Shadow Slave

Sunny remained under the sacred tree for a while, staring silently into the mist. The cold wind blew from beyond the island, bringing with it an insidious chill. The silence was only broken by the muffled rustling of leaves.

His thoughts were dark.

He did not know how much time had passed, exactly, when something seemed to change about the world. Sunny let out a quiet sigh and rose to his feet, hugging himself to preserve what little warmth remained from escaping into the fog.

Looking down, he lingered for a few moments, and then said somberly:

"So you are finally here."

At first, there was no response.

Then, the fog moved slightly, revealing a vague silhouette that had been hidden by its flowing veil. A wraith made of mist was standing on the deck of the Chain Breaker, mere meters away. Her inhumanly cold blue eyes were gazing at him with no emotion.

Sunny smiled darkly.

"No wonder it took me a whole week to catch up on sleep."

Every time Sunny slept, he would come to his senses at the start of the loop. There were two possible explanations for why he did - either Sunny was sleeping for too long... or something killed him while he slept.

He had assumed that it was the former. But now, he knew that it was the latter.

His hands trembled and turned into fists.

'Of course...of course. Why else?'

For dozens of revolutions, Sunny had been telling his companions to hide inside the Chain Breaker and wait while he risked his life exploring the island.

But who said that the ship was safe?

Sunny had never seen Undying Slaughter find it. But today was also the first time he had remained on the Chain Breaker for more than a couple of hours, awake...

'Curse you...'

deep darkness

left, thinking that his companions would be safe, the

And killed them.

Jet had been killed terribly, over and

had been

Or had she been?

his master was no more? Would the Spell have announced her passing? If

Slaughter, Sunny gritted

"I'll... destroy you."

on his lips, he took a

"...One day."

The mist wraith moved.

after that, Sunny

deck of the Chain Breaker once again. Straightening, he

His face remained motionless.

while, a sigh escaped from his

guess my break

and silently watched as Nephis and Cassie discussed the Guiding Light. They had forgotten the events of the previous revolution... the conversations they had with him, the laughter they shared. Everything was now erased, and his companions

But he knew.

of Solace. The wraith conjured from his own mind by

down on the wooden railing hard enough to

mount Nightmare immediately.

have attracted the attention of his companions, because they both suddenly

"Sunny? What is it?"

of the field of runes. He remained silent for a bit, then answered

to try something. I'm not sure what will happen, exactly, so... stay

and called upon the Fragment of Shadow

did not really know how to make it manifest. A mere Ascended

exactly what to do. That knowledge was buried deep in his soul,

In the next moment...