Shadow Slaves
Chapter 3: The Chord of Destiny

For a few minutes after that, Sunny's mood became moody. But then he pulled himself out and took a deep breath, trying to enjoy the fresh air. Indeed, such air is hard to come by in the real world: micro-dust and other pollutants make it rough and unpleasant, not to mention the foul smell on the periphery. In better parts of the city, sophisticated filtration systems work diligently however, the filtered air feels sterile and stagnant. Only the very wealthy have access to truly pleasant breathing.

And here he is, able to enjoy the fresh air and unlimited delights like a second generation chaebol.

‘Really, chosen by Mantra has its benefits.’

If only there had been no terrible cold, his legs would not have hurt, and his wrists and back would have been in no pain!

The slave caravan slowly dragged itself up the mountain, with more and more slaves tripping over and periodically falling to the ground. Several times, those who could no longer walk were removed from the chains and simply thrown off the road, descending into the towering abyss to his left. Sunny watched them fall down with a hint of mercy.

‘Policy friends. Rest in peace, you miserable souls.’

Overall, he is in good spirits.

It was a bit strange to feel at ease in the midst of this Nightmare disaster, but fortunately, Sunny had time to prepare herself for this possibility. When the symptoms of the Spell first appeared, he did not handle it well. Dying even before you are seventeen is not something that can be easily overcome.

But, in the end, Sunny only took a few days to receive it. After visiting her parents' emergency retreat, in fact, because she was too poor to buy even the cheapest slots in the memorial facility, it was just two rows carved into the tree and adding a third row to himself, Sunny suddenly became relaxed and carefree.

After all, he did not have to worry about making money, looking for food, protecting himself, and planning for the future anymore. After the worst that could happen has already happened, what else is there to fear?

So, being a slave and slowly freezing to death was not a surprise.

Moreover, he knew that the cold would not kill him because he had seen what fate awaited the caravan on the mountain. The shadow of the pile of bones scattered on the ground was still fresh in his memory. Most likely, it was a bunch of monsters that would conduct an incoming caravan, and from the looks of it, the attack would happen in a matter of hours, not days.

So he still has a chance.

Using the opportunity, Sunny decided to take another look at her status and summon another rune. The last time he was too angry with Aspect and did not study Attributes well. Although not as important as one's Aspect, Attributes were often the deciding factor between life and death. They represent a person's natural nature and closeness, sometimes even providing passive abilities and effects.

Description Attributes [Fated]: “The series of destinies wraps you tightly. The impossible events, good and bad, are pulled by your presence. Some are blessed, and some are cursed. but rarely both.”.

[Mark of Divinity] Attribute Description: “You have a faint fragrance of divinity, as if someone had touched it once a while, once a while.”

[Shadow Child] Attribute Description: “Shadows recognizes you as one of them.”

‘Hmmm Attracting.’

Sunny quickly recognized the first attribute, [Fated], as the main cause of her difficulty. At first glance, it seems to indicate that he was destined for a certain fate – died miserably and disappeared without a trace, for example. But after reading his description, he realized that being doomed actually just meant that impossible things had a higher chance of happening when he existed.

‘I think that's how I received one of the extremely rare useless Aspects and its strange variant, at that!’

If [Fated] was his innate Attribute, then the other two were from the [Slave Temple] Aspect. [Mark of Divinity] more indirectly it was supposed to allow passage to certain holy places within the Dream Realm and increase some types of magic. Since there was no visible holy place and the Sunny Aspect had nothing to do with witchcraft, it was also useless.

[Child of Shadows] is a stranger. He had never heard of it and did not know what to do at least until the sun hid behind the mountain and the sky started to darken. Unexpectedly, Sunny found herself able to see perfectly in the darkness, as if it was still as bright as day. This ability alone could not be scorned, and it was very likely that the shadow would reward him with some other unknown gift.

‘Endly something good. I wonder if’

“Stop caravan! Get ready for camping!”

Following the orders of the warrior chief, the slaves stopped and fell to the ground, shivering and exhausted. The small open space where the road was widened was somewhat sheltered from the wind by the protruding chunks of rock, but it was still too cold to rest easily.

‘What a freak.’

Soon, the bonfire lit up. The stronger slaves tried to find a way closer to the fire, while the weaker ones, like Sunny, were forced to sit on the outer end of the circle, with their backs frozen in coldness. Of course, any movement is burdened by the fact that they are still shackled in chains. That was why the familiar broad-shouldered slave ended up right where he started despite all his efforts to get close to the fire.

“Fucking empire!” he hissed, obviously upset.

The soldiers walked among the slaves, giving them water and food. Sunny, just like everyone else, received a few sips of ice water and a small piece of hard, moldy bread. Although her appearance was not appetizing, she forced herself to eat everything, only to be left as hungry as before.

From the looks of it, he's not the only one.

The crafty slave who was walking behind him looked around miserably.

“For all the gods, they used to feed me better even in the basement!”

He spit on the ground, desperate.

“And most of us, the innocent people in the basement, are also waiting there to visit the gallows!”

A few steps away from them, where the paved road ended and sharp rocks began, bright red berries grew from the snow. Sunny had noticed them before, crowding here and there along the way, and even noticed how beautiful those formidable objects looked in contrast to the white color. The sneaky slave's eyes flashed as he tried to crawl towards the berries on all fours.

“I would advise not to eat it, friend.”

It was a soft-spoken slave again. Sunny turned around and finally saw him in person for the first time. It was a tall man in his forties, thin and strangely handsome, with the appearance of a dignified scholar. How people like him end up being slaves is a mystery. But that's where he is.

“You and your advice again! What's?! Why?!”

The scholar smiled apologetically.

“Berry is called Bloodbane. They grow in places where human blood is spilled. That's why there's always a lot along the slave trade route.”

“Terus?”

The older man sighed.

“Bloodbane toxic. Some berries may be enough to kill an adult man.”

“Curse!”

The crafty slave flinched back and glared at the scholar.

Sunny did not pay much attention to them.

Because, while looking around, he finally recognized the location of the camp as a place, in his vision at the beginning of Nightmare, the bones of the slaves were buried under the snow. And he was willing to bet that whatever killed them would all happen soon.

As if answering his thoughts, a rumbling sound rang out from above.

And in the next second, something enormous fell from the sky