Shadow Slave

Some time later, they shared a kettle of fragrant tea while digesting their food in peace. Sunny warmed his hands on the cheap metal cup, letting the hot steam wash over his bruised face and chase some of the soreness away. Effie had stretched her legs under the table and crossed them, staring at her

tea with a distant expression.

Somewhere outside the diner, many sets of eyes were secretly observing them. Some of them belonged to the mysterious force that wanted Mordret dead, and was hoping to reach him by following the two detectives who had seen them last.

There was another pair of eyes, as well.

Sunny could not be entirely sure, but he was confident that the real Mordret was spying on them, as well. He had been protecting his nicer twin from the shadows, so not knowing where the CEO of Valor had been taken to was not something the Prince of Nothing could or would tolerate.

But there was nothing Sunny could do about any of that just yet.

Glancing at Effie, he took a sip of tea and asked:

”What are you thinking about?”

Effie was distracted from her thoughts and looked at him without her usual carefree smile.

She remained silent for a while, then said:

”The future.”

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

”The future?”

Effie nodded.

”Yes. Not tomorrow, or the day after that. Not even the Fourth Nightmare and Supremacy, but… about what happens next.”

He considered her words for a few moments.

”So, the end of the world.”

He meant it quite literally. The waking world was already being slowly devoured by the Dream Realm, and that process was only going to accelerate exponentially in the coming years.

Before too long, there would be no waking world at all. It could last for another decade, or maybe even a few… but no longer than that.

Effie studied Sunny silently, then asked:

”When we become Supreme, you and Nephis are going to challenge the Fifth Nightmare, aren’t you?”

Sunny hesitated for a while.

Actually, he was not sure how to answer that question.

He was still undecided… he still did not know if he was ready to fight for his fate, and the bonds that came with it, or abandon it forever and look for a different path to Apotheosis than the one offered by the Spell. ṛÅΝ𝘰𝖇Ëṩ

Eventually, he shrugged.

”If there is no better way, sure.”

Now that he was reminded about the complicated choice looming over him, his thoughts turned in that direction.

Effie hesitated for a while.

”The Fifth Nightmare… Apotheosis. It changes you, doesn’t it? Makes you more divine.But it also makes you leave some of your humanity behind.”

Still consumed by his thoughts, Sunny raised an eyebrow.

”In a way. That is what I heard, at least. Why?”

Effie looked down.

”I am just wondering what will become of me after I attain Supremacy. Will I be able to stop there, or will I be forced to continue walking forward? And if I do… what I will have to leave behind.”

She smiled wistfully.

”It will be ironic, won’t it? If the only way to protect what I cherish most is to abandon it. I am… not sure that I would want to do something like that. That I am capable of it.”

Sunny remained silent for a long time.

”That would be quite ironic, yes. Life is full of irony that way, I find.”

Gods knew his life was.

Letting out a sigh, Sunny focused on his tea.

After enjoying its warmth for a while, he asked:

”Hey, Effie. Can I ask you a question?”

She smiled faintly.

”Go ahead.”

Sunny chewed his lips for a few seconds.

”It is sort of a moral conundrum. Let’s say that you love someone, and they love you back… but you can’t be with that person unless you surrender to their will completely. Unless you trust them completely. Would you still do it?”

Effie stared at him with a neutral expression for a while.

Then, she frowned in confusion.

”Sure. What’s the problem?”

Sunny blinked a few times.

”Now, I don’t think you understand. In this scenario, the other person will have the ability to control you. They’ll be able to end your life if they want, or force you to do things that you don’t want to do. They might not ever use that ability… but they’ll have it. You will be at their mercy — always, and absolutely.”

Effie continued to stare at him in confusion.

”Yeah. And?”

Sunny was baffled, too.

What was this reaction?

”What do you mean, yeah? That’s a serious problem, you know! How can you surrender yourself to someone else, just like that?”

Effie laughed quietly.

”That’s just marriage, though?”

Sunny stared at her in complete bewilderment.

”What do you mean?”

Effie smiled and took a sip of her tea, then shrugged.

”Well, what you described simply sounds like marriage — what marriage is supposed to be, at least. Marriage is all about trust, after all. You have to

trust your partner, and they have to trust you. Naturally, nothing is absolute, and trust is not absolute either.”

She leaned forward and gave him an amused look.

”But, Sunny… imagine entrusting your infant child to someone when you have to leave — defenseless, fragile,vulnerable… infinitely precious. That is what spouses all over the world do every day, and that is the level of trust they have in each other. If I trust my husband enough to surrender my son to

his care, why would I not trust him with my own life? My life seems trifling in comparison.”

Effie shook her head and chuckled.

”Trusting them completely, giving them the power to influence what you do, and being at their mercy… always, and absolutely. That’s just marriage. You

are supposed to surrender to the person you love — that’s what love is. So, as long as the feeling is mutual, I don’t see what the problem is. Not much of a conundrum, if you ask me.”

Sunny just stared at her, completely stunned.

That… was definitely not a perspective he had ever considered before, or had even imagined before.

It was entirely ridiculous, bringing down his mystical existential dilemma down to earth so thoroughly that it suddenly seemed ordinary and mundane, not even worth mentioning.

As if there was no dilemma at all.

’That’s just… what love is?’

Surrendering to someone...

Trusting them completely.

Sunny stared at Effie some more, then slowly shook his head.

”You’re a insane woman, you know that?”

Effie scoffed.

”Oh, really? Remind me, which one of us frequents a psychiatrist?”

Sunny took a deep breath and looked down.

He really did not want to answer…

But sadly, he had to.

”...I do.”

Effie nodded with satisfaction.

”Exactly, so don’t go around pointing fingers at people… especially at insane people. They might bite it off.”

Grinning, she raised her cup and finished her tea.

Outside, a stormy night was falling upon Mirage City.