Shadow Slave

The giant Great Beast was growing smaller and smaller as Sunny rose higher into the sky. The winds were howling, and he was slowly starting to feel apprehensive about how long it would take him to fall back down. The view was simply breathtaking... but even from such a high vantage point, Sunny could not see a single piece of land.

There were no islands, no continents, and no ships. There was not even another piece of flotsam.

He sighed.

'What a predicament.'

"Enjoying the view?"

Sunny flinched and craned his neck, looking at the Sin of Solace.

His identical copy was calmly standing on thin air, looking down at him. The wind was playing with the apparition's long black hair.

Sunny frowned.

'I... really need to get a haircut.'

"You're ignoring me now? Ungrateful."

He glared at the apparition silently, then asked:

"How are you doing that? Why aren't you falling?"

A wicked smile appeared on the face of the cursed spirit.

"It's because, unlike you, I'm not weighed down by sin."

Sunny scoffed.

"Bastard... it's literally in your name..."

The two were silent for a few moments, giving him ample time to enjoy the fact of just how insane he had become. After a while, the Sin of Solace pointed down.

maw. Haven't you heard the stories about people traveling inside a sea creature's belly? With

porcelain face

you die too, you

Sin of Solace

would rather die than spend more time in your

gritted his teeth, then

part of me... since

back and turned into a blur. The shadows moved, flowing from the

was painted in hues of lilac by the light of dawn. To his left, the water was like a sea of burning blood because of the crimson dusk.

calmly walked across that sky,

has to be something - anything - in this Nightmare. It can't just all

land. Otherwise, the trial was too unreasonable... anyone without Memories like the Essence Pearl and the Nimble Catch would be

he might have been sent thousands of kilometers away from the nearest piece of land. That would not be the first time

only one way to find

there were a couple. He could try surviving the [Where is my eye?]

followed Sunny with its cloudy eyes, and then dove back into the water. However, its vast shadow remained, moving slowly just below the surface. It

Sunny's expression grew bleak.

to

serpent's ancestors

by. The sea serpent continued to follow Sunny, raising its head above the water from time to time to throw a chilling look in his direction. At some point, Sunny removed the black needle

to happen - but if it did happen, he wanted to at least have the opportunity to dive back into

too

tense, somber... and a

really. What kind of messed-up

had turned into

winced and pushed the black needle back into his

And so it continued.

he would rise, and sometimes, he would descend. The Heavenly Burden continued to poke small holes in his skin, which then immediately healed thanks to the [Living Stone]

Sunny grew angry.

Then, he grew depressed.