Shadow Slave

"Perfect. That is a good goal to have... especially for people like us."

She took a sip of tea, then closed her eyes for a few moments.

"...Alright. There are many ways to become strong, some more straightforward than others. Ideally, you would want a powerful organization backing you up, but that is not the only way. In fact, such a partnership is a double-edged sword. You gain a lot, but also have to give a lot in return. I\'ll provide you with the basic information, and you can decide for yourself."

Sunny straightened a little and listened to her attentively. Master Jet thought for a few seconds, and then said:

"In this next few days, you will have to decide what Citadel to go to. That is not the same as joining a faction, but closely tied to it. Usually, young Awakened have to compete for the right to join a desirable faction and therefore be taken to the Citadel it operates from. Your case is different, though. Everyone wants you… and I mean everyone. So you can pick any of the human Citadels in the Dream Realm to call home."

She paused, yawned, and then continued:

"As you should already know, there are three great human Citadels in the Dream Realm, as well as many smaller ones. The primary Citadels belong to the great clans, while the smaller ones can be either ruled by a lesser clan or remain independent. Regardless, all of them are situated around the three main human enclaves and tied to them in one form or another. No matter where you go, you\'ll be in the sphere of influence of one of the great clans, it\'s just that you can be either in its center, close to the center, or on the periphery."

Sunny scratched his head.

"What about the government? Doesn\'t the government control many Citadels?"

Master Jet shook her head.

"Out there in the Dream Real, the government has less influence than the great clans. It does, however, maintain a presence in all the important Citadels, which allows us to play a unique role. In the Dream Realm, we serve as a… connective tissue between the three factions, I guess. That flexibility has its own benefits, if you ask me."

She knocked lightly on the table and said:

"In any case, even if you decide to refuse the obvious choice of settling in one of the great Citadels, you\'ll have to select one of the three territories. They are not connected, as some people think. In fact, there are deadly and extremely hazardous regions separating each of the human dominions from each other. So, that is going to be your first decision — which territory to choose.

That made sense. If Sunny chose to go to Bastion, for example, he would have the opportunity to build a relationship with the great clan Valor, which ruled it, or any of the lesser clans in its sphere of influence. He would lose the opportunity to be recruited into the great clan Song, though, or any other clan that existed in a separate human territory. And so on.

Master Jet finished her tea and looked at the empty cup with a solemn expression.

"Oh, yeah. This is where I was supposed to give you the recruitment speech and try to convince you to join the government forces. But I\'m not going to… you are smart enough to figure out the pros and cons of that path by yourself. All I will say is that you will never be truly accepted as an equal by the members of the Legacy clans — SS designation or not. Maybe they won\'t say it to your face, but you\'ll always be treated as someone… a tiny bit lesser. At best."

Sunny\'s expression darkened. Caster\'s face suddenly appeared in his mind, eyes full of disdain.

What had the proud scion called him… a mongrel?

\'...Well, that mongrel got to your throat. Who\'s laughing now?\'

Master Jet had a similar kind of expression on her face. Had she experienced her own share of hardships because of her lowly background? Most likely.

As Sunny was pondering what Master Jet\'s path to becoming an Ascended must have looked like, she sighed, then smiled with irony.

"Not that entering a Legacy clan is a bad deal. Actually, it\'s a dream come true for many, most even. With your renown, Sunless, any clan would be happy to give you patronage. Some might even adopt you. Hell… with your looks, even marriage is not out of the question!"

As Sunny choked on his tea and did an actual spit take, Master Jet laughed.

"Marriage… what marriage?!"

She shook her head.

"How do you think Legacy clans recruit talents? There are patronage contracts, adoptions, and matrimony, the latter being the preferred method when it comes to true gems. Anything to enhance the bloodline, you know."

As Sunny stared at her with wide eyes, Master Jet chuckled and continued:

"In any case, these are your options. You can go with the government, one of the three great clans, or a lesser clan. Each will provide you with plenty of incentives to join them instead of others. The most wealthy factions will even shower you with soul shards. You and I both know how important those are. Few people can refuse such an offer."

She sighed wistfully, lingered for a bit, and then added:

"Of course, you can also remain independent. In that case, you won\'t have any special support outside the usual benefits of being a highly regarded Awakened — be it in the form of training, resources, or access. But you also won\'t be tied down by any obligations, free to travel around the Dream Realm as you wish, making a living by hunting Nightmare Creatures or providing useful services to your Citadel of choice. There are plenty of independent Awakened out there, although few who are truly successful. It\'s a tough way to live."

Sunny rubbed his face, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the cornucopia of choices in front of him.

He had no need for soul shard, but being showered in them still seemed like a great experience.

Master Jet grinned.

"...So? What do you think?"

He hesitated for a while, then said:

"I don\'t know. That\'s a lot to take in. I\'ll… have to think about many things before making a decision."

She nodded, as though that was an expected answer.

"Good. Nothing good can come from rushing such a matter."

With that, Master Jet took a small, secure plastic container out of her pocket and pushed it to Sunny. He took it and raised an eyebrow.

"What\'s that?"

She shrugged.

"A pack of military-grade stimulants to keep you awake for a while. Don\'t use more than one patch at a time… wait, why am I explaining this to you? You\'re from the outskirts, so your knowledge of stimulant use must be extensive. In any case, with that, you\'ll be able to stay lucid for about a week. Contact me when you\'re ready to make a decision, and I\'ll arrange the rest. Oh, also feel free to call me if you have any questions… scratch that. Not any questions, just important ones."

She stood up, stretched a little, and gave him a little smile.

"Well… it\'s been nice seeing you, Awakened Sunless. You did well, staying alive out there. Warms my heart to know that another one of us did. I\'ll be off, then. Time waits for no one, and all that."

She turned around to walk away, but Sunny stopped her:

"Uh… Master Jet?"

She glanced at him in confusion.

"Yeah?"

Sunny hesitated for a bit, then raised his newly issued, expensive, slick communicator:

"I, uh… I don\'t have your contact?"

Master Jet stared at him for a while, then grinned.

"Want to get my number, huh?"

Feeling his ears turning slightly red, Sunny coughed, but then took hold of himself and said with an easy smile:

"Yes. How else am I going to call you when I\'ve made a decision?"

The beautiful woman shook her head, then took his communicator and entered her contact information into it.

Returning the communicator to Sunny, she looked at him and said:

"...Can\'t wait to hear from you, Awakened Sunless. See you later, then."

With that, Master Jet walked away, leaving Sunny alone at the table.

Looking around, he sat in silence for a while.

Finally, he said quietly:

"I wonder… can I get another of everything I ate? That\'d be great…"