Chapter XXI: Night Study Session

A.N: Fair warning before you start, this chapter contains more information about the mechanics of the magic learning system and conversations between characters. Not much in regards to furthering the plot, I'm afraid.

Shadow Slave is a long novel with excellent focus on characters and world building and even though I know I won't reach that level, I want to do it a bit of justice in my fanfic if I am able.

Thank you for your understanding and happy reading.

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William gazed absentmindedly at the raging black waves of the Dark Sea as they surged and smashed against the tall coral mound that they were on.

The dark canvas above was starless. Thus, there was no source of illumination to speak off since they killed their campfire as soon as their food was cooked so as not to attract unwanted attention.

The youth turned his blue-eyed gaze towards the three other people who were sound asleep - tired from the day's exertion. Sunny had been the last to sleep since he brooded as in his nature, but he too succumbed to his bodily need of rest.

Nephis and Cassie were sleeping closer to each other on one side while Sunny was sleeping farther away on the side opposite to them. The Changing Star had insisted on this sleeping arrangement as she didn't have a good impression of the outskirts boy.

That would change soon; he knew that, since those two are bound to each other by fate: a master and her slave.

Of course, he could just give a middle finger to fate and speak out Sunny's true name, but he didn't want the little gremlin to have a grudge against him and hunt him down.

He was down bad for Nephis in the novel, so he didn't attempt to murder her for taking his freedom. William simply didn't have that privilege, and neither did he want to. No offense to Sunny, but William was more of a fan of the fairer sex.

A low chuckle escaped the youth's mouth as he shook his head to disperse the idle thoughts.

He just needed to focus on his survival. There was no need to go and poke at the hornets' nest.

A small smile spread on his lips as he remembered how Sunny nearly got a black eye due to running his mouth. Poor guy couldn't catch a break.

William had opted to take on the first shift of guard duty. Nephis seemed to be fiercely ly against it at first, and after a short argument, she acquiesced but on the condition that he would change shifts with her after a few hours had passed.

Sunny was strangely quiet during that exchange, but William already knew why.

Knowing Sunny's nature, he already tasked his shadow to stand guard so that none of them would sneak attack him while he slept. The little gremlin only trusted them as far as he could throw them - which was not much if he depended on his natural strength.

Even with the dim light of the night, William could see a Sunny-shaped shadow standing guard over its master.

The white-haired youth gave it a wave accompanied by a toothy grin, which caused it to freak out and hide behind its master.

'So much for standing guard,' thought William as he resumed his watch.

Of course, William didn't decide to skip rest from goodness of his heart, but rather, he needed some privacy to do some much needed magic study.

'However, before that, let's check in on my 'sea' of consciousness.'

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to concentrate. When he opened them again, he was greeted by a field of snow and ice as far as the eye could see.

At the center of the field was his soul core, which looked like a giant blue gem floating slightly above the ground. The few sprites that previously rotated around it now had increased in number to reach about twenty or so sprites.

Out of curiosity, he touched one of the sprites. It immediately gave off a dull glow and began expanding into the form of an illusory Carapace Scavenger.

As soon as it saw William, it bent down onto its front legs in some form of kneeling motion as if greeting royalty.

This action caused the young man to scratch his cheek; he was just an ex-highschool boy. It was the first time anyone knelt before him. Although, if he was to live up to his aspect, then he had to get used to it sooner or later.

"R-Rise," he tried to sound authoritative but only ended up stammering, which made him blush in embarrassment. Thankfully, he was in his soul sea, and no one was here to witness that shameful act.

The illusory Carapace Scavenger did as commanded and rose up.

"Good...uh....dismissed, I guess."

Hearing the command, the creature knelt again before turning back into a white sprite and started rotating around his soul core.

"So these are the soul fragments that I have been collecting," theorized the young Sleeper as he observed the oribiting sprites, "and they seem to be overly protective of my soul core. That's not bad. At least it gives me a hidden card to use if my soul sea ever gets invaded."

