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:

on vacation, remember? So we're

like a plan.

Cassie scowled and said with a

plot and scheme. Just sit back and enjoy

back of his

"Alright."

as though he was

But what?

at Nephis, Sunny

you climb the

glanced at him

remember. To

at the mention of

'Yeah. That makes sense…'

***

Cassie spent them idling away, not concerned with anything in the

minds needed

sat around the fire, talking or simply soaking in the warmth. Sometimes, they would play games or engage in

almost forgotten feeling of privacy. Sunny had been a loner for most of his life, so these past few weeks that he had spent side by side

of them to stay apart

it happened

but surprisingly, it did not. He felt perfectly fine simply laying on the ground and staring at the gently swaying branches of the Soul

become strangely hard to grasp. Sunny wasn't entirely 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

them were turning increasingly absentminded and forgetful. Sometimes, Sunny would catch himself straining to remember details of his previous life or notice the strangeness of their behavior. But a minute later, he would forget about these concerns, distracted by some innocuous thought

refreshing the magical fruits were, how pleasant it was to live under

Tree was beautiful, benevolent and generous. It protected them from the cursed blight of the crimson labyrinth, kept the monsters away and provided nourishment both for their bodies

to the horror of the

when they were perfectly

two

as time went by, she grew

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

the frequent, insistent lapses of memory managed

some reason, he kept forgetting the reason for this visit on the way here. It took all of his willpower to hold on to his

wanted to

into the distance. Sunny climbed onto the ridge and sat down, looking at

"Hey, Neph."

indifferent expression was back, making any attempt to

clear that

"Hey."