Shadow Slave Fanfic: The Song of The Shadow Beast

Beastmaster slowly rose before looking at Silent with a troubled expression.

"You… you must be joking… right? Please tell me you are just messing with me."

Silent just smirked and shook her head.

"No, he's the boyfriend of Changing Star. I have once glimpsed his face in a report for Clan Valor. Besides that, he is known in the media for several other things, like running a café and memory boutique. He also defeated one of Valor's Masters with a single strike. Of course, that was an exaggerated post by the media. My informant told me he had won the battle by sheer luck and clumsiness. He is the most harmless Master out there."

Listening to Silent's weirdly detailed description of the man made them all wonder about one thing, though.

"How did he end up here? Has the Lord of Shadows captured him to separate him from Changing Star?"

Moonveil asked, still wondering how the elusive Princess of Valor had ended up with a Master as a partner. But she could understand her. After all, she could not deny that the man even exceeded the beauty of most Saints… even some female ones.

"I would say that the Lord of Shadows had grown fond of Changing Star and decided to get rid of Master Sunless. At least that's what I would do in his shoes. The only problem is that I can hardly believe that this monster is capable of having feelings. I even wonder if that guy is even human. He's like the Prince of Nothing, if you ask me."

Silent remembered the fight well; how could she not? A single Saint had stood against them and managed to win while laughing at them. No matter how much she hated that thing, she couldn't deny that he's a force no one could match. At least not another Saint.

Sunny suddenly felt a little hurt. Sure, he aimed to be perceived as an uncaring, reckless monster who did nothing but follow orders in exchange for money, but being put on the same stage as Mordret was too much even for him.

'That is one insult I cannot take. How dare she compare me to that bastard.'

Unconsciously, he frowned a little. His eyebrows pinched slightly together, which didn't go unnoticed by Beastmaster, who got back to staring at him.

"He's waking up, I think. Come on, handsome, open your eyes. Tell us what's going on."

Sunny stirred, acting like he had just woken up from a long nap. He stretched himself before finally opening his eyes. When he did, Beastmaster seemed to sway a little. Under the oppressive feeling of his striking eyes, her legs tried to betray her.

"You are mine… forever."

She mumbled under her breath. To her horror, she noticed she had said that out loud. Under the weird glances of her sisters, she coughed awkwardly before pulling her lips into a beautiful smile—one she was sure he couldn't resist.

Soon after, the man stood up and straightened his clothes before looking at the summary of five beautiful Saints who were still waiting for him to say something. And so he did.

"My name is Master Sunless."

He bowed subtly before continuing. He did so with a smile—not because he wanted to be polite, but because he was planning to hold up the act for as long as he could.

'Let's see how long it takes for them to realize.'

"Welcome to the Nameless Temple. I will be taking care of you for as long as your stay is needed. I'm essentially your warden and caretaker. So… I hope we get along and don't make this more difficult than it already is."

Everyone looked at him with mixed emotions. A guard? A Master who was apparently the weakest of his kind was supposed to guard five Saints. And not just any Saints; they were Princesses of the Great Clan Song.

'The Lord of Shadows must be a nightmare creature. Because no human could make a choice so mad it is almost laughable.'

Revel thought while trying to compose herself. She was not scared, of course. After all, the man before her could be easily crushed if she decided to do so. No matter what kind of Aspect that Master might possess, she was sure he would die if she even grabbed him wrong.

"You must be joking. Are we supposed to believe that a Master, no matter what strength, is supposed to guard… us? Tell us what is going on, or we'll beat the answer out of you."

Revel spat with a hint of annoyance now. She felt humiliated. Did the Lord of Shadows really think so little of them that he thought a mere Master could even hope to stand in their way without being reduced to a puddle of blood?

Sunny chuckled before ordering Saint to appear beside him.

"I know this must be hard for you to understand, but if anyone here is going to get beaten up, it's you. Be careful with your words, or this graceful knight might show you how much you are mistaken in your perception of your role here."

Revel was taken aback for a second. Not just her, but every single one of the beautiful Saints was currently staring at him with their eyes twitching. Some of them for different reasons than the others.

Beastmaster could not believe her ears nor her eyes. With a single sentence, Master Sunless had managed to shoot himself deeper into her heart.

'He's not just handsome but has a slick tongue too? He is getting better and better.'

Moonveil and Howl were the same, although not on the same level as Bin. While Silent and Revel seemed to have come to a mutual agreement.

'He will die no matter what.'

Sunny could practically grasp the bloodlust from these two. But he wasn't worried, of course. As far as they knew, he was just a weak Master who was too confident in the Saints' ability to protect him.

They believed that the shackles on their necks were for his safety. Little did they know that he had placed those on them for theirs. If they all had full access to their powers, he didn't know how a fight would go.

The only thing he knew was that he wouldn't have the luxury to keep them alive. Revel alone was a problem in itself. He could kill her, no doubt, but with four more of her sisters to support her, he would definitely need to go all out. And that would mean drowning his hands in blue blood.

Not that they would be the first royalty he ever killed. Daeron had been his first and only kill of royal origin. Solvane might count too, but she hardly put up a fight.

But for now, they were protected from themselves by trying something stupid. Of course, it was only a matter of time until at least one of them would go after his life. When that moment came, he would have no choice but to reveal his secret identity.

Sunny felt weirdly excited for that moment. How would they react? Turn haywire and try to rip him to pieces? Fall over in shock at their own stupidity? Or would they simply take it as it is and go on with their lives?

