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."

Sun had gone mad, and the curse of the all-consuming darkness had escaped the prison

under its light, the castle was suddenly consumed by fire, with rivers of blood flowing down its

star shining in the black skies was Nephis, the herald of ruinous change, who had drowned the halls of the Bright Castle

armor was Gunlaug, who had

with a bronze spear and the desperate archer were Effie and Kai, who had almost perished fighting against the nightmare horde during the siege of

dying angel was being consumed by hungry

locks were the heads of the giant statues, who

the last part of the prophecy… it wasn't that hard to understand,

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

It was their fate.

what little remained of my sanity seemed to

was the last thing

Sunny sighed and turned

you, didn't I? I told you that this story won't have a happy ending. That there will be only sorrow, pain, and rage. Do you remember what

were the words he said on the day

suspicion that they would inevitably end up as enemies had already grown, becoming almost

the word that had given him hope, no matter how small. Hope that he

despite that hope, Sunny had been preparing

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 his only skill was one that

Hunter's statue and spent a night alone there, steeling himself for the inevitable future. Forcing himself to accept

him. How could he allow her to endure the terrible pain of

was because of this that he had not tried to learn all of her secret plans, remaining comfortable in his role as a hired mercenary. An outsider. He had known

enemy to fight against. He knew