Shadow Slave

In the morning, Sunny was woken up by the gentle rustling of leaves. Opening his eyes, he saw rays of sunshine falling through the scarlet crown of the Soul Tree, painting the world in soft shades of pink. The sight was beautiful and tranquil. It felt as though none of the dangers and terrors of the Dream Realm could reach him here.

A soft breeze touched his skin, bringing with it coolness and the smell of fallen leaves.

For the first time in a long while, Sunny felt at peace.

'Is this what a vacation feels like?'

If so, their decision to have one was the best decision ever.

He sat up with a yawn and lazily looked around. Cassie and Nephis were already awake. Seeing them put a smile on Sunny's face.

'Why the hell am I grinning?'

Shaking his head, Sunny put on a serious expression and said:

"Good morning."

The girls greeted him. Then, Nephis slightly tilted her head and asked:

"Hey. Do you remember why we didn't leave anyone to keep watch last night?"

Sunny blinked. Indeed, why hadn't anyone guarded the camp?

"Uh. No. I guess we were too tired? Plus, it's so safe here. Why deprive ourselves of sleep?"

She frowned. Sunny expected Changing Star to berate them, but, unexpectedly, she just shrugged.

"...I guess."

'Huh. That's not like her. Am I not the only one in a great mood?'

To make Neph feel better, he pointed down and said:

"Don't worry. My shadow would have warned us if anything had happened ."

She seemed to have forgotten about her question already, returning to whatever she had been doing before. All three of them were easily distracted these days. Sunny sighed.

"So… what are you guys going to do today?"

Cassie turned to him with a smile and answered in a teasing tone:

vacation, remember? So we're just going to rest and

plan.

and said with a

allowed to plan, plot and scheme. Just sit back

the back of his

"Alright."

felt as though he

But what?

Sunny hesitated and

why did you climb

glanced at

I don't really remember. To get the

smiled at the mention of the miraculous fruits and

'Yeah. That makes sense…'

***

spent them idling away, not concerned with

minds needed time

until noon, ate the delightful fruits and sat around the fire, talking or simply soaking in the warmth. Sometimes, they would play games or

Sunny had been a loner for most of his life, so these past few weeks that he had spent side by side with other people, without even a

large enough for the three of them to stay apart

that it

on the ground and staring at the gently swaying branches of

sure how many days they had spent on the peaceful island. He was pretty sure that it was less than a week, but couldn't remember the

absentminded and forgetful. Sometimes, Sunny would catch himself straining to remember details of his

the magical

provided nourishment both for their bodies and for their soul

behind and returning to the horror of the outside world seemed

they were

at least two of

Cassie in the beginning, as time went by, she grew strangely despondent

ended up spending most of her time sitting on the western edge of the island alone, staring into the distance with bleak eyes. Sunny had no

her. Not even the frequent, insistent lapses of memory managed to overcome his concern

head was about to split from pain. For some reason, he kept forgetting the reason for this visit on the way here. It took all of his willpower to hold

to check

always, she was sitting at the ridge of the western edge, gazing into the distance. Sunny climbed onto the ridge and sat down, looking at her with

"Hey, Neph."

at him. Her indifferent expression was back, making any attempt to understand her true emotions

it was clear that she

"Hey."