Shadow Slave

Sunny had recognized the voice. There was no doubt that the person screaming in pain in the depths of the forest was Jet... she was so close! And in danger. He hesitated for a moment.

'Bad, bad...'

His intuition was telling him that something absolutely deadly waited for him in the mist. Blindly rushing forward could very well invite disaster. And more than that, the scream itself was suspicious... Was Soul Reaper Jet someone to scream from pain? No, she wasn't. Sunny had seen her maintain composure while impaled on a jagged piece of alloy. Someone... something could have been mimicking her voice to lure them into a trap.

He had met creatures that lived in the mist and mimicked human voices before, after all. The memory alone was enough to make him shudder. And yet... What if it really was her? If there was something on the island that had made Jet shriek in agony, then the danger she faced was truly dire. There was no time to hesitate at all.

"Sunny?"

He flinched, then looked at Nephis sombeerly. Despite Sunny's shaken state, he knew that he had already made the decision. His voice was steady when he spoke:

"Someone is fighting in the forest, about four kilometers from the top of the stairs. It should be Jet. I'm going."

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded calmly and unsheathed her sword.

"We'll be right behind you, then."

As Cassie commanded the Guiding Light to point its radiance to where Sunny was instead of Effie, he dove into the shadows.

'I'm doing something very dangerous...'

Throughout the years, Sunny had often been forced to take unacceptable risks. But that was only because his back had been against the wall, and the circumstances had not allowed him to make a different choice. If possible, he preferred to win every battle before it even started, or at least get as close to ensuring the favorable result as possible. Observing his enemy, making careful preparations, dictating the ebb and flow of the battle... that was where he felt the most comfortable, and where his Aspect truly shined.

Right now, Sunny had no idea what enemy he was going to face, was rushing into battle without having made any preparations, and did not hold any initiative at all. Much worse, he was doing all these things here, in the depths of the Third Nightmare, surrounded by the mists of Wind Flower - it was hard to imagine a place more perilous than that.

'It's just one of those situations where I only have bad choices. It's going to be alright, though... I've survived all the previous gambles, so I'll pull through this time, as well!'

Stepping out of the shadow that had heard Jet's voice, Sunny gave it an order to wrap itself around him and dashed into the mist with as much speed as he could muster. At the same time, he called the other two scouting shadows back. It was going to take a bit of time for them to return, but still... he preferred to plan ahead.

Tearing through the fog, Sunny swiftly traversed the remaining distance to the place where the scream had come from. Soon, he broke free of the pine trees and entered a wide clearing. The everpresent fog was a bit thinner here, allowing him to see a dozen meters or so in all directions. Sunny dug his heels into the soft moss and slid for a few meters before coming to a halt. The Sin of Solace was already raised, ready to strike.

...But there was no movement around him.

Sunny froze for a split second, scanning the misty clearing. He didn't see or sense any enemies, at least not in the small area he could perceive. What he did sense, however... was the familiar smell of blood.

'There!'

Out there in front of him, hidden by fog, a figure was slumped on the ground. Dashing forward, Sunny approached the figure and staggered.

'C-curse it...'

indeed Jet. However, she was... she

A moment later, Sunny noticed a strange incongruity about her... looking closer, he understood that Jet's right arm was laying a bit too far from her body. It had been viciously severed near the shoulder. The hand was still clutched into a fist, but

chest suddenly felt

not recovered

suddenly opened her eyes. They had always been icy and blue, but now, the blue color had become so intense that it almost seemed as if it was glowing in the dim

Jet!

of her, he

was weak

be... behind

His eyes widened.

split second later, he was

notice a vague shape in the swirling mist, elusive and ethereal, as if made out of the fog itself. The world around him was suddenly terribly cold, the breath

'Got you.'

resistance. Sunny was used to the feeling of the flesh of

However... something was wrong.

he jumped back, narrowly avoiding being grasped by the misty apparition. Cold sweat appeared on

reason to believe so, but he felt as if

'What the...'

Solace had passed through the enemy, but the enemy

out

ghost-like abominations. Grimacing, Sunny let go of the hilt of his

he had a weapon perfectly capable of destroying intangible foes... the [Ghost Blade] enchantment of the Cruel Sight allowed it to do just that. Now, he just had

could not see the mist wraith anymore. After attacking once, it dissolved into the swirling fog, becoming utterly invisible. The next strike

approaching from two different directions. Very soon, they would reach the clearing and augment his speed even more... this battle was not going to

I just

"Sunny..."

but he didn't allow himself to look down. All his focus was concentrated on the swirling

"Be... careful... she's..."

silver blade seethed, evaporating. At almost the same time, the happy shadow reached

The mist moved.

'Huh?'

wraith was not lunging at him. Instead, it was at the edge of

'No!'

through Sunny's mind and body. Letting out a bestial wail, he fell to one knee,

"Aargh! Aaaa!!"