No matter what it was, he had only one goal in mind.

'Keep them off the battlefield for the duration of the war. Everything after is not my problem.'

"I see you have understood something. Now let's go over some rules."

He sat down on the grass, signaling for them to do the same. To his surprise, they did. Of course, they would. What choice did they have? With Saint by his side, they could not disobey any orders. Understanding what it meant to be a prisoner was something one doesn't have to learn. It is natural to obey the rules set by someone else who has the power to enforce them if they choose to disobey him.

"Number 1: Any form of violence is forbidden except if both parties consent to it. Whether between me and you or between yourselves doesn't matter.

Number 2: Every basement is a restricted area. You are not allowed to enter those.

Number 3: If you have any questions or requests, you come to me and me only. Saint here and whoever you might meet will not be listening to you.

And the last of my rules is pretty simple too. If you break one of those rules, you can bet your sorry ass that the Lord of Shadows will learn about that disobedience. Be grateful that you are alive. Anything else should be seen as a plus."

Sunny knew that he shouldn't ask, but he was kind of curious what they had to say, so he did anyway.

"Does anyone have a question?"

Immediately, Beastmaster raised her hand. Not that it surprised him, but he had hoped to not speak with her. He wasn't fond of the woman. That he kept her alive was merely a cold, calculated way of securing the future of humanity in the Dream Realm.

Reluctantly, he gave her a nod.

"Why are you here and not the Lord of Shadows?"

Sunny smiled.

"He is here; to be more precise, he is always here. You will learn what that means when I show you where you will all be sleeping."

Confusion spread across their faces. They had hoped to never see that fiend again. So to learn that he was around them at all times was more than a little unnerving.

"What are we going to eat and drink?"

Sunny again gave the person who asked a polite smile. This time it was Silent whose curiosity spilled over.

"I will be providing the food and drinks. Don't expect anything fancy. It will be a simple meal three times a day. For drinks, you get water."

Relief spread over them. As Saints, they didn't need food for months, but water was something even they couldn't go without for more than one. So getting a meal three times a day and water when they wanted was just fine with them.

"What is it like to be in a relationship with Changing Star? I heard she is rather cold and distant."

Sunny scoffed; he had expected to get those kinds of questions as well. Just not so soon.

"It's wonderful. Next."

The answer didn't satisfy Beastmaster, though, so she pried further.

"So are you two happy together? Is there room for one more person?"

Moonveil coughed awkwardly beside her. She picked up on the signal and added, "Is there room for two more people?"

Sunny was lost for words at the moment. He tried everything to keep his inner turmoil from showing, though. After a long pause, he just sighed and gave her an even look, completely devoid of warmth.

"There is no room for another person. And why are you even asking? I'm your warden, for Spells' sake."

Beastmaster just shot him a playful smile while licking her lips. She barely managed to dodge when Revel tried to smack her.

"No matter how much it pains me to admit it, he's right. Don't forget he's our enemy. Behave yourself, Bin."

Beastmaster just looked away while acting like she was completely innocent. If she was completely honest with herself, this was nice. It was like a sort of vacation.

'A vacation with a hot snack I can devour.'

Dismissing the idea of immediately trying to smack Bin again, Revel just turned to Sunny with a grim expression. There was something that had been bothering her the entire time.

"Why did he keep us alive? I wouldn't have done the same if I were in his position."

Sunny thought about it for a second. He could blame it all on Nephis, but that wouldn't be the truth. In fact, as of now, she didn't even know he had captured five of the seven Transcendent Princesses.

'I need to tell her that later.'

"There are many reasons. One of them is that you all are valuable in your own ways. After the war, there will be a lot of challenges humanity has to face. Every single Awakened is needed to face what is about to come."

Silent just chuckled at Sunny's declaration that the Lord of Shadows kept them alive for the reason that humanity needs them. She didn't believe one bit of it. On the other hand, she couldn't come up with a different reason, other than torture in pursuit of secrets, of course.

"I bet he kept us alive so he can torture us for secrets. It's just a matter of time until he swoops in and grabs one of us to throw in a room with Song of the Fallen."

Sunny had expected them to feel that way. He would too if he found himself in such a predicament. But he had to ease their minds somehow. However, he couldn't outright tell them that they would not be tortured for secrets. So he had to come up with something that he could tell them without revealing who he really was.

After all, he was just a mere Master. What authority did he have over what the Lord of Shadows would or wouldn't do?

"I can tell you what he told me. If you believe it or not is for you to decide."

He took a deep breath to complete the act.

"He and I have talked a lot in the past. I know him better than anyone in the two realms. He's not a hero, nor is he a savior. He is a simple man with a simple goal: to keep humanity alive. But other than your mother or Anvil, he doesn't want to go over bodies to achieve that goal. If it were up to him, the two of them would just clash and see who comes out on top. But he's not a fool who believes that it's that simple. He recognizes his role in this war and tries his best to save as many people as he possibly can. That's why he kept you alive. You can call it what you want. I call it cold logic. The more of humanity's strongest combatants survive, the better."

Hearing him talk made some of them want to protest. After all, they had witnessed how he personally killed two of their clan members and five more by his strange Echoes, or whatever those things were. But they could hardly blame him. After all, they were trying to do the same.

"So it's that simple? He just wants us to stay here for the duration of the war and kick our feet in the dust?"

Howl asked while still processing what the charming Master had said. Sunny could only nod to satisfy his flaw. After all, every word could force him to reveal his real identity to them.