A Sunless Dream | Shadow Slave Fic

Flames burst through the walls of the small room as everything was blown backwards. Standing in the centre stood Nephis, breathing heavily as she continued to stare at Anvil's headless body. Someone had taken her purpose.

In a split second, Cassie was by her side. Borrowing Nephis senses without a word said, the sight before her almost caused her to throw up as her lip quivered in disgust. Cassie turned to Nephis slowly.

"Who could have done this?" her voice was a restrained whisper, flames danced around her body as the frantic forms of Valor soldiers hurried around them, intending to subdue the flames that had overwhelmed the building. "I don't know, but whoever it is, I'm going to kill them."

Intentions didn't matter at that point, but despite that, one who left the dead body of a sovereign in place was only asking for chaos to ensue due to the remaining power vacuum. Potential culprits flashed through her head narrowing in on only one option "Song domain, only that fiend has the strength to do something like this. And make it so brutal too."

Nephis voice bubbled with anger as she sighed restraining herself. Although it wasn't how she intended, the killer of her parents had been made to suffer before he died. The thought of it brought a slight smile to her face as she turned to face the oncoming presence.

Morgan and Kai's forms quickly turned from dots in the sky to fully fleshed out Saints as they landed on the ground with force. Morgan was donning her armour with a sword in hand as she gazed upon the sight of her dead father, letting out a sigh Morgan turned away from him and levelled a glare at Nephis.

"You didn't have anything to do with this?" she spat, her voice laced with suspicion as her eyes traversed up and down Nephis form, looking for a slight indicator of dishonesty. "I do not, I suspect it might be Orion." Nephis cool reply came out naturally as Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"I know he's a monster, but why would he do something like this. So suddenly too?" before Nephis could reply, Kai stepped in "He wouldn't do something like this, not without a good reason at least." Turning slightly, he studied Morgans expression.

"I thought you'd be more saddened than this" Kai remarked, Morgan shrugged her shoulders slightly before replying "He was never a good father, but he still was my father. Whoever did this must die." Despite her aloof reply, the resolve that radiated throughout her voice was not easily missed as they began walking away from Anvil's corpse.

Morgan turned to a soldier before nodding her head, already understanding the command, he quickly went and barked orders to begin preparations for Anvil's funeral. It only took a few moments before a thought appeared in Kai's head "Isn't it quite unusual, that none of the saints from Valor are here?"

His concerns struck true with the rest of them as Morgan quickly became stiff where she stood. "That's true, where is Saint Jest, or Rivalen or Gilead? I know that old goat wouldn't leave Anvil until he ended up dying." This time, it was Cassie who spoke, her usual silence only amplifying the effect of her words.

"What if they're all dead too?" The implication of her words hung in the air as silence enveloped those present. Before anyone could attempt to break the silence, a gigantic shadow enveloped them and dragged them inside it before they could respond.

In a moment, they all found themselves placed in a tidy cottage. Outside the windows, was filled with a vast beach with seven lightless suns hovering over the ocean. All of them moved to ready themselves for battle barring Nephis, who raised a hand to placate them.

"We're fine, we're in Sunny's soul sea" As if on queue, slow steps could be heard from upstairs as a man slowly descended the stairs. Sunny's hair looked dishevelled from sleep as he scratched his stomach underneath his shirt, revealing his toned form.

Stretching his shoulders slightly, Sunny assessed the saints before him before walking across the room and collapsing on a couch. "Cassie's right, all the saint's are dead. Well, not technically dead, they've become puppets. It's the same within Song domain, all the fighters, masters included have been turned into puppets barring Revel and Orion."

A look of worry overwhelmed their faces as Kai spoke "Who in the world possesses the strength to do such a thing, as well as killing two Sovereigns? That's...impossible" he spat out with exasperation.

Sunny waved off his surprise as he laid on his back staring at the cohort "Morgan, you can stop pretending like you don't know who it is. That fiendish brother of yours sure has become a problem huh?" Morgan's face contorted into mock surprise before finally settling into a defeated expression.

"I had an idea of who it was from the start, but it was far more believable that you or Orion simply copied his abilities and committed all those crimes." Sunny laughed at her accusation; however, no humour was found in his tone. "You think I'd kill Ki Song? Or Anvil? For what? You think I want Orion to come and kill me? Or do you think I want to rob Nephis of her dreams for no reason?"

Sitting up, Sunny continued "Right now, including Jet and the saints from house of night...if they're still alive that is. There're less than forty saints in the world, with the rest being controlled by Mordret. And if I'm correct, he's managed to turn over a hundred thousand master's into walking Saints! Excluding the advanced aspects of course."

Everyone present's eyes widened at the statement. However, it was Nephis who broke the silence "Do you intend to help us kill Mordret?" she asked tentatively. Her intentions of giving Sunny time had fallen short due to the circumstances, and currently she was unsure where his allegiance lied.

"No, fuck no. Look at me! I'm happy as I am, I'm not forced into battles for my life daily, and I'm not forced into positions where I can be used and taken advantage of. Why would I willingly give up this life? I've always had one goal, live a peaceful life with people I love. Anyone I love can come here, and we'll be safe! I have no reason to care about the crimes of that mad man."

With a sigh, Sunny plopped his head back onto his pillow as he closed his eyes, indicating his unwillingness to continue the conversation. But despite it, he continued anyway "I'm making two memories, it won't take long but it should be useful in defeating Mordret. That's as far as I'm willing to go, unless he does something to warrant death, I'm not going to force myself to fight a useless battle."

Nephis wasn't taking that for an answer as her eyes flared up "You're willing to let him kill hundreds of thousands because he doesn't directly affect you? Sunny that is selfish and you know it!" she exclaimed. Sunny shot to his feet in response and looked her in the eye, his glare not losing out to Nephis in intensity.

"Let me ask you this, if you told all those dead men that I was killed by Mordret. How many of them would mobilise? Here's your answer, not fucking one. So don't tell me I'm obligated to risk my life for people who would sing praises if they heard I died. I'm not a hero."

Although everyone expected Nephis to respond, Kai spoke first "How will anything change if nobody is willing to break that cycle then! Everyone is always looking out for themselves and who they care about, then complaining when nobody sticks their necks out and decides to help them! If you want to see fucking change, then change it yourself!"

Kai got in Sunny's face, sticking a finger in his chest. "You don't have the right to complain about others not helping, when you don't do it yourself!" Sunny grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly, almost breaking his fist in the process. Bloodlust filled the room as Morgan's hand twitched preparing for a fight.

"I'm going to excuse you because you don't remember, but I have sacrificed too fucking much for someone like you to accuse me of being selfish!" shoving Kai backwards with force, he practically flew across the room before being caught by Morgan. "I have seen friends, die because I decided to stay behind and save people! I carried millions on my back, ALONE regardless of the fact I'd be better off leaving them for dead"

Taking a step back, Sunny's eyes lost their look of rage. Being replaced with cold indifference "Don't lecture me about breaking a cycle when I know firsthand it can't be broken." He spat, before returning to his seat.

Nephis moved to try convince him once more, but before she could a figure appeared from the corner of the room. There stood Orion, holding Revel by the waist as his eyes scanned the room around them.

"If you want a reason to fight Sunless, I'll give you one."