Shadow Slave

Whenever Sunny slept, some part of him always remained awake. There were seven of him, after all — so, it was rare for all of his incarnations to be asleep at the same time. After finding the nameless grave on the hill where Aletheia’s Tower had once stood, however, he chose to surrender himself to sleep completely. Even though nothing had happened since they entered the Tomb of Ariel, he needed a break.

The nothingness of it all was exhausting. Eventually, though, Sunny woke up.

He remained still for a while, looking at Neph’s profile. She was sitting by the fire, looking at the dancing flames — just like he had been doing during his watch.

Her usually stoic expression seemed reserved and pensive in the warm light of the fire.

“It is strange, you know.”

Even though she did not turn to look, she must have noticed that he was awake. Sunny did not move, either.

“What is?”

Nephis lingered for a short while, then shrugged.

“Sitting by the fire in the Tomb of Ariel, utterly ruined, acting like nothing is the matter.”

Finally turning, she smiled faintly.

Her smile was a little bit bitter, and a little bit dark.

“I had spent so much time building my kingdom — all my life, really — and now, in the span of a few short months, all of it is gone. My Citadels, my armies, my comrades, my people… all I have left now are the things I can carry with me. I must be the first homeless Sovereign in history.”

Sunny remained silent for a moment, then smiled as well.

“Well, to be fair, you can carry quite a lot with you. An entire flying ship, for example — and that is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Nephis chuckled.

“That’s true.”

She turned back to the flame, and to the darkness beyond it.

“You went somewhere while I slept, didn’t you?”

Sunny lingered for a few seconds, then sighed.

“I did. How did you know? I tried not to wake you.”

She shook her head lightly.

“It was because you were different when I woke up. So, I figured that something must have happened.”

Nephis reached forward and cupped her hands, thrusting them into the fire. She scooped some of it, as one would scoop water, and then washed her face in the brilliant white flame. A moment later, she let out a satisfied sigh and turned to Sunny again, looking refreshed.

“Do you still have coffee?”

Sunny sat up, summoned an enchanted thermos he had once created, and poured the fragrant drink into two cups.

As they enjoyed their morning coffee in utter darkness, he considered his words for a long while.

Eventually, though, he still said:

“You never ask me any questions.”

It was true. When the two of them were together, Sunny rarely had to say something because of his Flaw. As a result, there were few situations when he said something to Nephis, only for her to forget it seconds later.

It was very convenient of Sunny and made his life much easier, but at the same time, he often felt conflicted about the whole situation.

At times, he felt insecure, thinking that Nephis simply did not care enough to ask. Other times, he felt that it was not fair to her, since no matter what she did, she would never receive an answer — would never be able to truly know the man with whom she shared her life.

But Sunny never brought it up, because doing so would not solve anything. And she would not be able to remember having talked about it, either.

Nephis shrugged.

“That is strange, as well.”

Looking into the fire, she sighed.

“You and Cassie are closer to me than anyone else. And both of you keep a million secrets… So, it is a bit ironic that I know very little about the people I trust the most.”

She lingered for a few moments and then added:

“But that was our deal, wasn’t it? You said that you had secrets you would never reveal to me. And I promised that I would never value you more than my goal.”

Nephis chuckled.

“Looking back, we were acting quite mature when having that conversation. But also quite stupid.”

She shook her head.

“At the beginning, I thought that it would be simple, to allow someone into my life without inviting them into my heart. I never had any experience with the affairs of the heart, after all, so it was easy to be arrogant. But as time went on and we grew closer, nothing was simple. Everything was complicated.”

She looked at Sunny and smiled.

“I never ask you any questions, but I used to ask myself all the time. Where does he come from? Who were his parents? What was his childhood like? Who was his first love? Why does he love me? Things like that. There were so many questions, and not a single answer. As if you were keeping yourself under lock and key… as if you didn’t care about me enough to share yourself with me.”

Nephis shook her head.

“I am not a fool, though. Even if we never spoke about it, it did not take me long to figure out that you were keeping quiet because you were unable to speak, not because you did not want to. I also noticed that, at times, my memory failed me. It happens when I think about you, or in the middle of a conversation… one moment, we are talking about something, but the next moment, we are talking about something else, and I don’t quite remember how we got there. As if I got distracted.”

She looked at the dancing flames, then at the darkness beyond them.

“And I also know that all of it has something to do with this. With the Tomb of Ariel. This is where it all started.”

Nephis turned to Sunny and shrugged.

“But it doesn’t matter, really. I used to drive myself mad with these questions, but at some point, I realized that it did not matter. I do not need to know who your parents were, what your childhood was like, or where you come from. Because I know you… I might not know about you, but I know who you are. You are my person. I trust you.”

She looked away and sighed.

“I used to want to have everything under my control… I even deluded myself into thinking that it was, at times. Because the world was too frightening otherwise. But a part of growing up is realizing that you cannot control everything. Once you let go… life gets easier. And you can hold onto the important things, instead of helplessly grasping at all of them.”

Nephis lingered for a moment and then looked at Sunny with a smile.

“Now that I think about it… I feel like I’ve been cheated in that deal of ours.”

He chuckled.

“Are you saying that I made my way into your heart, uninvited? Is that a confession, Lady Changing Star?”

They were on Aletheia’s Island, of all places. What was it about this terrifying pit of nightmares that made people prone to admitting their feelings? It was certainly not a romantic spot… it was the opposite of a romantic spot, really.

Nephis shrugged.

“I am just saying that I know you well enough not to ask questions, Lord Shadow. I know who you are… and who you are is enough. It’s plenty.”

Sunny lingered for a while, then looked away to hide his smile.

“It’s nice to hear.”

Nephis finished her coffee and stood up.

“Maybe it’s why I do not feel crushed despite having lost the Human Domain to the Dreamspawn. I feel that I will get it all back… because I am not alone.”

Looking into the darkness, she remained silent for a few moments, and then said quietly:

“No one survives in the Dream Realm alone. So, I was lucky to find you.”

Sunny studied her profile for a while. Eventually, he nodded.

“…You certainly were. Men of my caliber don’t grow on trees, you know? There’s only a handful in the whole wide world — seven, to be precise. And all of them are me.”

Nephis sighed.

“Don’t I know it well…”