Shadow Slave

Soon, Nightmare landed on the deck of the Chain Breaker. Sunny had been a bit distracted, so he was surprised to see that Nephis was pointing her sword at him. After a short moment, she let out a sigh and sheathed it again.

’Right. They didn’t see us approaching because of the mist, and then something fast jumped out of it and landed on the ship.’

After the lackluster explanation Sunny had given them, both Cassie and Nephis must have been tense and uneasy for the past half an hour.

”You’re back...”

Nephis started to talk, but then grew silent. She had finally noticed the bloodied figure sitting in front of Sunny.

Jet used that moment to gingerly jump down and stretch.

”Horse riding... is just not for me. Ah, I miss my PTV.”

Cassie seemed taken aback.

”...Soul Reaper Jet?”

Jet nodded and smiled.

”One and only.”

Then, her expression darkened.

”Well... I suppose not anymore.”

For a few moments, everyone was silent. Nephis and Cassie were looking between Sunny and Jet, startled. He had already dismounted and was rubbing his face, a little spaced out.

”Sunny... you have already found Jet?”

He stared at Nephis for a moment, then nodded.

”Yes. I also found Effie. She’s on the other side of the island, but we can’t go there yet. Oh... Undying Slaughter and Devouring Beast are also here. As well as a number of Great Nightmare Creatures. Basically, everywhere you go on this island, only death awaits.”

All of it was news for Cassie and Nephis, and most of it was news to Jet.

He paused for a moment, ignoring their somber expressions, and nodded.

”Alright. I’m going to sleep. Don’t leave the ship.”

Sunny headed for the hatch to the interior of the ship, but was stopped by Nephis.

”Wait... if you don’t mind. How do you know all this? What happened?”

The corner of his eye twitched.

”Wind Flower exists inside a closed loop of repeating time, and I have already lived through this day a few dozen times. I can remember the previous revolutions because of my cursed sword. The last time around, you told me to rest... so that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to take a nap. Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

He walked between the three frozen women and disappeared into the hatch.

Finding his way to his sleeping quarters, Sunny dismissed his mantle and toppled onto his bed. His pillow had never felt so soft.

’I’ll take a small nap... just a few hours... and then explain everything properly.’

Closing his eyes, he instantly fell into the comforting embrace of sleep.

The next thing Sunny knew...

He was crouching on the deck of the Chain Breaker, just as tired as he had been before. He waited for a moment, then straightened and looked around in confusion.

’What is this?’

Sunny... was back to the start of the loop.

His expression soured.

’What the hell? Did I sleep through the whole day?’

Or had something killed him in his sleep?

Turning around, Sunny frowned and looked at Nephis. She met his gaze and said:

”I’m fine. I can still put up a fight.”

He stared at her for a moment, then cursed and jumped into the saddle. Before Nephis or Cassie could say anything, the dark destrier had already disappeared into the mist.

’I just want to sleep in peace. How hard can it be?’

Sunny used the Mirror of Truth again, found Jet, and healed her. Returning to the Chain Breaker, he dismounted first and looked at his tense and startled companions in exasperation.

Before they could say anything, he raised a hand and stopped them.

”Yes, I found Jet. Time loops on this island, so I have already lived through these events a bunch of times. Leaving the ship is too dangerous, so please don’t. I am going to sleep... I might seem crazy and rude, but it was actually you who insisted that I take a break. I’ll be off, then.”

With that, he nodded and used Shadow Step to disappear from the deck.

Three confused women were left in his wake.

Falling on his bed, Sunny closed his eyes and sighed.

’Sleep...’

Then, he was standing on the deck of the Chain Breaker again.

Sunny straightened, took a deep breath, and bellowed:

”Damnation!”

***

It took Sunny five more revolutions to finally feel refreshed. Each time, he rescued Jet and went directly to bed, only to find himself standing back on the misty deck not long after.

At least it felt short. In truth, Sunny must have slept until the termination point of the loop each time.

On the eighth revolution, finally, he came to his senses feeling... if not well, then at least not bone tired. His mind was clear, and his thought flowed freely without being burdened by the weight of accumulated stress.

’I’ve... must have been more exhausted than I thought.’

His recovery speed was already supposed to be incredible thanks to the Shroud of Dusk. Considering that it took him a whole week of doing pretty much nothing but sleeping to recover... Sunny promised himself not to underestimate the strain of reliving the horrors of Wind Flower over and over again anymore.

Luckily, he had paused before his sanity collapsed.

That said, his mental state was still delicate. Giving himself enough time to sleep was one thing... but he also had to go through some kind of positive experiences to counter the destructive effect of dying repeatedly in all kinds of macabre ways.

’What is supposed to come after getting a good night’s sleep?’

Staring into the mist, Sunny pondered for a while, and then smiled.

’Actually, isn’t it obvious?’

It was breakfast!

Nodding to himself, he walked past Nephis and Cassie and climbed into the saddle. Both of them looked at him in surprise.

”Sunny? What are you doing?”

He looked down at his companions and lingered for a few moments.

Then, he said:

”I have an idea of where Jet is. I’ll go fetch her really quick. Meanwhile, though, I have a strange request...”

Turning to Nephis, he put on his most pleasant smile.

”Neph, it might sound weird... but can you cook up something tasty while I’m gone? Go all out! Use any ingredient you need. It’s rather important that you don’t hold back.”

She simply stared at him, a hint of confusion hiding in her striking grey eyes.

”I... guess I can?”

Sunny grinned.

”Great! Oh! Don’t forget to make coffee! Wait, we don’t have coffee... tea, then! The best tea we have!”

With that, he commanded Nightmare to leap into the mist.

It was time for him to be pampered a little!