William walked towards the blue gem and peered inside it. He saw several white globes floating inside each holding one of his memories.

Then, he looked at the frozen tundra around him; it was so dreadful and barren that it rubbed William the wrong way.

"If this is my soul sea, then can't I theoretically do as I wish here?" he muttered under his breath as he focused on a specific area in the frozen tundra a bit behind his soul core.

Silently, the snow around the area began to disperse as something emerged from under it. It was a statue of a beautiful woman sporting a soft, motherly expression made of crystalline blue ice. The statue continued rising until it was about fifteen meters tall.

Then, from an area close to it, a similar phenomenon occurred, and another ice statue arose from the ground. This time, it was of an innocent looking girl with a big smile on her face. The ice sculpture was eleven meters tall.

William stared at the two statues of his mother and sister for a few minutes before nodding his head in approval. Now, the frozen wasteland looked so much better.

Next, William exited his soul sea and returned back to the Dream Realm.

Taking a look around, it seemed that not much time had passed. The white-haired young man looked over at his companions to check whether any of them was awake.

Thankfully, they were deep asleep. You'd think that they would be a bit more on edge, but he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Silently, an old hard-cover tome manifested in his hands.

William raised his index finger and casted the [Light] spell; however, instead of a bright ball of light, a small whisp of light emerged and floated over his finger. Just like that, he had reading light.

The whisp of light was small enough that the light it gave of was easily covered by his big body.

Opening the tome, he skimmed through the pages of alien runes in search of a new spell to learn. Since the tome was a Dormant ranked memory, it had a limited number of spells which he could learn.

He didn't need anything flashy since he didn't want to expose his magical talents.

'Let's see what we have: Doom Bolt, too flashy. Comprehend Languages, too useless currently. Siphon Life, raises too many questions. Oh.....hello, Shroud of Death'

Once he focused on the page, the runes slowly shifted and slowly became eligible to him. He understood the gist of the spell's effect.

[Shroud of Death]: A wave of invisible necrotic energy washes over the target, causing it to lose its sight and hearing.

Then, he looked at the image of a magic circle that acted as the magical formula required for the spell. After looking at it for a while, he memorized its structure.

The [Profane Grimoire] was them promptly dismissed along with the whisp of light before William sat in a comfortable position. The next part was not going to be pleasant at all.

However, before that, he summoned his [Teardrop Amulet] from which the two spirits of Arthas and Jaina emerged.

"Can you please keep a lookout around the vicinity of the camp for any approaching monsters?" he whispered.

"Sure thing," replied Jaina before Arthas and her went to do as they were told.

The month he had been learning under Jaina Proudmoore was... enlightening - to say the least. She didn't teach him any spell other than the [Mental Acupuncture] one since it was basically a requirement for her method of learning.

From what she told him, this method was both the best and worst method in their world that only a few high-ranking mages were privy of.

The good thing about her method is that it allows a magic user to cast spells without the need for long-winded incantations.

The bad thing about it, on the other hand, was that in order to be able to do so the student had to literally engrave the magical formula of the spell into their brains using tiny mental needles.

Consequently, this process had a high chance of lobotomizing the unlucky students, and even if they escaped lobotomy, most of their psyches would become extremely fragile. Thus, generous amounts of extremely potent healing potions were required to repair the damages made.

Fortunately or unfortunately for William, he had the ability to regenerate from most injuries. As a result, he had been experiencing the worst possible torture of his life for the last month.

Now, he was going to experience it again - willingly.

Also, from his studies, he learned that every magic user needed a structure onto which they learned their spells. Otherwise, higher level magic circles may adversely affect the lower level ones.

For his part, William had decided to engrave his magic circles using the pagoda method. In said method, the lower level spells served as the foundation pillars of the tower while the higher level ones formed the upper floors.

He already had three spells on the bottom floor of his pagoda, and now he needed to engrave the fourth.

Taking in a deep breath, William casted the [Mental Acupuncture] spell. An invisible needle made of purplish mental energy formed right in front of his head.

