Shadow Re: Slave

Nephis gently pulled Cassie into her arms and patted her shoulder. Even though her mind often worked differently—her emotions sometimes hard to access or express—she understood that Cassie needed comfort now more than anything else.

Cassie cried quietly against her, trembling.

Kai stood stiffly nearby, glaring at Caster with an intensity that could have cut steel. Effie—who, besides Cassie and Sunny, had known Nephis the longest—was seething with rage. It took everything she had not to reach for her weapon and end Caster right then and there.

Gemma and Kido stood tense and uncertain. They didn't know the group as well and had no real connection to Caster beyond what they'd seen on the surface. But even they could feel the weight in the air… the betrayal. The fracture in trust.

Sunny, still lying where he had been, yawned lazily and said with chilling indifference:

"Alright. I'll give you time to decide—until we're back at the Great Castle. If no one's killed you by then, I'll hear your answer and decide myself. But if someone does kill you before that… I won't care. So, good night."

With that, he lay back down, eyes closing once more.

Saint remained beside him, unmoving and silent—watching over him like a statue carved from shadow. None of them knew how long she'd been summoned. Or if she'd ever truly left.

The rest of the group stood in stunned silence.

No one knew how to look at Caster anymore. No one knew what to say.

After a long pause, Nephis finally spoke.

"I always had my suspicions, Caster. But I hoped I was wrong. Especially when you grew so close to Cassie. I won't tell you what to do now. I don't know whether she'll forgive you, whether what she feels is stronger than what you've broken. But…"

She hesitated, then continued with cold honesty.

"I hope we can still finish this journey without problems. I still respect your strength. And it would be a shame to waste it—just because we're forced to kill you."

Caster didn't respond. He only nodded once, stiff and subdued.

Then Kai broke the silence. "But… where the hell did that killing intent come from?"

Effie, Gemma, and Kido all nodded, expressions tight with unease.

Nephis didn't hesitate. Her voice was calm, almost clinical. "Sunny."

She looked toward him, lying motionless in the shadows, eyes closed—face blank.

"It happens sometimes. Always when he sleeps. I think… it's his dreams. I don't know what he sees, but something in there makes him angry. Maybe terrified. Maybe both. Angry enough to kill. And that will of his is so strong, it leaks out—even in sleep. The aura, the pressure… it's real. But I don't think he even knows it happens."

Kai looked stunned. "He's… dreaming? But we're in a dream realm. That shouldn't even be possible."

Nephis nodded. "Exactly. But it's been like this since nearly the first night we met. At first, I didn't understand it either. He was always cold. Distant. But there was something else—something… more. Now that he's Awakened, it's only grown stronger."

Effie, still pale, spoke softly. "What the fuck is wrong with that kid? I've met powerful Awakened before. People who spent ten years on the Forgotten Shore. But no one—no one—has ever made me feel like he did just now. While asleep."

Nephis looked at her, her voice softening. "I don't know. But I don't think he's ever been normal since a loong time. Or felt at peace. Not truly."

She went on to explain some of the things Sunny had done—how he had Awakened in the depths of the Dark City, what impossible feats he'd achieved, what monsters he had faced.

Effie listened in silence.

Eventually, the tension began to settle. One by one, people lay down to rest. Gemma and Kido had already gone to sleep earlier, soon after Sunny had curled up in his corner. Now the rest followed, weary and shaken.

And in the silence, Saint still stood beside Sunny's sleeping form.

Watching.

Waiting.

Unblinking.

After that night, their journey continued—but a subtle tension lingered between the group and Caster. He kept mostly to himself, speaking only when necessary. Cassie, especially, avoided him entirely. Even though she had once liked him, Nephis was her best friend. Nephis had protected her when no one else was there. That loyalty—earned through Months of shared hardship—meant more than any crush. It was a hard choice, but Cassie was certain she'd made the right one.

The rest of the group followed suit. They didn't confront Caster openly, but they didn't go out of their way to include him either. Instead, their attention naturally shifted—toward Sunny.

Despite everything, despite how distant he could be… he had helped them. Saved them. Fought for them.

And perhaps more than anything else, he was still just a boy—shockingly, the second-youngest among them. They were surprised to learn that one evening and passed silent glances between each other, all thinking the same thing: How could someone so young be so terrifying—and yet so kind?

That night, after waking again to the oppressive wave of killing intent radiating from Sunny's sleeping form, they came to an unspoken agreement.

They would get closer to him. Learn more. Earn his trust. Maybe even help him carry whatever darkness lived inside his dreams.

Since Nephis had taken command of the Great Castle, Cassie, Effie, Kai, Gemma, and Kido had all grown close. Gemma and Kido in particular were a pleasant and steady presence, always smiling, often teasing each other in quiet moments. Their bond brought a warmth to the group, and the camaraderie had begun to bloom into real friendship. A rare thing in the Dream Realm.

But Sunny… even as he cooked for them, scouted ahead, and tried to make the journey easier in a hundred small ways… still kept a part of himself hidden. Always at arm's length. Even with Kai or Nephis.

And somehow… it unsettled Nephis.

She couldn't say why exactly—only that the quiet gap Sunny kept between himself and the rest of them felt more pronounced when it was aimed at her. He was always respectful, always reliable. Never once did he hesitate to fight beside her, to trust her judgment, or to protect the others. But there was something in the way he held back that tugged at her thoughts more than she expected.

Once, she would have thought herself above that kind of thing. She was Changing Star—stoic, resolute, a leader. She didn't need closeness. She didn't seek it.

But now?

After the bond she forced onto him?

Now, when they made camp and she found herself watching him from the corner of her eye—silent, slipping into the shadows to scout—she felt something unfamiliar. A quiet unease. A wish to… understand. To reach across the invisible space between them and ask:

Why do you look at the world like it's already broken?

Why do you look broken?

But Nephis didn't know how to close the distance.

She wasn't sure he'd welcome her crossing a line. Even so, she felt that he would welcome her because they held hands and he hugged her once, saying that he liked her more than she could imagine.

Still, she didn't know how to act or what she wanted from him.

So, like always, she said nothing. And watched him fade once again into the night.

Sunny laughed with Kai or her. Smiled. Joked. But behind his eyes, there was always something unreadable. Something else—just out of reach. And Nephis could feel it more clearly than anyone.

It wasn't that Sunny didn't care.

It was that at any moment, he could disappear without a trace. Like a shadow melting into the dark.

And no one could stop him.

Not even Nephis.

At least now.