Shadow Slave | School Days

Tension. Unmistakable, irrefutable tension.

Such a feeling lingered over the trading district as Revel sat within her home, humming a merry tune as she prepared Rain's favourite cereal for her. Though she had come to enjoy the presence of Sunny's sister, the thought of her leaving once more continued to linger in her mind.

"Aunty Revel, what's going on outside?" Rain asked quietly, taking a bite out of her cereal as she shifted the curtains of Revel's home open. Hundreds of people were flocked from their usual trading booths to the very entrance of the trading hub, each of them shifting their weight from one foot to another as nervousness lingered in their posture.

"I don't know, and it doesn't concern us. Why don't you sit down so I can tell you another story about Lost from Light?" She had traded using Sunny's real name for using his moniker, retelling awesome tales of strength that Sunny had accomplished over the years and building an image of a hero within Rain's mind that couldn't be shifted.

Rain's adoration of Lost from Light was immense, Revel's subtle hints of the nuances within Sunny's behaviour, never hinting him as somebody who is a morally perfect paragon like Superman or Wonder woman but also not an evil maniac who slaughtered for fun.

And yet, it was this very mixture of good and evil that lingered within the actions of Lost from Light that served to capture Rain's attention with unparalleled ferocity. As Revel moved to begin her story, fixing her eyes on Rain's eager form, a call rang out through a speaker that drove a hole into Revel's stomach.

"Will the Lightslayer please make their presence known, lest we kill everyone within the trading hub."

Revel wanted to scoff at the booming voice that rang through the speakers, the very tone of the speaker oppressing her soul as her eyes darted around the room. Eventually, they fixed themselves upon Rain as Revel took in a deep breathe.

'I can't show fear around her.'

A simple, clear and concise thought. Revel took a glance outside of her window as she waited for the speaker to make true on their statement. She had seen many threaten her life; many had made statements they could not keep. And this was likely another one of them.

Only then, they did keep their promise.

It moved invisibly, a presence tearing through the air as the crowd of people dispersed into a shower of blood. Nearly five hundred humans had died in a single unseen attack, limbs flying randomly as a shower of blood painted the faces of adult and child alike in horror.

A bloodied hand slammed itself against her window, slowly gliding down as it painted the once clear surface with a velvet red. Revel could see it perfectly, a ring, the man had been married. She had robbed a home of it's father because she was too afraid to act.

Rain shot to her feet, fear lacing her expression as she let out a slight scream. "Aunty! What's going on!?" Making her way towards her, Revel did not allow her warm smile to fade for a moment, clouding her hidden terror with her fondest memories as she placed a hand around Rain's waist.

Lifting her off the floor, she moved to the rear sections of her house as she found the pillow fortified section, utterly soundproof as she placed Rain in it. To her surprise, the younger girl didn't complain for even a moment. "Listen Rainy, your aunty needs to do some business with some very... unique individuals."

Pausing for a moment, Revel's eyes met with Rain's intently as the two raven haired women shared a smile. It felt almost instinctual, intuitive yet neither of them said a word. It was like Rain too had made the same realisation, despite never having been familiar with death.

Revel probably wasn't coming back alive.

Patting the younger woman on the head gently, Revel's face turned cold as she stared at the other woman for a few moments, seeing Sunny in her as tears caused her throat to hitch yet they didn't dare make their presence known in her eyes.

Muffled screams of terror erupted in her senses, yet Revel was sure the young teen wouldn't hear them from here as her face turned stone cold. "Listen to me, no matter what happens, you are not to exit this room no matter what happens. Someone will come and pick you up. Remember, there are people in this world who love you, I am one of them."

Kissing Rain on the head, Revel spun on her heel, wiping the tears from her eyes as she paced out the door in a matter of moments. Wading through large amounts of blood that littered the floor she saw Noctis, wiping his sword with the cloth of one of the fallen citizens as he stared at her with a passive expression.

"Will you comply, or will you risk the lives of the remaining innocents?" Revel didn't say a word, brushing past him as the four quickly ascended towards the exit. Solvane and Sevirax remained silent, their eyes intently watching Revel as they soon found themselves nearing the surface.

They had managed to brush past every procedure set up with ease, the cold winds of the surface collided with Revel's face as she wore a wistful expression, cloudy skies allowed only faint glimmers of light from the stars to make their presence known as she continued to follow Noctis.

Soon enough, Revel found herself leaping out of the car that they had commandeered. An idle expression lingering across her face as the three warriors stood before her. Oddly, she had not tried to run. Although she might have survived if she did, Rain would have been a lamb to the slaughter.