Remembering the spell circle structure of the [Shroud of Death], he maneuvered the needle until it was in the correct position.

Then, it immediately pierced into his skull and straight into his brain. There was a slight bit of resistance from his innate mental defenses, but it was easily penetrated.

A sharp, intense pain erupted from the point the needle pierced, making William almost yell in pain, but he held it in with every fiber of his being. He didn't want to awaken the others. Cold sweat formed a film over his forehead from the exertion.

A few minutes passed before William's healing factor came into effect. Healing mental injuries were difficult even if you had a healing factor.

Alas, this was just the beginning. The white-haired youth gritted his teeth as a second needle formed and was promptly moved to its position before causing him agony. Even though he wanted it to be done as fast as possible, he had to be extremely careful.

If he struck the needle at a wrong position, then all his work and suffering would be undone in an instant.

Thus, this process continued for several hours, which seemed to be an eternity for him until he finally inserted the final needle to complete the spell circle. Thankfully, it was an elementary spell, so it was done rather quickly. William shivered at the thought of engraving much higher ranked spells.

Once done, it sprung to life as he visualized his essence running through its circuit like it did the other three spell circles.

With a sigh of relief, he opened his tired, cerulean eyes only to be met by two grey ones.

William blinked, he suppressed his inner insticts to jump up and shout in fright in favor of a tamer approach.

"You didn't awaken me for my shift," came the voice of the Changing Star who was sitting in front of him while scrutinizing his face.

'Where are Arthas and Jaina? Why didn't they warm he that she awoke from sleep?' thought the youth in panic before mentally facepalming, 'right, I ordered them to stand as lookout at the outskirts of the camp. What a genius you are, William!'

"I thought you needed some rest," even William was surprised at how unpertubed his voice was. Maybe the previous torture sapped all his emotions out of him.

"How considerate," she replied evenly, though he could sense the undertone of sarcasm hidden within her words. "And what are you doing exactly?"

William tried to think of a quick white lie, "Meditating."

"What sort of meditation makes you grit your teeth and makes you sweat?" she inquired more forcefully, clearly not buying his shoddy lie.

"The effective kind," he replied with a completely serious face.

The Immortal Flame Legacy Clan heiress studied his expression with a look that said: "I know you are hiding something."

Unable to find what she was looking for, the silver-haired girl sighed before standing up and turning her back to him.

"Go sleep, I will finish the rest of the guard shift."

William looked at the back of her tunic before shrugging and lay on his back exactly where he was sitting. He didn't have the mental energy to find another place to rest.

He hadn't even closed his eyes before he heard Nephis's voice again, "Can I ask a question?"

"Depends on what the question is and if I can ask a question back," was the youth's retort. William intertwined his fingers beneath his head and laid one leg on top of the other as he gazed at the black, starless skies.

Nephis went silent for a few moments before nodding her head gently, "That is agreeable."

Another moment of silence passed before she asked her first question, "Why did you burden yourself with her?"

"Who? Cass?" wondered the tall boy.

The Changing Star affirmed by giving a side node.

"Well, I don't really know what to tell you. We met on the first day and became fast friends," William turned to look at the said girl who was sleeping sound as a baby, "the poor girl was drowning in despair and self-loathing at the shitty hand fate gave her. I know what it feels like to be powerless and useless; after all, I was the same as her before I awoke from my first nightmare."

Nephis didn't interrupt him and only listened on with her poker face on.

"I guess I helped her because I could, and I wanted to do so - simple as that. Wouldn't you?"

Of course, what he had just said was the form of the truth that didn't mention his future knowledge. Still, it was the truth.

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Sunny had been awoken by his shadow just when Nephis had asked whether she could ask some questions.

To not alarm the other two who were talking, he opted to keep his eyes closed and use his shadow for a better vision and hearing.

The answer William gave the Changing Star was not what he expected to come out of the mouth of an outskirts kid. Knowing what it meant to be weak? Sunny also knew that, yet you don't see him jumping at the opportunity to help a crippled person much less, giving her an awakened-rank armor memory.

