Shadow Slave

Sunny waited for a moment, then slowly straightened and looked around. The white mist of Aletheia's Island surrounded the Chain Breaker...

'The last time. This is the last time.'

He turned around and nodded at Cassie. Without wasting a single moment, she climbed into Nightmare's saddle and disappeared into the fog. Sunny, meanwhile, faced Nephis and asked.

"Are you alright?"

She was looking in the direction where Cassie had gone to with a frown on her tired face. Hearing his question, Nephis turned.

"...I'm fine. I can still fight."

He smiled.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Before you ask where Cassie had gone, let me explain a few things."

Taking a step closer, Sunny placed his hand on Neph's shoulders and leaned forward a little.

...Her alabaster face had suddenly turned even more motionless than it usually was.

"First of all, this is not the first time we are having this conversation. You just don't remember all the previous ones. The vortex surrounding this island, you see, is not a mundane vortex. It is a whirlpool of time, and so, time moves in a circle on this island. The same day repeats itself endlessly, and we have lived it dozens of times already."

Neph's eyes widened slightly.

A different person would have been stunned into silence by such a bizarre proclamation, but not her. Only a few moments later, she asked evenly:

"How come you remember, and I don't, then?"

Sunny pointed to her sword.

"It's because of the Sin of Solace. It remembers, and so, I've come to remember as well. After a while, Cassie did, too. Which is both a blessing and a curse. Neph... believe it or not, we have severely underestimated how dreadful of a hell this island is. We've already died countless times, each death more terrible than the last. Cassie, you, me... each of us was killed over and over again."

Nephis studied his face with a hint of indignation on her pale face. Before she could retort, though, Sunny grinned.

is in the past. This time, we have a plan - one that will allow us to break the loop, save Jet and Effie, and escape this hellish place once and for all. You just need to trust me... well, and fight like your life depends on it. Can you

for a moment, then

is utterly exhausted. I'm not exactly in

He smiled.

alright. Don't worry... you still look

face turn entirely motionless again,

right. By the way, did I mention that

Neph's stoic expression

rattled

"W-what?!"

they did not wait for Cassie and Jet before leaving the Chain Breaker. Mere minutes after the blind girl rode Nightmare into the mist, Sunny and Nephis jumped down

Sunny walked, a vague figure appeared

Sin of

up? How pitiful. Or... wait! Did you really convince yourself that you would succeed this time? What a fool. You'll just die again... your friends will

past it. The

only to watch your friends die anyway! Forever, this time. Wouldn't that be a

bastard. Go die in a

head, Sunny

rear of their small formation, they made swift progress. As

that is what

for a while,

"I see."

of Aletheia's Island to the truth about the Divine Realms, from the role that the Mad Prince had played in their journey to the true motives of the Six Plagues... it had to be a lot to take in. Sunny wasn't

was she thinking

a few minutes spent in silence, Nephis finally looked

must have been hard on

raised an eyebrow,

It wasn't

away, she lingered for

been hard on me, as

Sunny's smile slowly disappeared.