Shadow Slave

Slowly walking away from the edge of the chasm, Sunny stopped opposite Nephis and looked at her.

In his dark eyes, there was nothing but coldness.

"Well… it's not like we didn't know for a long time that this would be how things end. Did we?"

She stared at him for a while, then smiled bitterly.

"...We did."

Indeed, they knew.

From that terrible day when Sunny had first understood the meaning behind Cassie's vision, he suspected that one day, in order to survive, he would have to kill Nephis.

This was the truth he had chosen to hide from, even if it meant losing his mind. The final and most unbearable reason for why he had spent months alone in the Dark City, hunting monsters and slowly turning into one of them.

How does one come to terms with the knowledge that, one day, they will have to kill the person they care for the most?

…Knowledge, indeed, was the heaviest thing in the world.

Back at the beginning of it all, far away from the Dark City, before they had even known that the Crimson Spire existed, Cassie had shared with them a terrible vision.

She said:

"At first, I saw a… a boundless darkness locked behind seven seals. Something vast was churning in the darkness. I felt like if I directly saw it, I would lose my mind. As I watched, terrified, the seals broke one after another, until only one remained. And then that seal broke, too."

of her vision described the day when the Vessel of the Artificial Sun had gone mad, and

skies, and under its light, the castle was suddenly consumed by fire, with rivers of blood flowing down its halls. I

the black skies was Nephis, the herald of ruinous change, who had drowned the halls of the Bright Castle in blood to become its ruler, and then watched as it burned

the golden armor was Gunlaug, who had died on

archer were Effie and Kai, who had almost perished fighting against the nightmare horde during the siege of the

And at the top, a… a dying angel was being consumed by hungry shadows. When I saw the angel bleed, I

guarding seven locks were the heads of the giant statues, who stared at the Star

part of the prophecy…

the precious thing that was going to be taken from Cassie, and Sunny was the

It was their fate.

felt so much sorrow, pain and rage that what little remained of my sanity seemed

last thing Cassie

Sunny sighed

have a happy ending. That there will be only sorrow, pain, and rage. Do you remember what

said on the day Neph had

up as enemies had

word. This was the word that had given him hope, no matter how small.

Sunny had been preparing for this moment for a

he had known that he would have to face Nephis in combat that he had decided to incorporate Saint's methodical style into his technique, why he trained without rest, day and night, not sparing himself from the pain and hardship. If

point of the Hunter's statue and spent a night alone there, steeling himself for the inevitable future. Forcing himself to accept the terrible truth that, soon, he would

that he had refused Changing Star's offer to heal him. How could he allow her to endure the terrible pain

not tried to learn all of her secret plans, remaining comfortable in his role as a hired mercenary.

terrifying enemy to fight against.