Shadow Slave: Back in time

Eventually, the sun rose, and with it Cassie. Sunny and Nephis had kept an eye on her for the rest of the night, but she hadn't moved a muscle. Her head was tucked in between her knees, and her arms around them. Slowly but surely, she brought her hand on the ground and pushed herself up. She looked West, feeling the warmth of the Sun on her face, then turned and walked towards the two other Sleepers, walking unsteadily. The three were silent for a moment. Sunny spoke first.

"Cassie… are you alright?"

The oracle shook her head as a sob managed to escape her lips. Sunny hugged her as she began to cry again. He murmured comforting words in her ear, and Nephis awkwardly reached out to pat her on the shoulder. Instead, she was pulled in the hug by both Sunny and Cassie.

They stayed in that position for quite some time, until they separated to let Cassie explain what had happened.

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Sunny had a dark look on his face. It was the same. The vision of him and Nephis on top of the Spire, the angel being devoured by angry shadows… It was the same. 'Stay calm. It might be how we have theorised.' The options were two: either prophetic visions would be affected by their return, or they wouldn't. Or the future was set in stone, and it would happen one way or another, and there was nothing they could do to prevent it. But Sunny didn't want to even consider it.

"Cassie… People don't have dreams in the Dream Realm. Your must have been vision of either the past or the future. Or both. But you can't let the knowledge of the future weight you down. It is a great burden, but with time, you will learn how to withstand it. We will reach the castle. It's a promise."

Cassia nodded that was her duty as the oracle. She would not fail her friends. They would reach their destination alive.

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Sunny was preparing the camp on the top of the Bone Ridge when he head the waves of the Dark Sea rushing to cover the Labyrinth. He sighed. He and Nephis weren't done yet with their shelter. They would have been if it was for only a couple of nights, but it was different this time. Sunny could not see it, but he knew it was there. The damned tree.

The room was illuminated by a faint light. Sunny was laying next to Nephis, his head posed on her chest.

They had spent many evenings in that position, hugging each other, and sparring. Most of the fights ended with a victorious Changing Star, but it was not because her resolve was stronger, her strikes sharper or her technique more sublime. It was simply because Sunny's body was not strong; the abundant meals of the Academy could only do so much against the years of malnourishment and starvation he had suffered.

Sunny raised his head and turned around to look into her striking grey eyes.

"So, that his the plan. Are you okay with it?"

Nephis nodded. Sunny chuckled.

"This time, we will kill it. It is your turn now. I've already had the pleasure of watching it die. Burn it to the ground, oh my Star of Ruin."

Cassie had been sitting on the bone of the Leviathan, resting as she listened to the sound of their camp being built. However, after some time, she noticed something strange: it was taking too long. She stood up and approached Sunny. She had learnt quickly how to recognize people by the their steps: everyone had slightly different ones. Cassie had just started to notice that everyone possessed an unique presence, too. She was aware that her friends could walk as silently as a ghost, but always made just enough noise to let her know where they were. She was extremely grateful for that. When she had received her Flaw, she had been desperate. Hollow. She resigned herself that she couldn't survive. And then she met Sunny. His snarky and sarcastic remarks, his calm presence comforted her. He made hope spark in her chest again. And Nephis. Her stoic attitude in the face of danger and her unshakable resolve had strengthened that little candle in her chest and turned it into a flame. And so, she had started to think about the after. That even if, maybe, and just maybe, they survived, she would always be a crip, unable to see and reliant on others. She needed her friend and would protect them. But that dream… the angel being devoured by shadows… Sunny's True Name its implications…She trembled. She didn't want to make that decision. She would not make that decision. How could she choose between them?

A voice interrupted her train of thought.

"What is it, Cassie?"

She gripped his arm. She preferred to have contact with someone when talking to them. It helped her to ground herself and feel the other better.

"I've noticed that you're taking more time than usual. Is there a problem?"

Sunny waited for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Not exactly. It's just that we will be spending quite a bit of time here."

Cassia frowned.

"Why?"

Sunny sighed.

"There is an Awakened Terror ahead, defended by a Demon."

Cassie's thoughts were paralysed by terror. The hand grabbing Sunny's arm started shaking. Noticing this, Sunny immediately hugged.

"Shh, don't worry. Nephis and I have a plan. If we want it dead, it will die." His voice became chillingly cold for a moment. "If we will it, who dares to stop us?"

"Besides, I'm the most honest man of the world. Two worlds, actually." He exclaimed. His recurrent joke got a short but genuine laugh out of the oracle, and her anxiety disappeared. She buried her face in his chest. A question blurted itself out of her mouth, surprising herself.

"Will you protect Neph, no matter what?"

His answer came fast and without a hint of hesitation.

"Yes. I promise."

She beamed at him. She would not choose between them. She would trust them, and that they would always have the others' backs.

In a place that was everywhere, or maybe nowhere, in an endlessly tapestry made of light, a string trembled.