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.

the loop, save Jet and Effie, and escape this hellish place once and

silent for a

essence is utterly exhausted. I'm not

He smiled.

alright. Don't worry... you still

entirely motionless again, Sunny grinned

By the way, did I mention

stoic

her rattled voice resounded in

"W-what?!"

Jet before leaving the Chain Breaker. Mere minutes after the blind girl rode Nightmare into

a vague figure appeared from the

Sin of Solace

pitiful. Or... wait! Did you really convince yourself that you would succeed this time? What a

wraith a glance, Sunny walked past it. The apparition laughed

You might actually destroy the loop, only to watch your friends die anyway! Forever,

bastard. Go die in

his head,

the vanguard and Fiend guarding the rear of their small formation, they made swift progress. As they walked, Sunny explained a

so, that is what we must

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

was she thinking

minutes spent in silence, Nephis finally looked at him and said, her voice

been hard on

raised an eyebrow,

yes. It wasn't

for a moment,

have been hard on me, as

Sunny's smile slowly disappeared.