This was her lot in life, and she had to live with it just like he had to live with his. He didn't do things because he 'wanted' to do them but rather because he 'needed' to do them - that was how the circumstances of his life in the outskirts shaped him up to be.

'What the hell is wrong with this guy's mind?' mockery for the white-haired boy filled his mind. Why did both of them have different mentalities even though they came from the same environment?

The dark-haired Sleeper noticed that Nephis had gone silent as she deliberated William's counter question to her. Yet, she was not able to answer as the male Sleeper soon spoke further.

"Now it's my turn, no? Tell me, why are you so poor?" The unexpected blunt question caused both Sunny and the one being asked to be stunned into silence.

Then, he continued, "I thought that the great heiress of the Immortal Flame Legacy Clan would've had a vertiable arsenal memories on her and a few echoes for good measure. Are you holding out on us, princess?"

Now that Sunny had thought about it, it didn't really make sense that a Legacy awakened only came into the first nightmare with only two memories. Doubt filled his heart about Nephis's transparency. 'Even I didn't hide my memories.'

Nephis was silent for a long while before a soft sigh escaped her.

"No, I really only have two memories on me currently," her voice turned slightly more muted and emotionless, "We lost most of our memories when my father passed away. The ones that remained were sold one by one over the years to keep the family afloat. My sword and armor memories come from my first nightmare."

Sunny never thought that the Immortal Flame clan fell so much out of grace that they had to pawn off their own memories to live by.

William hummed audibly before adding, "I have to admit I don't know much about your clan's fall from grace due to my origins. However, I wonder, didn't your clan's reputation and standing give you some leeway in the way of money. I mean, awakened are precious resources, much less Legacy awakened."

As much as Sunny hated to admit it, but William was correct, it didn't make much sense if one thought about it carefully, especially with all the tales one heard about how important Legacies were.

Her voice returning to its its trademark cold and distant tone, Nephis replied:

"There were other reasons."

This answer didn't satisfy Sunny at all. What reasons? Come on, say it!

'Make her spit it out, William!' thought the pale boy in the one in a billion chance that his fellow outskirts kid will hear his thoughts. Alas, his hopes were dashed rather quickly.

"Is that so?"

"My turn," Nephis said curtly before turning to look at the white-haired youth.

"How did you know I was a Legacy?"

"Just that?"

'Just that?'

Both William and Sunless said and thought, respectively.

"If I am being honest, then I heard all about you from that Caster guy," replied the youth with a noncommittal shrug, "the way he talked about you, one would've thought you shit gold and piss silver, no offense."

Sunny tried - by the Spell he tried - but he couldn't prevent himself from snorting at the crass comment.

Consequently, he gave himself out to the two awakened.

"Sunny~? Are you awake~?" inquired William in a playful voice as if extremely amused by the situation.

The dark-haired youth had first planned to feign ignorance and continue his act, but the white-hot glare targetting him made him rise from his position.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly at being caught with his hand in the metaphorical cookie jar. He hadn't tasted a cookie before, but it had to be really good if someone was willing to face punishment in order to steal it.

Sunny peered throught he dark and saw two faces looking at him with different expressions.

William had a mischevious grin on his face as he looked at him in amusement.

Meanwhile, Nephis's hard expression and cold eyes contrasted wildly with the red dusting on her cheeks at the previous comment.

Thus, just like that, only Cassie remained asleep while the other three group members were engaged in a staring contest between each other.

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'Ah, good old Sunny. Can't resist the chance to snoop on people's conversation,' thought William as he observed the fidgeting dark-haired boy with amusement.

"Nice night, isn't it?"

Sunny tried to awkwardly change the subject, but it was clear by Nephis's expression that she was having none of it.

As a result, before things got ugly, William cleared his throat.

"Right, before we were interrupted," he said before giving Sunny a side glance, "I believe it was my turn to ask you a question."

Nephis looked at him, her lips pressed into a fine line before nodding her head carefully in agreement.