Slowly, she raised her hand in the air before sliding it into her pocket, pulling out her phone as she flashed Noctis an image of herself and Sunny, holding each other with smiling expressions riddled across her faces as Revel smiled sadly.

"Sunny, I don't know when you'll get this. But I'm in danger, in fact, I might die. But it's ok, you'll be fine without me. She's safe if you're wondering, in the safest place in the world. So, why don't you let your mom have one last round of fun?"

A short, curt voice message as she leapt away from the three impassive opponents as she prepared herself for her last battle. Every regret, every mistake, every slip up she had made in her life flashed through her eyes as a large smile arrived on her face.

Self hatred.

Revel hated herself for more reasons than she could describe, countless mistakes and vile evils had occurred by her hands and her hands alone. And yet, it had been a shadow who offered light into her life, a shadow who had showed her what it was like to be a mother.

The love she thought she didn't deserve yet the love she yearned for. A single man had offered it all to her, he too seeking for his own solace from the cruel world he was thrown into. A wide smile arrived on her face as she tied her hair back up, crouching low as she saw her three opponents take their stance.

"I know this is corny, but I've seen it too many times in movies for me not to repeat it at least once..." Sighing dramatically, her eyes focused on her opponents as her muscles tensed. Noctis's grimace only deepened as he saw the woman prepare for battle as she let out a battle cry.

"It's time to show you, why I'm called the Lightslayer!"

--

Sunny's awakening was greeted kindly by the people around him, as his eyes cracked open for the first time in two weeks, he felt refreshed, far stronger than what he had once been before he awoke as he took in several foreign forms.

Nephis, Effie, Cassie, Kai, Orion and many more were traced around the room, their gazes settled upon him expectantly as he stretched his arms out with a light yawn. Scratching his stomach slight, Sunny offered Nephis a slight smile as she enveloped him in a gigantic hug, never releasing her grip for even the slightest moment.

Yet, despite his awakening, something felt wrong. Truly, severely wrong. Flashing the remaining members of his home a small smile, Sunny reached into his pocket as Orion moved to speak, but a raised hand from Sunny quickly silenced the man as a grimace settled on his face.

"Something is wrong, really wrong. Has anyone spoken to mom!?" Revel. His immediate concern. Her safety guaranteed the safety of his sister, and his sister was a precious keystone that kept the ever-expanding puzzle that was his mind together.

And yet, despite lacking blood relations, Revel took a similar place in his heart. She had been the one to gather his fractured mind together and give him purpose and direction, allowing him the opportunity to mend open wounds and build newfound bonds.

Pulling his phone out, Sunny stared at it for a moment before quickly tapping in his password, there was something far more important than diamonds in his possession. His mother had contacted him. Sunny's smile clashed between warmth and tension as lingering lethargy was blasted away from his mind in moments.

Finally, he clicked on the message. It was audible enough for all to hear, a look of shared horror spread around the room like an insidious infection, even Orion was taken aback as he bit his lip to restrain himself. After all, it was Sunny's move.

And for a moment, there was silence.

Not the warm, comfortable kind that you could find in a romantic novel, nor the oppressive kind that Sunny enforced over those around him should he ever show rage. It was far more insidious, Sunny was thinking, contemplating.

"Hand me my knives." A short, simple sentence escaped his lips as Orion threw them towards Sunny. Sheathing them into his cargo shorts, his gaze spread across the room as they all prepared to leave with him. "Sunny, let's go together-" Nephis's voice was cut off by a roar from Sunny as he shot to his feet, already halfway out the door.

"No! Nobody is to fucking follow me. If you follow me, I swear to God, I will kill you!" In the next moment, Sunny had disappeared, leaving only a dumbfounded expression across Nephis's face as she made her way for the door. Before she could, Orion stepped in her way, blocking her path as he looked her in the eye impassively.

"Sunless is doing the one thing he is best at, fighting. And you're telling me you want to risk your life, put yourself in his way, because you're worried about him? Let me tell you something, Lost from Light works alone."

Despite his words, Nephis could see the faint trail of blood trickling down his lips as Orion bit them with monumental force. Yet, the look in his eyes indicated he had no intention of leaving. But that wouldn't stop Nephis, not in a million years.

Moving to make Orion remove himself from her path, she was cut off by the television suddenly flaring on, the sight caused Nephis's jaw to fall open without resistance as she nearly fell to her knees in shock.

There Revel was, fighting three opponents at the same time.

And she wasn't winning.