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."

voice sounded relaxed, but that only made the words more chilling

Sunny exhaled

I? You're not real. Am I supposed to be frightened of every imaginary bastard? Life's

young man in front of him

that I

Sunny scoffed.

time, of course, but since you were not annoying enough to waste my time on getting to the bottom

and looked up at the Sin of Solace while still

no point in pretending to be something that you are not. And 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 me. How do I know?

looking at him

Sunny shook his head.

when I talk to you, and I also don't have to answer all of your questions. That is only possible when I am talking to myself. You asked me if I was done feeling sorry for myself? I was

He grimaced.

you to shut up instead of giving you a real answer.

of Solace

not because I am a part of you, but simply because you believe that I am a part

Sunny smiled.

that is not the case. Plus, I had no reason to believe that you weren't an actual entity before. If anything, it would have been the other

motionless, staring at him with a bleak expression. Then, the spirit of the cursed sword... the small broken piece of

caught me. I am not real. Indeed, I am just

of Solace was quiet for a

and conversing with a splintered piece of

He laughed.

mean that you have completely lost your mind? Lost from

the laughing copy

once, he had

a few long moments, he turned away and

"...Shut up!"

raft forward. The mist

water around him with suspicion. When he got hungry, he summoned the Covetous Coffer and took out some rations from inside

should have stocked up before leaving the siege

were already running low. He had kept the Coffer well stocked while serving as an army scout, but after becoming an envoy to Clan Valor, there was no need to anymore. So, there had not been a

was hard to tell how much time had passed since Sunny entered the Nightmare, too. The dim twilight permeating the mist never grew brighter or darker. However, he felt as if it had not been more than a couple of

of his time numbly staring at the wood grain of his makeshift raft. For some reason, it looked

was the fact that he had gone crazy that caused the irrational sense of familiarity with

of the Sin of Solace was suddenly much more clear, frighteningly real, and even able to appear without Sunny summoning the cursed sword. The less stable his mental state was, the more substantial the presence of

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