"So, princess," he noticed the silver-haired girl's brow twitch slightly at the nickname, "what is the limits of your healing ability?"

Sunny perked his ears to hear the answer.

Nephis lowered her head so the darkness created by her bangs hid her expression. A few moments passed with her in that position before she raised her head and spoke in an even tone:

"I can heal most physical injuries as long as the person is not dead."

She may say that, but William knew her better or rather knew about her flaw: [Pristine Soul]. Every time she uses her ability, she feels pain akin to being burned alive.

Even though she has the bloodline of the Sun God running through her veins, she has to burn to use her powers - poetic but also extremely sad.

Also, she was not telling the truth about her ability. Due to her innate ability [Halfbreed], she can passively absorb a portion of the soul essence in any creature or human killed by her flames. Moreover, she can also absorb soul shards! Talk about being a dirty cheat.

Meanwhile, him and Sunny had to fight to get their soul and shadow fragments respectively.

Thus, it was prudent of him to try and monopolize the hunting of nightmare creatures for himself in order to get stronger faster.

The sound of the grey-eyed Sleeper clearing her throat brought the cerulean-eyed one out of his thoughts.

"Do any of you know the Legend of Odysseus?"

Sunny shook his head in denial while William just hummed while gazing at the skies, "Refresh my memory."

Nephis took in a deep breath before she started, 'Odysseus was a hero in an ancient war. In the legends, some humans back then had powers akin to the Awakened. Achilles with an Aspect of indestructible body, Diomedes that was so ferocious even the God of War was wary of him, Ajax who was as strong as a giant. Odysseus was not the strongest, and not the bravest. However, he was the most cunning."

Sunny blinked in confusion at the sudden eloquence exhibited by the Legacy Sleeper.

"In the end, Odysseus's cunning ended the war, and he prepared to sail home. However, the gods cursed him to endlessly wander the seas, never to return. Over the years, he survived one horror after another and lost all of his companions. Then, shipwrecked, he found himself on an island where the beautiful fairy, Calypso lived."

There was something special in the voice of the Changing Star, the ethereal, wistful tone made anyone listening enraptured by her words and mannerism. Even William found himself listening intently even though he already knew the story from his old world. Hell, he even watched the animated musical at some point.

"Calypso fell in love with Odysseus and invited him to her palace. For many years, they lived together in harmony. The island was like a paradise, filled with all kinds of wonders, delicacies and delights. As long as loving Calypso was by his side, Odysseus was even immortal. But... the longer he stayed, the more time he spent sitting on the shore, looking at the sea with bleak eyes."

Then, the Changing Star made the most sincere smile William had ever seen on her face.

"In the end, Odysseus built a makeshift boat and abandoned the island, leaving all its delights, the beautiful fairy, and even his immortality behind. So, my question is... why did he leave?"

William felt something tug at the strings of his heart in response to the last part. Truly, what would make one abondon all those things? Soon an answer escaped unbidden from his lips.

"Because... he was just a man," whispered William in an effort to hide the grief in his voice, "who wanted to go home."

Thankfully, neither of the other Sleepers noticed that and if they did they didn't give it any mind.

"Wanting to go home.....huh? Alright," Nephis said with a fleeting smile and was about to end the conversation before William interrupted her.

"Not so soon princess. What? You want to cheat me out of my turn?" the white-haired youth accused.

"Since you told us a story, I find it appropriate to tell one in turn."

A flash of curiosity gleamed in the clear, grey eyes of the female Sleeper on the mention of a story.

"Tell me, do either of you know the Legend of Oedipus Rex?" inquired the tall youth as he rose up and sat in a cross-legged posture.

Sunny as usual was clueless about the subject and his expression was screaming: Why is everyone telling stories?

Nephis's arched brows were scrunched in an effort to recall if she had heard of the legend. Sadly, it seems she was as ignorant as our resident outskirts rat.

"Don't worry too much if you didn't since it is not a well-known tale," then he changed his tone to the one he used to tell bedtime stories for his sister in the past.

