Shadow Slave

Nephis, Cassie, and Jet stared at him incredulously. Pierced by three intense gazes, each belonging to a beautiful woman, Sunny shifted uncomfortably and pulled on the collar of the Shroud of Dusk.

"I, uh... I think I really need to start socializing with guys more... why am I always surrounded by lethal beauties?"

Eventually, Nephis repeated his words evenly: "Moves in a circle?"

Sunny nodded.

"Yes. I only became aware of it a few hours ago... or a few revolutions ago, to be precise. Think about it - the waters of the Great River represent time, and we are surrounded by an enormous whirlpool. So..."

He pointed to Jet.

"You only remember being on Wind Flower for a couple of hours, but in fact, you've been here for almost a year. The time you spent in the Nightmare is the same as Cassie."

Looking at their tense expressions, Sunny sighed.

"Well, in fact, what I said earlier is not entirely accurate. It seems that Nephis and I entered the Nightmare four months ago, while you and Cassie entered it more than a year ago. But there is no telling how many times the time repeated itself before I became aware of the loop, so... although I don't think that it's the case, we might very well have been stuck on this island for a hundred years. There's no way to tell unless we leave."

Everyone remained silent for a while. When the pause grew too long, Cassie finally asked in a hesitant tone:

"These previous... revolutions... do you mean that we have already explored the island several times, but you are the only one who remembers it?"

Sunny's face grew dark. He looked away, grimaced, and then said somberly:

"Explored the island? Not really. We barely left the beach when Undying Slaughter attacked Jet in the forest... each time, I went ahead to try and stop her, and each time, I died miserably. Jet, too."

Soul Reaper threw a sharp glance at him and paled a little. It was not a pleasant thing to hear that you had been killed. The corners of her mouth twisted into a dark smile.

"...How regrettable."

He sighed.

"This is the first time I managed to live past an hour. So, I don't really know much about the loop yet. I'm sure it doesn't terminate each time I die, which means that Nephis and Cassie must have lived longer. You might have even survived long enough to reach the termination point - but since your memories are erased between revolutions, it's impossible to tell."

Nephis raised an eyebrow.

you the only one

Solace - the sword,

with this cursed sword of mine. Its... spirit...

the explanation after thinking about it

tea. Cassie gripped the Guiding Light

passed in silence, Nephis

Undying Slaughter

froze. Struggling to suppress an involuntary shiver, Sunny lingered

"...She's a horror."

much detail as he could. As he did, the faces of his companions grew more and more somber. Eventually, Nephis briefly glanced at Jet, and then looked

we attack together, what do you think our

shook

all of us, most likely.

She sighed.

avoid battle,

He blinked.

"For now?"

looked at him and

the Six Plagues eventually. Now, however,

was a little bit

hear how absolutely

he was talking about. Actually, it was already incredible that she had not suggested attacking Undying Slaughter right away, saying something like "it's just a Defiled version of one of the

was personal growth

slowly shook her

avoid fighting Undying Slaughter, but I don't

at her

"What do you mean?"

girl hesitated for a

Defiled, Nightmare Creatures - very few things that enter the whirlpool can ever escape. I assumed that all these beings had perished here, somehow. But if some of them are trapped in this

face paled a

caught, but managed to reach the island instead of being swallowed by the vortex. How many of them must have accumulated here over

Cassie shook her head.

then Wind Flower...

settled in the cargo