Shadow Slave-Chapter 2276 Wholesome Awokening

Sunny stirred from the tender caress of sunlight warming his uncovered torso. Rays of light streamed through the drapes, the pale cloth whispering softly as a mild breeze sent it rippling and dancing. He lingered still for a time, reveling in the glow and the plush embrace of the mattress. Truly, it ranked among life’s sweetest pleasures, to rise with a grin lighting his features.

Moments later, he tilted his head and gazed at Nephis, who slumbered serenely beside him. Her silver locks sprawled across the cushion, and her exquisite visage radiated tranquil peace and a charming fragility in her repose. He savored the sight for several minutes, in no rush to rouse her. Unveiling the Dream Gate to the Night Garden had drained her thoroughly the previous day. She’d earned this reprieve.

He longed to lighten the load of yesterday’s endeavor, but alas, that task fell solely within Nephis’s grasp. Each of them wielded distinct talents when activating Dream Gates. Sunny, for instance, could unlock seven at once rather than a lone portal. Nephis, however, crafted a Dream Gate permitting travel both ways. Nightmare Gates ushered beings from the Dream Realm into the waking world, while Dream Gates ferried them from reality into the Dream Realm. Yet Nephis, a Dreamspawn—poised on the cusp of nightmare and existence, tethered to both realms—possessed a singular gift, perhaps because of that duality. Thus, only she could dispatch the Night Garden to Earth.

As Sunny pondered how her abilities might shift once the two realms fully merged, Nephis twitched and unveiled her striking grey eyes. Sunlight glinted within them, igniting her irises with flecks of brilliance. She swiveled her head drowsily, peered up at Sunny, and curved her lips into a smile. “…Caught you gawking at me again?”

He dipped his chin unabashedly. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I admire the most breathtaking woman alive?”

Nephis paused briefly, then huffed and nudged his face aside. Sunny chuckled, yielding to her playful shove… yet he didn’t miss the faint flush creeping across her cheeks.

Climbing from the sheets, Nephis conjured a breezy tunic from a flurry of luminous motes and stretched her arms skyward, exhaling contentedly. Sunny rose too, weaving modest garments from the darkness. The highest chamber of the Ivory Tower sprawled wide and shimmered with amber radiance, yet where light flourished, shadows lingered too—always at his beck and call.

Still, Sunny marveled at Nephis’s lithe form for a heartbeat, then spoke in a cheerful lilt: “A splendid notion just struck me. What if… we slip back beneath the covers?” Words weren’t truly necessary; she could feel his yearning.

Nephis shot him a withering glance over her shoulder. “Unlike you, I’m bound to a single frame.”

Sunny cocked his head. What did that imply? Was she… suggesting he’d worn her out last night? But she could rebound from any fatigue in an instant. Her lone form was practically tireless… Had he somehow sapped the unsappable? Sunny wavered between smugness and chagrin.

Just then, Nephis furrowed her brow and lobbed a pillow his way. “I meant I can’t be in two places at once! I’m already tardy for a chat with Effie… banish those filthy ideas swirling in that wicked mind of yours, rogue!”

Sunny let the pillow smack his face and flashed a guileless grin. “Well, looks like Effie’s earned my ire now…”

Nephis fixed him with a stern stare for a spell. He could tell she was stifling a smirk, though. At last, she shook her head. “I’ve got to prepare…”

Before long, Nephis exited her quarters and glided down the Ivory Tower’s steps. Sunny, naturally, had melted into her shadow by then—that incarnation of his lingered there most often while his other selves tackled their own duties. This way, he could hover near Nephis and stay attuned to her world’s key events without relying on Cassie as a go-between. The one drawback, though, was that Sunny couldn’t always stand by her side in flesh and blood. After all, he was officially deceased. It was fine to reveal himself to those in the know, at least.

Effie lounged in a salon on a lower tier of the Ivory Tower, relishing a lavish spread of treats. Sensing Nephis’s approach, she beamed and waved. “Blazes, Princess. These are heavenly… who’s your cook? Spill it. I swear I won’t poach them!” Then she hesitated, her brow creasing before she grinned impishly at Nephis. “Oh, guess I can’t call you Princess anymore. Our Princess has blossomed into an Empress. Ah… they mature so swiftly…”

Nephis offered a faint smile and settled across from Effie, a broad table between them. Effie stilled. The spirited huntress had perhaps been rattled most by the truth that the fearsome Lord of Shadows was none other than the winsome Master Sunless. Sunny still couldn’t suppress a gleeful cackle whenever he recalled the parade of horrified looks that had danced across her face in that instant. From mute shock, to the dawning awareness that it was the ominous Saint who’d indulged her son with ice cream, to a jolt of dread as she recalled badmouthing him to Nephis to boost the refined, chivalrous enchanter… and so much more. Truly, it was a treasure of a memory for Sunny now—so precious he graciously forgave half the times Effie had cornered him with lectures about the birds and the bees on Alethea’s island.

Regardless, she’d been uncharacteristically reserved and almost timid around him since. Even now, Effie stiffened at the mention of his name. She cleared her throat. “Right. About him. Look, Princess, I know you’re grown now, but…” Effie paused, then ventured warily: “He’s not lurking behind me, is he?”

Nephis blinked at her, puzzled. “No…”

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Effie instantly reverted to her vibrant self: “That scoundrel! The Lord of Shadows! I get that he’s ridiculously handsome, wealthy, charming, mighty, and absurdly attractive, plus a stellar chef with deft hands… wait, did I mention handsome twice? No matter! Point is, there’s a sea full of catches out there. You ought to snag a gentle, upright man instead of latching onto the first random Supreme you stumbled across!”

But Nephis wasn’t finished. “Technically, he’s beneath the table.”

Effie went rigid. Sunny picked that precise moment to materialize in human form and plop into a chair beside Nephis. He flashed Effie a genial smile, paused briefly, then remarked in a warm tone: “Yes, you did say handsome twice.”

She let out an exasperated groan.