No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

Levi had woken up to Shashi shaking him.. With his mind hazy.. he slowly sat up.

"Morning.. or rather evening. You have slept for a whole day." Shashi looked at him with a disapproving gaze.

When Levi was going to open his mouth , they were interrupted by Cassie's screams. Both of them almost got up immediately , what Levi saw.. was quiet intriguing.. Sunny had thrown Cassie over his shoulder and was dragging her to the edge of the Island.. while there.. Nephis was looking at him , her sword pointed to the ground for now.. and there was a boat..?

"What the hell were you guys doing when I was asleep..?" 

"We made a boat since Sunny asked us to.. He has been acting weird.. and now this.." 

So.. Sunny has finally realized that they were being influenced and had taken action. Levi was happy that he had done it , he didn't want to intervene with fate since Cassie had seen in her vision that only Sunny was capable of saving the others..

Both of them ran to edge of the island where the rest of the group was..

***

Nephis slowly rose to her feet, her indifferent expression radiating coldness. She slightly outstretched one hand.

ꞌCrap.'

"Wait! It's not..." Sunny tried to explain himself , however...

Before he could finish the sentence, the silver sword appeared out of thin air, aimed at the ground...for now.

"Explain yourself."

Changing Star's voice was even and calm, but Sunny could feel the hidden threat in it.

Licking his lips, Sunny cautiously said:

"It's not ... not as you think, Neph. We've been caught in a trap by the Soul Tree. It's not benevolent ... it's not protecting us. In fact, it's doing the opposite. If we don't leave this island, we'll become its slaves, forever. Or until it finds someone stronger and devours us!"

She tilted her head and looked at Sunny with an unreadable expression.

"Come on, Nephis! Remember! We've talked about this already! This whole thing was your idea to begin with!" Sunny said desperately.

"Leave ... the great tree? You have really lost your mind."

Levi's eyes darkened.. the tree's influence was really great..

Changing Star raised her sword and said in a tone that made Sunny tremble.

"Let Cassie go. Now."

Sunny hesitated, thinking about the best course of action. Then, he carefully placed the blind girl on the ground. Levi had hoped Shashi would stay away from this quarrel , however she walked next to Nephis...

"Alright. I did. See? Now, listen to me. I have something very important to tell you..."

Before he was done speaking, Nephis disappeared from his view. Realizing that he was about to be attacked, Sunny prepared to defend himself ...

However , when Levi noticed that she was going to attack , he had immediately leaped forward to block her way, imbuing his arm the the Warhammer memory. Before she could strike Sunny , Levi immediately got in the way of Changing Star and swung his memory infused arm against her sword which was coming at him with incredible speed. 

He parried the attack masterfully , and Nephis dashed back immediately , creating distance between them. 

Levi could hear Sunny sigh in relief , he was relieved that someone else was not affected by the Tree.

"I advise that you sit back and listen to what he has to say."

However.. it seemed that they were not willing to listen. Nephis resumed her stance.. And.. Shashi.. also summoned her blood to shape it into a katana. Levi was confident enough that he could at least take one of them in a battle , however both of them.. That would be very hard.

But a shout came from his back , it was Sunny..

"Aster, Song, Vale!"

Nephis's hand trembled. Her eyes opened wide, full of surprise and shock. Then, a dark expression appeared on her face.

She took a step forward and pierced them with a burning gaze. When she spoke, her voice

was trembling with suppressed emotions:

"How ... how do you know these names? Who are you two?"

Levi didn't take his eyes off the women in case they attacked. However he was also wondering who were those names.. They must be important since they can make Changing Star lose her cool.

"I didn't even know that these were names. It's just what you told me to tell you in case you forget what had to be done. You said if I tell you this, you'll listen to me."

Nephis stared at him, a shadow of doubt appearing on her face for a split second. It was gone almost instantly, replaced by grim determination. Gritting her teeth, she snarled:

"Which Domain do you belong to ?!"

Sunny had no clue what she wanted him to say. So, he just asked:

"What's a domain?"

She grinned, a maniacal glimmer appearing in her eyes.

Levi just stared at her with a calm expression , he still stood between them. He never trusted Nephis... and now.. his trust for her was even more shallow than ever. 

Meanwhile, Neph said:

"Don't pretend to ... to ... "

Suddenly, she stumbled, then frowned. It seemed as though Sunny's question touched something in Changing Star's mind, causing a chain reaction. A few seconds passed, each turning her frown deeper.

Slowly, the familiar poised calmness returned to her eyes. It didn't seem as though she had remembered everything, but, just as Nephis had promised, it seemed enough to make her listen to what Sunny had to say.

Looking at Sunny with a strange expression, she then said:

"I really told you those words?"

Nephis looked down, then closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them again, they were full of resolve.

"What do I need to do?"

Levi really wanted to ask them about the meaning of the three mysterious names, but decided against it. They had to hurry.

"Ask Cassie to summon her staff. Then get her into the boat."

Dismissing her sword, Changing Star glanced at him for the last time and walked toward her friend.

Levi himself.. walked to Shashi to convince her. 

***

As the last light of dusk disappeared, submerging the world into absolute darkness, the boat built from the bones of a demon slipped from the ashen sand into the cold embrace of the dark sea.

Following Sunny's instructions, Cassie aimed her staff and activated its enchantment, causing a strong gale to fill their modest sail.

At first, the boat moved slowly, the mast creaking under pressure. But Changing Star's craftsmanship was meticulous and reliable. The demon's spine held, and little by little, the small vessel began to gain speed.

Sunny sat at the stern, controlling the steering oar. In front of them, an endless expanse of black water stretched to the horizon, hiding indescribable horrors in its depths.

Behind them, the terrifying Soul Devouring Tree was slowly growing smaller.

Levi and Shashi were sitting together , he had somehow managed to win over her and talk her into getting on the boat with in exchange of a lot of his blood.. and that was what she was doing currently. She was drinking his blood from the veins of his wrist gluttonously.

However he didn't mind.. at least they had escaped from the Soul Devourer..