Shadow Slave

Some time later, Sunny was sitting on his opulent Memory chair in front of a veritable feast of all kinds of delicious food. Better yet, it was all prepared by Nephis... he was drooling from just looking at it.

They were currently at the mess deck of the Chain Breaker. Sunny was sick and tired of the mist, so being away from it was already doing wonders for his mood. Because of the dimness of the outside world, the mess deck was illuminated by the warm light of luminous Memories... the fragrance of his luxurious breakfast permeated the air.

Nephis was staring at him with a serious expression, her confusion hidden so well that no one except for him would have detected it.

”You said that it was important, so... I did my best.”

Sunny marveled at how endearing her seriousness was, then nodded and immediately picked up his chopsticks.

’Where to start...’

For a moment, he was lost for choice.

But only for a moment.

Soon, he was happily stuffing his face with several dishes at the same time. His table manners... would make Fiend look like a gentleman, in comparison.

Nephis, Cassie, and Jet stared at him incredulously.

After a while, Jet let out a long sigh and asked:

”Sunny... sorry to interrupt your meal... but aren’t you going to explain what is going on?”

He stopped chewing for a moment and glanced at her briefly.

”I might.”

Then, he asked sweetly:

”Oh, can anyone pour me a cup of tea?”

The teapot was right there in front of him, but what was the point of being pampered if he had to do everything himself?

Nephis blinked, confused.

”Can’t you do it yourself?”

Sunny smiled. Considering that his cheeks had ballooned because of all the food in his mouth, his smile looked nothing short of ridiculous.

”I can.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence.

Then, Nephis sighed and poured tea into a beautiful porcelain cup.

”Here you go.”

Sunny nodded in gratitude and chased down the food with a sip of the bitter tea.

”Ah... shame there’s no coffee anywhere in this tomb...”

He was enjoying his break quite a bit. The other three, however, seemed a little concerned. After a while, Nephis cleared her throat and asked evenly:

”So, are you going to tell us what is going on or not?”

Sunny swallowed, took another sip of tea, and gave her a contemplative look.

”Well, you see. How do I put it... I just wanted you to make me breakfast.”

Neph’s usually motionless face seemed to twitch a little.

But he was not done talking. His voice turned grave:

”...Because I don’t have a lot of time left. I only have a day to live.”

She was suddenly pale.

Jet’s eyes widened. Cassie flinched.

All three of them knew that Sunny could not lie. Which meant that... he was really going to die.

”What?!”

Sunny nodded solemnly.

”Yes. Sadly, it’s true... I am going to die soon. It’s inevitable, and none of you can stop it. So, I just wanted to spend a pleasant day with you, guys... gals? Anyway, this breakfast is a good start...”

There was dead silence in the mess deck. Jet was frozen still. Cassie seemed petrified.

Nephis, however, slowly leaned over, raised a hand... and poked his face with a finger.

Her voice trembled a little:

”He... he’s not wearing the mask...”

Something fell to the floor with a loud noise.

Sunny rubbed his cheek, blushed a little, and looked at Neph with reproach.

”Right. Now that we’re past that... let’s get back to food. It’s getting cold!”

Saying that, he nonchalantly continued to stuff his face. A satisfied sigh escaped from his lips.

After a few moments, he looked up and saw three beautiful women staring at him in stunned silence. Their faces were pale.

Sunny sighed.

”What?”

Cassie did not move. Furious white sparks ignited in the depths of Neph’s eyes.

But it was Jet who broke the silence first:

”What do you mean, what?! Do you expect to drop that bomb on us and continue eating as if nothing happened?! What do you mean, you are going to die?! Why?! Who is going to kill you?! How do we prevent it?!”

It was probably the first time Sunny saw the infamous Soul Reaper Jet lose her composure. Well... disregarding the days she was crawling around their raft trying to eat him.

But she had been much calmer even then.

Nephis opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Eventually, she simply pointed to Jet.

Cassie nodded.

”What Master Jet said!”

Sunny blinked a few times and put a confused expression on his face.

”I mean... yes? Do you expect me to let all this food go to waste? And I mean dying by ”going to die”. A terrible Nightmare Creature is going to kill me. As for preventing it... ah, there’s no point, really. It is what it is.”

He reached for his tea and shook his head:

”I don’t get it. Why are you guys making a scene?”

He basked in their comical expressions for a few moments, and then exploded with laughter.

”Oh... oh, sorry... damn! I think I am starting to understand Effie better. This is really fun!”

Gulping down the tea, Sunny smiled and looked at his companions with mirth in his eyes. By now, they were thoroughly dumbfounded.

He sighed.

”Listen... I did not tell you before, but this whirlpool is actually a whirlpool of time. Time moves in a circle on this island, meaning this day repeats itself over and over.”

They stared at him silently.

”What I mean to say is that all of us have been reliving the same day ever since arriving at Wind Flower. I’m just the only one who remembers the previous ones. I’ve died a few dozen times already trying to get us out... and I’ll definitely die many more times before we finally escape this hellhole.”

His teeth gleamed in a cavalier grin.

”What, did you think that dying would actually kill me?”

Since his companions seemed to be having trouble with comprehending the nature of the time loop, Sunny explained it again, this time in detail. He wasn’t hurried, and did not forget to thoroughly enjoy Neph’s breakfast in the process.

Luckily, Sunny already had rich experience of having this conversation, so he did it again with ease.

His mood was quite good.

When he was done, Nephis, Cassie, and Jet glanced at each other.

After a few moments of silence, Nephis asked:

”So although you are indeed going to die soon, you’ll come back to life at the start of the next... revolution? Every time?”

Sunny nodded.

”Exactly!”

She looked down and took a deep breath.

When she spoke again, her voice sounded strange:

”So what you mean to say is that... we can kill you right now, and you’ll be fine tomorrow?”

Sunny scratched his head.

”I guess so. Although it’s a weird way to put it.”

Nephis nodded, as if coming to a decision.

Then, she looked at Cassie and Jet.

”So, we’re in agreement? He has to be killed, right?”

Cassie and Jet nodded seriously.

”Yes. Of course.”

”Let’s not make it quick...”

Sunny blinked, this time out of sincere surprise.

”Uh... what? What do you mean, kill me?”

Jet smiled leisurely as she slowly rose to her feet.

”Why are you making a scene? We’ll just kill you a little. For education purposes.”

Suddenly, a cold chill crept up his spine.

Cassie and Nephis were standing up, as well.

”W-wait... wait a minute! This has somehow gone terribly wrong. It was just a little joke! Today is supposed to be my day off, okay? Don’t do anything rash!”

A small smile appeared on Neph’s face, with dangerous sparks dancing in her eyes.

”You don’t have to worry... we won’t rush...”

His five shadows observed the scene with a mix of disdain and pity. A few of them shook their heads dejectedly.

’Why are they so angry?!’

After a moment, the shadows winced.

...Loud sounds of something heavy crashing into the floor resounded from the mess deck of the Chain Breaker for a while after that.