No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

Levi was now fond of having conversation in the dark. He felt more relaxed , now that no one could see him in the dark. Of course.. he didn't really trust Changing Star.. he felt like she was a bad omen since her True Name could also be translated into Star of Ruin , or misfortune. He would keep her at an arms distance. As for Sunny and Cassie..

He has known Sunny for a while now , not much.. but still he has. He was kind of happy that he had someone he could trust in the middle of a Death Zone. As for Cassie.. she wasn't much of a threat.

After a long silence, Sunny had decided to speak up.

"Since we're going to be depending on each other, should we share what abilities and Memories we have at our disposal?"

This was a logical suggestion. If they were going to fight side by side, knowing each other's strengths was more or less vital. He didn't know if the others would agree to this tho..

Levi couldn't help but jab once again.. , He wasn't doing this to make himself look cool or something..-it would be foolish if he thought like that- he just liked to pick on Sunny..

"Never would have thought you would make a logical suggestion."

He could her Cassie chuckle quietly. But unfortunately he didn't get reaction from Sunny , he just ignored him. Levi rolled his eyes in the dark.

"I'll start," Sunny said, both to show his sincerity and to reveal information about himself in a controlled manner.

"My attributes give me an affinity to shadows. I also have a slight affiliation to divinity. Lastly, I am prone to finding myself in unlikely situations."

Cassie listened carefully, and then lowered her head, as though embarrassed.

"Uh...he is telling the truth. Not that we doubted your honesty!"

Levi let out an amused scoff at Cassie's words.

Sunny cleared his throat and smiled, hiding his nervousness:

"Really? That's good to know. But ... why are you so sure that I am being honest?"

The blind girl shifted a little.

"Oh! That's my Ability. I can "see" people's Attributes. Sometimes, I also receive, uh, "visions". They can be about the future or the past. I mean, that's what I think ... it only happened a couple of times."

Levi shifted a bit in his seat , holding his knees close to his chest. He felt relieved that Cassie's ability was limited to attributes.. He would not have wanted to reveal his Divine Aspect yet...

"That's a good Ability. Speaking of Abilities: you have already seen mine. My shadow can move independently and explore. It can't affect the material world, but we share sight and hearing. That way, I can spot danger before encountering it. The shadow is fast and stealthy: it can go anywhere and is almost impossible to notice. Oh, I can also see in the dark."

Levi felt Cassie shift a bit in her seat.. 

Sensing the weird atmosphere Sunny spoke up.

"Uh ... what?"

Nephis frowned and said in a flat tone:

"Have you ever used your Ability in the Academy?"

Levi smiled at the question. Understanding where she was getting at..

"In the Academy? Sure, of course. Why?"

Before the girls could say anything, he hurriedly raised his hand and blurted:

"But I have never used it to do anything improper! You have to believe me!"

Levi scoffed.

"Uh-huh.."

"I had more important things to do than ... than whatever you're thinking about! I spent almost every waking hour learning how to survive!"

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't seen you in class ... even once , neither Levi.."

Sunny chuckled.

"Of course, you didn't. While you were busy wiping the floor with other Sleepers, we were studying Wilderness Survival."

Nephis sounded surprised. It seemed she had never heard of such a course.

"Wilderness ... what? There is such a course?"

"Yes, there is. It might seem like an afterthought for most people, but for an outskirts kid like me, who never went to a fancy school or saw a private tutor, learning how to survive in the wilderness is the difference between life and death. Without it, I would have drowned the moment we were sent to the Dream Realm."

"I see. I didn't know."

Sunny grimaced and struggled to keep the venom from sipping into his voice. When he finally spoke, his tone was light and amiable.

"That's okay. It's natural for someone of your status not to know..."

Nephis did not reply to that..

"Anyway, that's my Ability. As for Memories, I have three. One is an armor, one is a sword, and the last one is a really loud bell."

Levi scoffed in contempt , and felt Sunny's gaze on him.

Now it was their turn to share. After a short pause, Nephis spoke:

"My attributes give me an affinity to light and fire, as well as a strong affiliation to divinity. I have two Memories: a rope...and a sword. The rope is very sturdy and can change its length. The sword is very sharp and can protect its wielder against souls attacks, to a certain extent. My Ability ... can be used to heal."

Levi raised a brow.

'Can be used to heal huh..?'

"You're a Healer? That's great! Having a Healer among us is incredible luck!"

Sunless replied , since Levi had spent a bit of time with him , he could tell that his reaction was actually fake..

Cassie nodded and smiled.

"Neph is also an amazing fighter! You should have seen her dealing with those scavengers. Well...I also did not actually see it. But it sounded very scary."

After that, Cassie sighed.

"It's my turn? Uh ... my attributes are nothing special. I guess I have an affinity to revelations and fate. My Ability is like I told you before. It's not very useful. About my Memories, I have three: the bottle, the wooden staff and this armor. You already know about the bottle. The staff can create wind. The armor is actually of the Awakened rank ... uh, Neph gave it to me when we met. It has a very powerful protective charm."

'Am I the only one who is poor on memories here..?'

The blind girl turned away and added after a while:

"I used to be a pretty decent fencer ... before. Now I can't really fight."

A silence passed , Levi was looking at the ground when he noticed 3 pairs of eyes looking his way. Sunny spoke up first.

"Its Your turn , have you fallen asleep?"

Levi rolled his eyes and then spoke.

"No I have not fallen asleep.. my attributes.. they give me an affinity towards Destruction and Hatred.. uh.. one of my Attributes have turned my hair white.. and I have an attribute that can imbue my arms with a weapon-type memory.. I also have a slight affiliation to divinity like Sunny."

"That is a whole aspect!"

Sunny said in a surprised tone. The others seemed a bit surprised too.. He ignored them and continued talking.

"Unlike you rich folks.. I only have one memory.. It is a Dormant ranked memory .. a Rapier.. it enhances thrusting.. and since punches are similar to thrusts it is a very useful memory for me."

After a few seconds he added.

"Oh and I have an echo of a Dormant Beast.. Its pretty weak , but its bites have a very strong curse.."

"As for my aspect.. Anything I touch uh.. is struck with corrosion I guess.. It is very useful when fighting.."

No one seemed to be sharing their flaws , even if they did Levi would never do that.. because he didn't want people to see him as an immortal. He still wanted to be human in their eyes. 

After a long silence Sunny spoke up once again.

"Good. That's good. I think we have enough tools to survive, provided we use them right. I guess it's time to sleep?"

In the darkness, Nephis tilted her head, listening to his words with a distant look.

"Alright. I'll ... take watch first."

Sunny decided to be helpful and said:

"Actually, my shadow doesn't sleep. It can wake us up if something happens."

But then Changing Star replied with a rather cold tone.

"I'll take watch first."

He felt Sunny shrug. Poor guy must have pissed his armor..