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

like a plan. Speaking about

scowled and said with a comically strict

are not allowed to plan, plot and scheme. Just sit back and enjoy the day.

back

"Alright."

felt as though he

But what?

Nephis, Sunny hesitated and

you climb the

at him in

don't really remember. To

the mention of the miraculous fruits

'Yeah. That makes sense…'

***

passed by. Sunny, Nephis and Cassie spent them idling away, not

minds

fruits and sat around the fire, talking or simply soaking in the warmth. Sometimes, they

keep to themselves, enjoying the almost forgotten feeling of privacy. Sunny had been a loner for most of his life, so these past few weeks that he had spent

three of them to stay apart if they didn't

it happened

doing nothing would very quickly grow boring, but surprisingly, it did not. He felt perfectly fine simply laying on the ground and staring at the gently swaying branches of the

Sunny wasn't entirely sure how many days they had spent on the peaceful island. He was

forgetful. Sometimes, Sunny would catch himself straining to remember details of his previous life or notice the strangeness

and refreshing the magical fruits were, how pleasant

away and provided nourishment both for their bodies and for their soul cores. Sunny was becoming increasingly convinced that finding the majestic Soul Tree was a true

and returning to the horror of the outside world seemed less and less

they were

two

went by, she grew strangely despondent and gloomy. It seemed as though she had reverted back to her old, distant and

Changing Star ended up spending most of her time sitting on the western edge of the island alone, staring into the

was worried about her. Not even the frequent, insistent lapses of memory managed to

western slope of the island, feeling as though his 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 on

to

ridge of the western edge, gazing into the distance. Sunny climbed onto the ridge and sat down, looking at her

"Hey, Neph."

expression was back,

clear that she was not

"Hey."