No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

After laying there unmoving for some time , Levi finally sat up. He felt different , he felt as though he had lost a part of him. This feeling was not new to him , he had felt like this when he had lost his younger sister and now.. he had lost his mortality even if not fully.

Well.. at least he didn't have to live for thousands of years without dying.. he didn't even want to imagine what would he feel like if it came to that.

With a sigh he finally got up , he walked to the group.. They were sitting around the fire. He took a seat next to Sunny.

After making a fire, they roasted the centurion's meat and had a delicious, hefty breakfast. No one was willing to talk about last night. Levi also felt a bit sorry , because he was the first one to go down , and he had only contributed in tearing off a leg. He didn't know how they had defeated the centurion and... he didn't think it would be a good idea to ask.

Sunny seemed different now.. he seemed much more calmer. The others didn't look much different.. Shashi was looking paler than usual.. most likely due to excessive use of her aspect.. He would offer her some blood later..

***

Some time later , Nephis had went to the western edge of the cliffs.. and soon Sunny left to speak to her. 

He was left alone with Cassie and Shashi. There was a silence between them..

Then he looked at Shashi.. she was unhealthily pale , and her gaze was unfocused.. He handed out his wrist to her. Shashi raised a brow at his action , but she wasn't going to complain. After all she was feeling dizzy.

She leaned forward , sinking her teeth into Levi's vein in his wrist and she drank his blood greedily. Levi didn't stop her , after all loss of blood wouldn't really affect him that much. 

After a long minute , she finally let go of his wrist and wiped her mouth.

"Thank you."

Levi nodded. Having his blood being sucked out of him certainly felt weird.

***

Soon they saw Sunny and Nephis walk back to the campsite , and it seems they had gotten a new memory..

It covered her porcelain body and turned into a black, skintight bodysuit made out of an unknown, durable material. It looked quite similar to the rubbery seaweed that permeated the area.

Intricate pieces of pristine white plate armor were over the black bodysuit. First the greaves and vambraces, then articulated pauldrons and reembraces, then cuisses and sabatons. Finally, a breastplate engraved with seven shining stars appeared to protect Neph's torso, short enough to pose no hindrance to her mobility. 

The engraving of the seven stars was identical to those carved into the giant knight statue's cuirass.

The armor looked light and elegant. It was simultaneously functional and flattering, both providing high levels of protection and accentuating the graceful lines of Changing Star's body. A stark contrast of black and white made for quite a striking sight.

Shashi spoke up first..

"Nice armor you have got."

Nephis nodded , both her and Sunny took their seats near the fire.

It seems only Levi was left without an armor.. He was stuck with a stupid cloak that could change its colors and nothing else..

***

While she was describing the armor to Cassia and letting her touch the mysterious white metal it was forged out of, Sunny relaxed and rested by the fire.

Some time later, Nephis and Shashi was busy preparing dinner. Sunny was once again lying lazily on the stones and staring into the sky. As for Levi , he was just sitting next to Sunny.

The sky, like always, was grey and unfriendly.

With all Five of them equipped with decent armor , excluding Levi , they were finally starting to resemble a real Awakened cohort. 

In her light tunic and sea-wave cloak, beautiful and delicate Cassie looked like a princess. Lithe and poised, Nephis was like a noble knight tasked with protecting her. Shashi herself looked like an elegant fighter herself..

As for Sunny , he looked like a young squire. Knowing Sunny he most likely thought he was looking like a lowly servant or something.. , but in Levi's opinion Sunny's attire looked quiet good.

And... Levi..

His snowy white hair fell over his shoulder , and at the back it almost reached his waist. His bangs fell over his face , combined with his cold face expression and pale skin , he looked like a ghost. His attire consisted of a loose-fit trouser which was made from monster skin.. and a red cloak over himself. When he moved his arms it showed bits of his bare torso , which Levi had toned and lean torso , it was attractive to say the least. Additionally he was barefoot.

