Shadow Slave: Back in time

He put his feeling back inside himself and his face became emotionless.

He opened the door.

Deep inside Neph's eyes a frantic emotion, one Sunny could not quite recognize, burning intensely.

A single sentence, her voice as light as a feather, almost inaudible.

"Are you… my Sunny?"

His tone cracked.

"Y-Yes"

Irrational thought were weighting down Sunny. Would she be mad for abandoning her and making everyone forget him? He had told her he had many secrets, but nobody would have ever thought it would be something like that, so—

Nephis entered the room in a hurry and closed the door behind her.

A second later, she launched herself on Sunny, who by some miracle did not fall.

Her lips were on his. Sunny remained motionless for a second, his brain uncapable of doing its most basic functions.

Nephis distanced herself, her face scarlet.

"S-Sorry I-I…"

Sunny had never seen her that embarrassed. The river on fire after he'd revealed his secret identity was another runner up for the title, though.

He hugged her and kissed her back. Her hands moved to his head, pulling his hair.

When he'd first kissed her, he had felt complete. But it could not compare to what he was experiencing now.

Because she remembered him.

Sunny's grip on her tightened. He could feel her burning skin through the light clothes burning under his hands. One of his hand moved up and down her back, the other was pulling her head closer.

The kiss deepened. It enclosed all of their emotions, they were devouring each other.

They moved apart only when they ran out of breath, panting.

"Do you remember everything?"

She nodded.

"What— Would you tell me what happened to you?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath, sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him.

Nephis had been observing Sunny throughout the day, and her hopes were continuing to rise. He was doing things differently: he had approached Cas and taken the introductory combat class. She couldn't wait anymore, so she found out were his room was and went to talk to him. When she'd received confirmation, she couldn't help but give in to her desire.

Now she was waiting for him to gather his thought and tell her what he'd gone through.

"During our Third Nightmare, I noticed there was something strange with Cassie. I'd feared she was planning to betray me again, so I observed her. Instead, she was trying to find a way to free me from the chain she'd placed on me. While you were away, she told me that if I went to the Estuary, I would be free. She gave me the Guiding Light, and whispered a True Name that would lead me there.

I don't know the exact nature of the estuary, but it looked like a giant stone heart, surrounded by darkness, not the true type. I saw hundreds upon hundreds of Chain Breakers, some slightly different... there were also what remained of countless Ananke's ketches. The Sin of Solace told me that there had been thousands of versions of me, all striving to be free, falling into a vicious cycle of betraying you in the name of freedom and failing.

There was a mountain. It contained a vast tunnel. In the rock were runes that would make anyone become corrupted. I used your [Longing] ability using the Mirror of Truth, thus making my soul uncorruptible. I reached a vast lake, I could not see its end.

I learnt of the seventh God, The Forgotten God, the progenitor of the seven Daemon. The Dream God. There were images immortalising the seven gods. However, the images were different than the ones at Weave. The Gods were fighting a desperate battle against the Beings of the Void. Then the Void Beings were being imprisoned by the net of golden flames, but the Dream God was stuck with them. Just before the net closed, forever sealing the Void, the figure tore seven pieces off his soul. In the final scene, it showed the world, with seven prominent figures among the humans. It was the story of how the Daemons were born. The Gods were Flawless no more. The Dream Realm… was the Realm of the Dream God. I believe he was Corrupted, and is slumbering.

 I found a labyrinth. At the beginning was the place from where the Mad Prince had invaded our cycle. Time did not exist yet in the Estuary, so he travelled through time. I traversed it, and found myself standing in front of another corpse of water, littered with bodies of dead Great abominations. A being gazed at me from under the lake. It was something I had never witnessed, and judged my very soul. Eventually, it deemed me worth.

 I kept walking, then the figure of the Sin of Solace appeared. Simultaneously, the Key of The Estuary was destroyed. You see, I'm a cockroach, the Mad Prince was as well. It planned to save you, wait for me to reach the heart of the Estuary and take my place when the Sin of Solace Defiled me. He couldn't enter it himself because the guardian would kill anything whose soul was Corrupted. I told the Sin of Solace to 'Be Gone' before it could, and the wraith was erased as it had never existed. I used the Stifled Scream's [Word of Power], which was at an unimaginable power because of the strange way of time.

 I kept moving forward, and a lonely mountain appeared. It had a crack at his base, an entrance. I was met with… the future version of myself. The bodies you and I had taken at the start of our Nightmare were our own. We are going to return there, one day. Or maybe not, I'm not really sure what happened to us in the temple. I don't know what Rank he was, at least a Sovereign. I told me I was neither alive nor a human, and I could feel no body, but I don't know if he was wearing the Mask or not. I told me to go back, but I refused.

I reached an enormous cavern, its floor covered in shallow water. A small island, illuminated from a lonely ray of bright light. A tree was growing on the Island. Under it, a stone sarcophagus stood, emanating sorrow. It was Oblivion's grave. The pressure grew the closer I got. There, I ate a fruit of the tree. I received [Soul Weave.]

Its description revealed that the tree had been born of Weaver's tears.

A being emersed from the darkness, a Cursed Terror, the Vile Thieving Bird. Its talons dug deep into my soul, snatching the formless shadow of its Spawn, and my Fate. Just then, the Nightmare collapsed before it could kill me.

I was back in Antarctica, but when you saw me, you didn't recognize me. I was free. I had been erased from the world."

He turned back to Nephis, and smiled sadly.

She locked eyes with him. The silence was broken by her soft voice.

"I love you, Sunny."

His eyes widened and lit up.

"I love you too, Neph."

He had waited an eternity and broken fate to confess his love.

She leaned in, meeting his soft lips.

They broke apart, and Sunny resumed his story.

"I was hurt. The world had rejected me, so I rejected it in return. I went back to NQSC, met my sister to start teaching her, and then to Falcon Scott. I had unfinished business with the Winter Beast. I ripped it apart. I will not let Falcon Scott fall again."

His eyes shone with dark resolve.

"I went in the Dream Realm, and translated some on Nether's notes in the Ebony Tower. I crossed the Hollow Mountains. I had to reaffirm my existence itself, or I would've been erased by the fog. I reached the Forgotten Shore and visited the statues. I burnt the Soul Devourer Tree to the ground. I explored north. A Death Zone, which I presume had something to do with the Heart God. There was no salvation for the Sleeper of the Forgotten Shore. I kept going. I left the Burned Forest behind. The sky was black, but illuminated by countless stars. The weather became more severe. I could feel it in my very bones. I was overcame with excitement. 'Would I find the end of the Dream Realm?'"

He bitterly shook his head.

"No. You know what I found? LO49. Lunar- Observatory 49. Where I had done a mission in Antarctica. The Dream Realm had already started devouring our world. That's when I decided to come back to humanity."

She hadn't uttered a word during the story. Neither did she after. She just hugged him and pushed him on the bed. The fell asleep, lying together.