded against her ribs as her voice rose, fueled by frustration and confusion.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE THE LORD OF SHADOWS, GODDAMMIT!"

She was about to fall over along with her chair when, in an instant, two shadowy hands emerged from below, steadying it before she could topple over.

Horror flashed across her face before she even registered what had happened.

The room fell into stunned silence.

Then, Sunny, too, summoned a chair from the shadows and sat down, ever calm and collected.

He resisted the urge to smirk…no need to escalate things any further.

"You're right, of course. I am the Lord of Shadows…" he admitted with a sigh, leaning back into his seat. He got comfortable, this was going to take a while.

"…But I'm also Master Sunless. Owner of a café and a memory boutique. So I think it would be a bit unfair to judge me solely by the one Incarnation of me that left the strongest impression on you."

His eyes drifted toward Rain, and he smiled, pleased to see her looking better than she had five minutes ago.

"I'm also a proud teacher and the brother of an incredible girl and student who fought on your side of the war."

That actually earned him a small smile from Rain.

Yet, he knew she was far from forgiving him.

'Ahhh… holding grudges seems to run in the family.' He sighed inwardly.

He could always apologize later. Not that he thought it would help much.

For that, he would need to convince her with a few new memories.

But one step at a time.

Howl's shadow was still raging, and that needed to change.

Turning back to her, he continued.

"I told Seishan and Revel the same thing, I'm not just the Lord of Shadows. He's just an Incarnation of mine, one I carefully crafted to instill fear and dread, regardless of what side someone stands on."

A chuckle escaped him before he went on.

"The warriors of Clan Valor don't like me much either. But that's exactly the impression I wanted to leave when I chose to place my citadel in Godgrave and acted all unyielding and frightening."

Hel's curiosity was piqued.

"How does that work?" she asked. "You chose the location of your citadel? How?"

She wasn't alone in her confusion…Howl, too, frowned at the revelation. Even forgetting her rage for a moment.

Sunny just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it can teleport."

That statement hung in the air for a moment, completely absurd yet utterly factual.

"It's useful, sure, but not all that powerful," he continued. "Honestly, I don't even know what to do with the damn thing once the war is finally over."

The way he spoke, so casually, as if discussing mundane problems instead of world-altering abilities, it made them uneasy.

They were starting to realize that whatever they had previously thought of him, they still had no idea who they were really dealing with.

"Well, maybe I'll turn it into a wandering playground for kids," he mused. "Just because I can."

At that moment, Saint appeared at his side, carrying a tray with coffee mugs in her hands.

Sunny took one and sipped, humming in satisfaction.

"Coffee, anyone?"

The absurdity of it all left the others speechless.

But before long, one by one, they accepted his offer.

Nephis was the first to take a cup. Sunny summoned a chair for her as well. After settling down with her legs crossed, she seemed quite pleased with the situation now.

Revel didn't need to be asked twice. She raised a hand, and a shadowy limb delivered the hot beverage to her.

It seemed Sunny had changed her perspective on more than just the life of her mother.

Hesitatingly, Bin raised her hand too. Her previous excitement had been shattered by Sunny's harsh words, but she had taken the fact that he was the Lord of Shadows rather lightly.

Perhaps because she had never truly feared him. Instead, she had been drawn to his immense strength and mysterious aura…something that spoke volumes about her taste in men and how she intended to treat a partner.

Not gently, that much was clear.

Sunny acknowledged her silent demand for a taste of his beans and shot her an even look.

"You won't get my coffee anytime soon. While I'm still holding my spite for you at bay and resisting the urge to beat you senseless again, I'm definitely not rewarding you for your bewitching mouth and wickedness either."

Beastmaster just rolled her eyes, feeling unfairly treated. She glanced at Revel with envy, only to catch her staring back with a smug expression.

Their eyes met.

Revel simply shrugged, took a slow sip of her coffee, and let out an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction.

Bin pressed her lips together, refusing to acknowledge defeat. She would get her beans one way or another.

That said, she might be a crazy woman, but even she knew better than to challenge Changing Star. She wasn't a masochist, and provoking her would only lead to burns…literal ones. That was enough reason to hold back.

So she kept quiet… for her own sake.

The rest of the group simply stared at the absurd scene with bewildered expressions.

The formidable stone knight, reduced to nothing more than a barista, left quite the contradictory impression on them.

Saint, too, seemed to be more than just a killing machine.

Howl slumped into her chair, sighing in resignation. There was no point in trying to make sense of the situation anymore.

'It's hopeless. He's just crazy. At least now I know what we're dealing with' She thought, before taking a deep breath and staring at the floor.

'At least her shadow had calmed down. A win is a win.'

Sunny, pleased with how he had handled her outburst, leaned back in his seat.

Seeing that Howl had lost interest in the conversation, Seishan couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

She had long since realized that trying to fully understand the man was a fool's errand. So she decided to cut to the chase.

Not that she was in any rush, but steering the conversation toward a more interesting topic would certainly help with her growing boredom.

'No matter how amusing all of this is, I need to find out why we're really here. He might be crazy, but he's not the type to do anything without a purpose.'

Sensing her gaze, Sunny turned to meet it.

The same onyx eyes that had made her tremble just a day ago now held a knowing glint.

She had more or less figured out why they were all here, and she wanted him to know that she knew.

So Sunny returned the smile.

He wasn't about to insult her intelligence with a mocking grin. Seishan was not dense like some of her sisters. Not at all.

Whether it was on the Forgotten Shore or in Godgrave, she had always been the first to figure things out before anyone else.

Granted, Revel had known before her, but Sunny had told her, so that didn't count.

Her voice, now free of hesitation or fear, carried a slight smile as she urged the conversation toward something meaningful.

"I believe we have something more important to discuss than your plans for that strange citadel of yours. Why don't we get straight to it?"

Sunny gave her a nod, his lips curving slightly.

He, too, was glad that soon everyone would be on the same page. Or at least… not left completely in the dark.

Just their minds though…they wouldn't be leaving his Soul Sea for far longer than that.

(Author's Note: I'm going to hell for what's coming. But… I don't care. I'm agnostic ;)

Sunny took a deep breath, his ever-present grin widening as he reached for the pin on the grenade.

"Alright, now…who among you would like to see their mother again?"

The unparalleled mischief in his expression put even Bin and Effie to shame.

Revel immediately lost it.

She spat her coffee out to the side, barely missing Seishan in the process.

"SO THAT'S HOW YOU WANNA BRING THAT UP?!" she shouted in disbelief.

She didn't even wait for an answer. Instead, she buried her face in her hands, suddenly feeling like her world was being flipped upside down.

"He's insane… I'm friends with a madman," she mumbled between hyperventilated breaths. "Why did I think I was over the hill when he told me he killed an Immortal Saint as an Awakened… TWICE?!"

That Nephis already knew where this was going didn't make it any better.

She, too, sat in stunned silence, struggling to process what she had just heard.

Her senses had never betrayed her. Not now. Not ever.

She had heard him perfectly fine.

Believing it, though?

That was another matter entirely.

The rest of the group remained oblivious, but even Seishan was beginning to question whether her previous assumption about their purpose here had really been plausible.

'He… he wouldn't dare… right?'

But he would.

Not only that, but Sunny was going to rip the bandaid off right now.

So he did.

His next words sent a shudder through even the Mimic, which no longer felt safe in the presence of a Master so insane he could make the Mad Prince look composed and reasonable.

Taking another breath to regain their attention, Sunny grinned wider.

"Because that's going to be quite the challenge after Nephis and I kill her."