Overall Levi looked like a random poor pretty boy that had decided to tag along with the group on their journey.

***

At that moment, Cassie sat down by their side. Sunny turned his head, looking at the blind girl with a bit of surprise. Levi looked at her calmly , having a feeling she was going to ask about yesterday.

She bit her lip.

"Nephis told me that you both almost died yesterday."

'I can't die you know..'

Sunny shrugged.

"Yeah."

Then, with a silent sigh, Sunny added:

"But don't worry about it too much. It's not my first brush with death."

Cassie was silent for a while. Then, she quietly said:

"I'm sorry."

Sunny raised his eyebrows.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

The blind girl lowered her eyes.

"For being so useless."

Levi narrowed his eyes at her.

Sunny frowned and looked away. A second or two later, he said in his usual careless tone:

"You're not useless."

Cassie softly chuckled.

"Aren't I? If I want to walk, I need to be leashed to you guys or Neph. If I want to eat, I need to wait for one of you to feed me. That's my life now. I can't do even the simplest of things without your help ... let alone be of use to either of you in return."

Slowly, her voice turned raw with emotion. This was the first time they had seen her mask of resolve slip a little, revealing the desperate, angry, frightened face beneath. Sunny was silent for a long time. Then, he said:

"Hey, have I ever told you about my First Nightmare?"

The blind girl shook her head. Sunny half-closed his eyes.

"My First Nightmare was as bad as it gets. To tell you the truth, the situation was pretty hopeless. I was a slave destined to die of cold or mistreatment. Chained, bleeding, defenseless. What's worse, my Aspect turned out to be completely useless. I mean, literally. If I remember correctly, the phrase the Spell chosen to describe it was "a useless wretch with no skills or abilities worth a mention."

Cassie turned her head slightly, visibly drawn in by his words. 

"Then ... how did you survive? Did things change for the better?"

Levi also listened in.. he was interested in Sunny's First Nightmare.

Sunny smiled.

"Gods no. In fact, they quickly turned worse. Much, much worse. But, what would you know? In a strange twist of fate, my useless Aspect turned out to be the only thing that could guide me through that mess alive. In that regard, I was incredibly lucky."

Sunny shifted a little and glanced at the delicate girl, noticing a thoughtful frown on her face.

"But here is a thing about luck. People usually speak about it as though luck is something that just happens to you. It's not. Luck is fifty percent circumstance and fifty percent your own ability to grasp it. Luck is something you have to make happen yourself. I fought with everything I had to survive. That's one of the two reasons I'm still here."

"The second reason is the Spell itself. I won't go as far as to call it reasonable, but it is fair ... in its own, perverted way. The Spell takes with one hand and gives with the other. It was like this with my First Nightmare, and it is the same with you."

Cassie's frown deepened. Sunny chose his next words very carefully. Eventually, he said:

"Your Flaw is the most debilitating one I have ever seen or heard of. You are right, without help from something like this group, it would have been a certain death sentence. And people like us ... well, I'm not even sure a group like us exists. But ... "

The blind girl gritted her teeth.

"But what?"

Sunny looked at her with a serious expression.

"But that also means that the other side of the Flaw, your power, is equally as extraordinary. You just haven't found the way to grasp it yet. When you do ... believe me, you'll remember this conversation and feel very embarrassed about how naive and foolish you were."

Levi stared at Sunny , he was surprised that his short friend could talk like an old man..

"Do you really think so?" she whispered.

There was a hint of desperate desire in her voice. However, the question itself almost made him laugh, for an obvious reason.

"Trust me. I'm the most honest person in the world. Two worlds, in fact."

"As if.." Levi scoffed.

"Oh come on!" Sunny sat up and looked at Levi with an annoyed expression.

Cassie was silent for a long time, lost in thought. It looked as though she was in the throes of some inner struggle.

"I had more visions than I told you guys about."