"Once upon a time when the Gods still roamed the lands, a son was born to the King and Queen of Thebes. However, Laius, the king of Thebes received a prophecy that his son would end up killing him and marrying his mother, Jacosta."

The eyes of both Sunny and Nephis widened at the weird and incestuous prophecy.

"Of course, this caused the king to shit his pant in fear, so in order to prevent it from happening. He ordered a servant to kill of the infant and throw him to the wolves. However, the servant felt his heart give out for the wee babe so he gave the child to a shepherd who passed him on to another shepherd.

He was continued to be passed on like this until he reached the hands of the King and Queen of Corinth: Polybus and Merope. Thus, the child, now named Oedipus, was raised by them and thought of them as his biological parents."

Sunny and Nephis both seemed to be enthralled by the skilled method of storytelling that William used. After all, if it could hook in Sarah, it could hook in anybody.

"Then, as fate will have it, the news of the very same prophecy from long ago reaches Oedipus's ears. Disturbed by it, he promptly leaves Corinth which he considers as his home and lives his life as a mercenary for hire while journeying across the lands.

One day, Oedipus happens to meet King Laius who he considers as a stranger. They quarrel over one thing or another and in the end he accidentally kills the king. Fearing that he will be pursued for killing such a high ranking person, the young man throws the dead body over a cliff and into the ocean so as to never be seen again.

The first part of the prophecy fulfilled."

He heard audible gulps from both Sleepers and he also heard another faint sound. Nah, must be his imagination. At any rate, he continued.

"A few years pass and Oedipus hears rumors about how the kingdom of Thebes is being cursed by a Sphinx, a mythological creature with a lion's body, an eagle's wings, and a woman's head.

Being the hero that he was, Oedipus decided to free the poor people from their suffering. Thus, he went to face the Sphinx but rather than fighting it out, the monster offered Oedipus a deal.

It would ask a riddle and if he solved it, then it would remove its curse and leave Thebes to be never seen again. However, if he fails then she shall consume him until not a single bone remained.

Oedipus agreed and lo and behold, he solved the riddle and saved the kingdom."

Smiles could be seen on the faces of the dark and silver haired Sleepers.

"In gratitude to his heroic deed, Oedipus is made king of Thebes and marries Jacosta. The second part of the prophecy fulfilled."

Their smiles immediately turned topsy-turvy. 

"This is unacceptable," Nephis said curtly.

"Yeah, what the hell is with this?" added Sunny.

"Oh believe me, it gets worse," a sardonic grin graces William's lips.

"Over the years, a series of revelations lead Oedipus to discover the truth about his origins and the prophecy: he killed his father and married his mother. Upon realizing the truth, Jacosta hangs herself. Then, Oedipus, in horror and grief, blinds himself.

After that, Oedipus is promptly exiled from Thebes and lived the rest of his days as a blind beggar. Meanwhile, his children, born from incestuous union, are left to suffer the consequences of their family's tragic fate. So.... dear listeners, what is the moral of the story?"

A few minutes of silence passed before someone spoke, "Uh..... not to listen to prophecies?"

It was Sunny who made that remark.

"Don't try to change your fate?" Nephis added in an uncertain tone.

"Close, the both of you," replied William with a deep sigh, "there is a saying I heard long ago: One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it. The gist of the story is about how we live our own lives. How much of it is of our own free will and how much is fate's hand gently guiding us towards our predetermined destiny?"

With that, he fell on his back with his hands behind his head and closed is eyes to embrace his pseudo-sleep.

Meanwhile, both Sunny and Nephis had thoughtful expression on their faces as they thought upon William's words.

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Unknown to the three conversationalists, the fourth member of their group had already been awake since they had started talking and had manged to hide that fact better than even the treacherous Sunless.

What she had heard caused many things to change in both her mind and heart. What is the end result of this change? No one knows.

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Somewhere in the dark expanse that is devoid of the concepts of time and space. Several threads are cut from a golden weave and seemlessly join into other seams.

The dark space grows especially turbulent and in the darkness, the beginnings of an embryo start to form.