Shadow Slave — Chapter 15

CAN'T LIE. I CAN'T LIE? ME?

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE IF I CAN'T LIE?!

NO, WAIT, THAT'S NOT EVEN THE MAIN PROBLEM.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP MY TRUE NAME A SECRET IF I CAN ONLY TELL THE TRUTH?

ANYONE WILL BE ABLE TO TURN ME INTO AN OBEDIENT SLAVE...

BY JUST ASKING A COUPLE OF INNOCENT QUESTIONS!

FUCK-!

[WAKE UP, LOST FROM LIGHT!]

I REALLY...

I REALLY SURVIVED...!

THERE'S NO MORE COLD, OR PAIN, OR CONSTANT FEAR...

I'M HOME—

HUH?

WHO IS THAT?

THREE STARS, HUH.

THREE STARS MEANS AN ASCENDED... HUH... YEAH.

WAIT. AN ASCENDED?!

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

YOUR BREASTS.

WHAT THE...?!

I WASN'T PLANNING TO SAY THOSE WORDS AT ALL!

MY MOUTH MOVED ON ITS OWN!

BECAUSE OF MY FLAW, WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT...

I BLURTED OUT THE TRUTH.

AN ASCENDED COULD HAVE PULVERIZED MY HEAD WITH A SLAP.

UGH!

SHE HELD BACK.

WHY DID I HAVE TO OFFEND SOMEONE SO POWERFUL, OF ALL PEOPLE?!

AN ASCENDED! THE WOMAN IS AN ASCENDED!

ARE YOU AWAKE NOW?

GOOD. LET ME GIVE YOU A PIECE OF ADVICE:

DON'T JUST SAY ANYTHING THAT COMES TO YOUR MIND.

ESPECIALLY TO GIRLS.

IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T SEEN A GIRL BEFORE, RIGHT?

SAY 'THANK YOU! I DEFINITELY WILL NOT!'

I'VE SEEN PLENTY...

BUT NO ONE AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU.

WHAT DID I JUST SAY...?

I SEE YOU HAVEN'T MET A LOT OF AWAKENED THEN.

BY AWAKENED STANDARDS, I'M BELOW AVERAGE.

AS YOUR SOUL CORE DEVELOPS, THE BODY GETS RID OF ALL ITS IMPERFECTIONS.

SO IT'S HARD TO FIND AN UNATTRACTIVE AWAKENED, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE STRONGER ONES.

LIVE LONG ENOUGH, AND YOU MIGHT JUST BECOME A FLOWER BOY YOURSELF.

WELL... MAYBE. IN ANY CASE, SINCE YOU'RE AWAKE - WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING.

CONGRATULATIONS ON SURVIVING YOUR FIRST NIGHTMARE...

SLEEPER SUNLESS.

EPISODE 15

LET ME FORMALLY INTRODUCE MYSELF.

I AM ASCENDED JET.

YOU CAN CALL ME MASTER JET.

THESE PAST THREE DAYS, I WAS ON WATCH DUTY DUE TO YOUR NIGHTMARE.

RIGHT... BEFORE I FELL ASLEEP, THE POLICEMAN TOLD ME THAT AN AWAKENED WOULD ARRIVE IN A FEW HOURS TO MONITOR MY CONDITION.

BUT I HAVE A QUESTION.

GO ON.

WHY WOULD A MASTER BE PUT ON WATCH DUTY?

ISN'T IT... BELOW YOUR PAY GRADE?

YOU'RE SMARTER THAN YOU SEEM.

RECENTLY, A LOT OF GATES HAVE BEEN OPENING IN THIS SECTOR.

MOST OF THE LOCAL AWAKENED ARE EITHER WOUNDED OR OCCUPIED WITH THE CLEAN-UP.

OR DEAD. IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THAT CLOSE TO THE WINTER SOLSTICE.

PLUS, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF AWAKENED WHO, LIKE ME, DIRECTLY WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT.

IT'S BY FAR THE LEAST LUCRATIVE OR GLORIOUS CAREER ONE OF US CAN CHOOSE.

WOULD YOU ABANDON WEALTH AND FAME TO WORK ABYSMAL HOURS AND RISK YOUR LIFE, FUELED ONLY BY ALTRUISM AND SENSE OF DUTY?

OF COURSE NOT.

I'M NOT AN IDIOT!

DAMN! IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN I THOUGHT! I AM NOT ONLY UNABLE TO LIE...

I CAN'T EVEN STAY SILENT WHEN SOMEONE ASKS ME A QUESTION!

DAMN THIS DAMN FLAW!

SEE, I WAS RIGHT.

YOU REALLY ARE SMART.

AHH.

I'M IN HEAVEN.

MY BODY HAS DEFINITELY CHANGED.

'FLOWER BOY,' HUH?

WH... WHAT?

I CLEARLY SAW YOU MOVE.

YOU JUST MOVED ON YOUR OWN, RIGHT?!

DID YOU MOVE OR NOT?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NO'? YOU'VE JUST MOVED YOUR HEAD AND HANDS!

DO YOU THINK I'M A FOOL?

"YOUR SHADOW IS MORE INDEPENDENT THAN MOST."

"IT IS AN INVALUABLE HELPER."

RIGHT. THAT WAS HOW THE SPELL DESCRIBED MY ASPECT ABILITY.

AND APPARENTLY IT WAS RIGHT. MY SHADOW SEEMS QUITE INDEPENDENT.

...BUT WHAT EXACTLY CAN IT DO?

HEY, YOU. TELL ME WHAT YOU CAN DO.

RIGHT. IT DOESN'T HAVE VOCAL CORDS.

I'M DOING THIS WRONG.

NOT GOING TO SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO, ARE YOU?

INDEPENDENT OR NOT, THE SHADOW IS STILL A PART OF ME.

IT'S A MANIFESTATION OF MY ASPECT ABILITY.

SO INSTEAD OF ASKING MY SHADOW, I SHOULD BE ASKING MYSELF.

ON THE EDGE OF MY CONSCIOUSNESS, THERE'S SOMETHING NEW...

...I CAN FEEL IT, JUST LIKE MY ARMS AND LEGS...

...BUT IT'S A COMPLETELY NEW SENSE.

THE SHADOW IS ALMOST...

...LIKE A PART OF MY SOUL.

CHANGE YOUR SHAPE.

HA! HOW ABOUT THAT?

THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS ON ITS SIZE, BUT I CAN FREELY CHANGE ITS SHAPE.

BUT HOW ARE YOU USEFUL?

TRY STRIKING THE TOWEL RACK.

IS THAT... ALL YOU CAN DO?

IT SEEMS I WON'T BE COMPETING WITH THE POWERS OF SHADOW GOD ANY TIME SOON.

HOW REGRETFUL.

DON'T WORRY. I'LL EXPLORE YOU MORE LATER.

NOW, I BETTER HURRY. MASTER JET SAID THAT SHE WANTED TO TELL ME SOMETHING IMPORTANT...

OH, NO. NO, NO, NO...

THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING...

PLEASE, BE GONE!

PLEASE!

FLAW: [CLEAR CONSCIENCE].

FLAW DESCRIPTION: [YOU CANNOT LIE.]