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 just going to

like a plan.

that moment, Cassie scowled and said with

are not allowed to plan, plot and scheme.

back of his

"Alright."

as though he was

But what?

Nephis, Sunny

did you climb the

glanced at him

don't really remember.

smiled at the mention of the miraculous

'Yeah. That makes sense…'

***

few days passed by. Sunny, Nephis and Cassie spent them idling away, not concerned with anything in

minds needed time to

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

privacy. 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 minute to himself, were a taxing experience. He relished the opportunity to be

large enough for the three of them to stay apart

it

not. He felt perfectly fine simply laying on the ground and staring at the gently swaying branches of the Soul Tree, caught in a

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

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,

hazier and hazier. The only clear things in it were how delicious and refreshing the magical fruits were, how pleasant it was to

and provided nourishment both for their bodies and for their soul cores. Sunny was becoming increasingly convinced that finding

the horror

leave when they were perfectly happy

at least two of them

was as carefree and tranquil as Sunny and Cassie in the beginning, as time went by, she grew strangely

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

Not even the frequent, insistent lapses of memory managed

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

wanted to check on

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

"Hey, Neph."

back, making any attempt

was clear that she was not

"Hey."