Shadow Re: Slave

They were almost at the gates of the Outer Settlement when Sunny let go.

Or rather… he vanished.

No warning, no words.

One moment he was there, fingers curled around hers—and the next, his presence simply dissolved into the shadows. As though he had never been there at all.

But Nephis didn't notice right away.

She walked on in silence, eyes forward, her brows drawn together in deep thought. The weight of everything he had said—about the origin of the Corruption, about the Forgotten God, about the history no one dared speak—rested heavily on her shoulders.

And yet, despite the gravity of it all…

There was a faint smile on her face.

Almost unnoticeable, soft and lingering.

She could still feel the ghost of his warmth on her skin.

The memory of his hand in hers.

⸻

When she passed through the gates, the waiting crowd turned. They'd gathered out of worry—her absence had stretched far longer than expected. Cassie had paced for hours. Kai had stood silent, eyes on the horizon.

So when Nephis returned—with no injuries, no signs of distress, and wearing that quiet, rare smile—there was a ripple of confusion.

Kai stepped forward.

"How was it?" he asked carefully. "Did everything go… as you hoped?"

Nephis paused, then nodded.

Her expression softened.

"Even better than I imagined," she said simply. "I'll accept the deal… as soon as you and Cassie decide whether you're going to face the second Nightmare."

Kai blinked.

He didn't answer right away.

His gaze lingered on her face—on the way her smile touched her eyes. It wasn't the cold, distant smile she sometimes wore out of courtesy or strategy. It was something else. Something real.

And that unsettled him more than it should have.

He nodded slowly, but said nothing.

⸻

Cassie, however, was not so reserved.

She stepped forward, her tone sharp with frustration.

"Why would you say yes already?" she demanded. "We don't even know his full motives. That was Sunny, wasn't it?"

Her voice trembled slightly—not with fear, but unease.

"He's dangerous, Neph. You know that. Why are you trusting him so easily?"

Her words hung in the air, and for a moment, no one answered.

Cassie exhaled sharply, as if needing to explain herself.

She didn't like how Nephis's eyes softened when she talked about Sunny. She didn't like how the boy she once feared—the boy who made her skin prickle with tension—now had Nephis's trust so fully again.

She had hoped that Caster would fill that void. He was safe. Honest. Vulnerable in ways Sunny never was. She'd grown close to him over these last weeks—trusted him. Hoped Nephis would do the same.

Not like Sunny, she thought bitterly. Sunny was a storm in human form. Beautiful from a distance. Terrifying up close.

And she didn't want that storm at their center again.

⸻

But Nephis only looked at her calmly.

She didn't answer right away.

Because how could she explain that trust wasn't a decision she had made?

It had simply been there.

In his presence. In his words. In the way he had held her hand—not with possession, not with control—but like something precious he was afraid to break.

She didn't trust Sunny because it was logical.

She trusted him because, somehow, he had never once let her fall.

Not in the Labyrinth.

Not in the Dark City.

Not even when she didn't know he was still watching.

Cassie heard the whispers.

A few of the settlement dwellers—people who paid attention to the smallest details, because noticing things here could mean the difference between life and death—were murmuring about Nephis. More specifically… about her arm.

About a tattoo.

She didn't want to believe it at first. She told herself it was probably a mistake. Or a coincidence. Maybe Nephis had always had it, and no one noticed.

But then someone—an archer she recognized from the last patrol—used the word snake to describe it.

"Saw it on her arm. Like a little black snake, winding all the way down. Never noticed it before…"

Cassie froze.

Her blood ran cold.

A snake.

On her arm.

Just like Seishan.

Just like the mark Nephis herself had pointed out the day before. The one she had studied on Seishan in silence, and then told cassie what she thought about it:

"It's a brand. A mark. He's claiming them somehow."

Cassie remembered her words vividly. They had discussed it. Quietly. Cautiously. Nephis had been concerned, suspicious.

So why now…?

Why did she have it?

Cassie didn't wait.

She stormed toward Nephis, heart pounding in her chest.

Her silver hair caught the fading sunlight like a banner.

Her calm, regal composure untouched.

But when Cassie reached her, the facade shattered.

"What has he done to you?!"

Her voice rang out—too loud, too sharp. Several heads turned.

Nephis stopped, blinking.

"Cassie…"

But Cassie didn't let her speak.

"Did he force you to get that tattoo? Was it part of the deal? Part of his demands?

Her words were raw.

Angry.

Wounded.

"You told me yourself it was a brand, Neph. You said it was how he marked his people. So why do you have it now?"

