Shadow Slave

"What the hell?!"

Sunny reached the edge of his makeshift raft and froze there, his fingers submerged in water. A perfect copy of him was standing motionlessly a few meters away, looking down with a mocking smile on his lips.

The pale face, the onyx eyes, the raven black hair... it was all the same. But the apparition was much more composed and full of malice than Sunny. There was a boundless ocean of madness hiding behind the cold darkness of its amused gaze.

For a moment, Sunny was convinced that one of Mordret's Reflections had somehow found him within the mist. But the tone with which the apparition spoke was simply too familiar. With a shudder, he realized that this copy of him was the manifestation of the Sin of Solace.

However...

"Gods. You look so pathetic."

'Yeah... that's definitely that damned sword.'

But how could it be?

At first, Sunny had only heard indistinct whispers when holding the Sin of Solace. Later, he could clearly hear its voice. And later still, after Falcon Scott, a vague illusory figure would follow him around... now, however, that figure seemed perfectly real.

That was not the most frightening fact, though.

The most frightening thing was that Sunny did not have the Sin of Solace summoned. How could the spirit of the cursed sword be here, if the sword itself still rested within the still darkness of his soul?!

Suddenly, a chill ran down Sunny's spine.

As if reading his mind, the Sin of Solace laughed.

"Ah, how fun. I'll give you some credit, Lost from Light... you never fail to amuse, at least. What, are you afraid of me now?"

Sunny hated to admit it, but he was. He did not know what to expect from the cursed jian... it was tied to Ariel, after all, who was both the Demon of Dread and the architect of the harrowing pyramid of nightmares. Even if the Transcendent Memory only contained a facsimile of a distant whisper left behind by the ancient daemon, it was still an artifact of terrifying power.

He knew that power all too well. Sunny had slain many Corrupted Nightmare Creatures with its help, after all - some of whom he had no business being able to kill - and, as a result, was exposed to its destructive influence in turn. He had thought that he was handling the insidious influence of the Sin of Solace well...

But if he had, then why did the apparition feel more real than ever? How was it able to appear before him without him even holding the cursed sword?

Sunny remained silent for a while, then forced out a smile.

"Afraid of you? Nonsense! Of course not."

The Sin of Solace tilted his head a little, studying Sunny with some interest.

"Oh... but I think you should."

relaxed, but that only made the words more

Sunny exhaled

supposed to be frightened

doll-like young man in front of him

that I am

Sunny scoffed.

my time on getting to the bottom of this, I chose to

away from the edge of the makeshift raft and looked up at

what you are not is a real being... no, you're just a tiny, insignificant part of my mind that the enchantments of the Sin of Solace turned against

remained silent, looking at him

Sunny shook his head.

That is only possible when I am talking to myself. You asked me if I was done feeling sorry for myself? I was not compelled to answer. You asked if I was afraid of you? For a moment or two, I was, and yet

He grimaced.

first time you kept distracting me with annoying questions, and I told you

of Solace

but your Flaw is a subjective thing, isn't it? Maybe you can lie to me not because I am a

Sunny smiled.

if my Flaw was so easy to deceive? No... that is not the case. Plus, I had no reason to believe that you weren't an actual entity before.

staring at him with a bleak expression. Then, the spirit of the cursed sword... the small broken piece of Sunny's own

Indeed,

Solace was quiet for

splintered piece of your

He laughed.

you have completely lost your mind? Lost from Light... damn lunatic... oh,

laughing copy of himself with a

once, he had nothing

long moments, he turned away

"...Shut up!"

strong current pulled the makeshift raft forward. The mist was slowly growing less thick, but Sunny still couldn't see or feel anything in

grew thirsty, he summoned the Endless Spring and drank from it, looking at the clear water around him with suspicion. When he got hungry, he summoned the Covetous Coffer and took out some rations from inside

have stocked up before

but after becoming an envoy to Clan Valor, there was no need to anymore. So, there had not been a lot of useful things left inside the bottomless chest at the start of

to tell how much time had passed since Sunny entered the Nightmare, too. The dim twilight permeating the mist never grew brighter or darker.

of his makeshift raft. For some reason, it looked strangely familiar. The strange sense of familiarity was driving Sunny

then again, perhaps it was the fact that he had gone crazy that caused

clear, frighteningly real, and even able to appear without Sunny summoning the cursed sword. The less stable

not feel particularly insane, just numb, heartbroken, and emotionally