Shadow Slave

Sunny blinked a couple of times, digesting her words.

A matter of life and death… if Nephis used these words, the situation was indeed dire. She was not someone to throw words to the wind.

However, she was also not to be trusted. No matter how much Sunny wanted for things between them to go to the way they had been before, he knew that it was impossible. There was no way back for either of them.

Sunny knew the true face of Changing Star now. He had seen the endless force of her conviction. In the flaming white inferno of her soul, all things were reduced to ash. Human concepts like loyalty, mercy, and affection had no hope of escaping that annihilation.

No matter what bonds connected them, Sunny could not trust Nephis to put them above her boundless obsession. If push came to shove, she would sacrifice anything… or anyone… to achieve her goal. Including him.

At least that was what he believed.

What's more, despite the fact that she tried to hide it, Sunny could feel that Neph's demeanor toward him had changed as well. He couldn't tell how exactly, but there was something almost imperceptibly different about how she looked at him.

Once broken, trust was not easy to put back. Perhaps it was simply impossible.

And yet… despite all that, was he really capable of refusing her plea for help?

Sunny sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

…No. No, he didn't think he was.

Even if things between them became strained, she was still one of the only two people he cared about in this world. The way he felt toward Neph was... was almost like a second Flaw.

No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't get rid of it.

Somewhere along the way, it had taken root in his soul. He had hoped that it will wither and die if they were apart, but instead, it just grew stronger. And now there was no escape from it.

Sunny could feel himself being pulled back into the mess of humanity once again. Damn it! This was exactly why he had been reluctant to return here. After suffering so much to leave it all behind, why would he ever want to abandon his peaceful, pleasant, delightful life of solitude?

'Curses!'

just couldn't refuse

he was going to become

to work together, they were going to do

Memories to feed for the Stone

was looking at him expectantly. Sunny tried to appear confident

a talk, but not right now. I'll... come find you when I'm

that she wanted to discuss, it could not be extremely urgent. After all, Nephis had no idea that he was going to return from the

for a few moments, her face indifferent. Then,

You know

Sunny smiled.

you don't mind,

of them stared at him with the same doubtful

"You will?"

young man, Sunny pretended

friends? They'll be able to answer all your

Night hesitated.

"...I guess?"

"Wonderful!"

at Nephis, who was clearly wondering if her idol could really be

decided then. Now,

his ability to detect lies would come in incredibly handy during the

only graduate of Sunny's school of deception

they were

find out

***

came as a guest of a well-regarded resident, not as a slum dweller seeking to exchange a soul shard for a moment of respite from the

hall of beautiful colored glass windows. The opulent desk that Harper used to sit behind was still there, only now, a similarly downtrodden young woman was scribbling on a

about the death of one little human. It just moved on, instantly replacing that which was

Forgetting it.