For a second, Nephis didn't respond.

She looked down at her arm—where the dark, intricate snake coiled like ink upon ivory.

Then she looked up again, her expression composed, but something behind her eyes was unsettled. Torn.

"He didn't force me," she said quietly. "I asked for it."

Cassie recoiled like she'd been struck.

"You… asked for it?"

Nephis nodded once while saying yes.

Cassie's breath hitched.

She didn't know what to say.

Didn't want to believe what she was hearing.

"You must not trust him," she whispered. "He's not what you think. He's dangerous. You don't know what he's capable of."

Nephis closed her eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again.

"That's where you're wrong."

Her voice was soft. Unshaken.

"I do."

⸻

Cassie stood there, heart pounding, her chest tight with something she didn't fully understand—fear, maybe. Or grief.

"I'll explain everything soon," Nephis said at last, her voice quiet. "But not now, I need to think."

Then she turned toward the settlement, that faint smile returning.

And Cassie—left standing in silence—couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

Most of the people in the settlement didn't understand what Cassie's outburst had meant. Only those standing nearby had heard her sharp words—and the quiet, composed reply Nephis had given.

The rest watched from a distance.

But none of them dared to approach.

Whatever had passed between the two girls—whatever strange power now marked Changing Star's arm—it wasn't for them to question. She was their leader, after all. And they trusted her.

Even when they didn't understand her.

Especially then.

⸻

Kai had heard every word.

He had stood quietly at the edge of the crowd, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

And when the tense silence settled, he stepped forward and offered Cassie a small, warm smile.

"Don't worry," he said gently. "She knows what she's doing."

There was more he could have said.

He could've told Cassie that if Sunny had truly meant harm, they'd all be dead already.

That if he wanted to take something… he wouldn't need a tattoo to do it.

But those words would only frighten her more.

And Kai had come to understand something important about Cassie: she wasn't weak. But she was delicate. Sensitive in ways he wasn't—ways the Forgotten Shore had already beaten out of him.

So he stayed quiet about the rest.

⸻

Still, he couldn't help but feel the weight of what he didn't say.

Because he had started to… like Sunny.

Even trust him.

It was strange, almost absurd, considering how little time they had spent together. But in Sunny's absence, Kai had been reminded of something painful—why he had no real friends before.

People lied.

All the time. Even when there was no reason to.

Out here on the edge of the world, people lied with every other breath.

Even Cassie. Even Caster. That legacy was the worst offender—Kai's flaw practically screamed at him whenever the young man opened his mouth.

But Sunny…

Sunny didn't lie.

And that had left a mark.

⸻

So the next morning, Kai approached Nephis as she was preparing to leave the settlement.

"Can I come with you?" he asked quietly. "To see him. And to make sure Cassie knows there's nothing to fear."

Nephis frowned.

She hesitated.

Sunny hadn't wanted anyone else there. And she didn't know how he would react if she brought Kai with her. But as she looked at the archer's calm, honest eyes, she realized something:

Maybe he just wants to see the man he might be following into the second Nightmare…

So she nodded once.

"Alright. But if he gets mad… I'll tell him it was my idea."

⸻

They left before breakfast.

Both of them eager to see Sunny again—though for very different reasons.

⸻

Elsewhere, Cassie was sitting cross-legged in her room, facing Caster.

The blind girl's face was tense, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I don't like him," she said, voice low and quiet. "Even though I don't know why. And what he did to you—leaving you out like that—it makes me furious."

Caster, who had grown more fond of Cassie than he cared to admit, only smiled gently.

"It's fine," he said. "Realistically, I wouldn't have gone into a Nightmare not chosen by my clan anyway. That was always the plan."

Cassie shook her head.

"Still… who is he to just decide things like that? Who gave him the right?"

Her words were sharp. Protective. Hurt.

And so, for the first time, she told him everything.

About the Labyrinth. About the darkness. About Sunny.

Caster listened in silence, his expression still.

When she finished, he leaned back slightly and exhaled.

"Sunless…"

The name lingered in the air.

And for the first time since arriving on the Forgotten Shore, Caster felt uneasy.

This man… this threat…

He had soon to decide if he wanted to protect Cassie—or carry out the mission his clan had given him—if hed decide for the latter then Sunny might become more than just an obstacle.

He might become the wall that couldn't be moved.

And that… frightened him more than he dared admit.

Because he was already very fond of Cassie.

Closer to her than it was good for his mission.

And maybe, just maybe… it was already too late to stop it.