Shadow Slave

Sunny stood at the deck of Ananke's catch, looking at Cassie, but not seeing anything. A storm of emotions, fragmented thoughts, and burning desires raged in him, making it hard to comprehend the true scope of what the choice presented to him was.

He took a deep breath.

At that moment, the Sin of Solace tried to distract him by saying something, but Sunny forcefully cut off the voice of the sword wraith, concentrating on the sound of waves breaking against the shore of the frozen wasteland instead.

'Calm down... let's think this through.'

So... Cassie, who had turned so quiet and unassuming to almost be invisible, had been burning with an insane ambition all along. Just like Sunny, who had swore to break the chains of fate that bound him, she had been pursuing the very same goal, as well.

Acting behind the curtains and armed with the revelations she received, the blind seer had been subtly manipulating the events of the past years to achieve that goal, suffering in silence as she stubbornly pushed toward it. All to give Sunny back the choice she had taken from him.

The extent of her machinations was both admirable and frightening, so vast and intricate as to almost be inconceivable.

But it was real. Cassie had indeed managed to create a moment where at least one of them — Sunny — had an opportunity to free himself from fate.

And that... was much more significant than one would think.

Sure, Sunny could fulfill his most ardent wish and win back his freedom, destroying the Shadow Bond, and even his [Fated] Attribute. Thus making it possible for him to live a life free of its shackles.

But what Cassie wanted to achieve went far beyond that.

What she wanted was to forge a weapon to resist fate. And that weapon... was a single variable.

Just as it had happened with the cycles of the Great River, which were thrown into utter chaos by the appearance of the Mad Prince, the tapestry

of fate would become chaotic and unpredictable with the appearance of a fateless being. The entire flow of fate would change as a result of that.

Fateless... was a very suitable name for what Sunny could become, should he enter the Estuary and reach its innermost secret.

However...

While Cassie wanted to break fate, just like Sunny... in a contradictory fashion worthy of a human, she also wanted Sunny to refuse that chance and remain with her, Nephis, and the cohort. To choose them over his desire to be free.

wanted both

was nice. Gaining his freedom was nice. Learning the secrets of the Tomb of Ariel was a cherry

the Defilement was also nice. Choosing to remain by the side of the people he

was he supposed to

was no freedom in this world. That the only freedom there was the freedom to choose his own chains... and Sunny came to

to stay with the cohort, he would be choosing his own chains. In a sense, that would make him free, as

But, but...

waking world. Maybe there was no freedom in the Dream

entire realm of its own. Who was to say that there was no freedom in this

And despite everything that had happened between them, Sunny was inclined to believe

of her for what she had done, and for failing to even say that she was sorry. But now he knew that instead of saying a few easy... or maybe not so easy... words, the blind girl

was trying to repent by giving the choice she had taken

now, she had managed to do just

even by such a show of sincerity,

and possibly misguided way. She

had wished for so fiercely was not in his

'It's... true...'

careful of

lowered his gaze and looked at the Guiding Light, which

the message Torment had

blind girl

now showing the way to the Estuary. The message she delivered

He hesitated.

is the

girl smiled

blocked that memory in my mind. The seal was only removed once we reached Verge. And after I used it to activate the Guiding Light, the memory of it was erased from my mind,

hesitated for a

True Name belongs to, it is incredibly powerful. Just bearing it for a few moments put a terrible strain on my mind and soul. So... if you do decide to leave us.

remained motionless

Even if the cohort was more or less capable of taking Verge without his help... he simply did not want