Beams of light made their way through the shattered and decrepit form of the crimson spire. Standing before it stood the pale and bloodied form of Sunny, his arm was almost entirely mangled by an earlier blow he had received in the battle however his blood stubbornly refused to escape his body.
Before him, lay the battered and bloodied form of Nephis. Their fight had been harrowing, Sunny had even considered summoning Saint to end the battle immediately however he wasn't interested in hurting Nephis any further. The sight of her mangled form brought a tear to his eye as he contemplated his choices.
"I don't need to leave you behind you know, we can stay here and survive in the dream realm together." Sunny's voice was wistful, hope hinted throughout his tone as he watched Nephis slowly rise to her feet. Flames licking her alabaster skin healing it as she stood with baited breathes.
"We can't, one of us might die here. It's better one of us survives than none of us." Nephis voice emanated with resolve, her heart steadied herself for what she was about to do. Sunny's face flared with anger upon hearing her reasoning.
"Who's to say you survive here! I'm not going to let you suffer through this alone!" Sunny roared, he turned his back and prepared to destroy the gateway. Trapping the two of them together in the dream realm forever, however Nephis next words echoed throughout his head, shattering his heart as they escaped her lips.
"Stop, lost from light." Sunny's eyes snapped backwards; a look of betrayal painted across his face as he willed his body to move. The sickly-sweet feeling of obeying his new master overwhelmed his mind as his hands shook with effort, yet they refused to move.
"How did you know?" He asked with gritted teeth, Nephis lip trembled as she willed herself to reply, "Cassie told me, she had a vision of when you killed Harper." If Sunny's heart could be wrenched into pieces further, it had just happened.
He summoned the midnight shard into his hand, preparing himself to end Nephis life. Spinning on his heel, he swung the ghostly stiletto downwards at her head however his arm stopped mere inches away from her eye. He couldn't do it; he lacked the resolve.
"You...you could have convinced me to stay! I might have listened to you!" Sunny roared, his voice cracking as he stared Nephis in the eye. She remained motionless as her flames healed the rest of her wounds, slowly but surely, she made her way past him. Tears pouring from her eyes in droves.
"I couldn't bet my life on that! I have things to achieve Sunny, all the people who died for me to achieve my dreams cannot see me fail here! I...need to do this, even if it means leaving you behind!" Nephis cried, her voice shattering under the weight of what she had done.
Sunny's arm twitched, the midnight shard lunging for her throat however Nephis was quick to react "Stay where you are until I leave." Her voice was broken yet resolved, she continued to walk forward in slow, steady steps as she finally reached the gateway. Only one step away from freedom.
"You made me your slave! You pathetic witch, you're no better than the rest of them! I trusted you with everything, I killed for you! I almost died for you!" Sunny roared; his body unable to move as he gritted his teeth until blood was drawn. Nephis didn't look backwards, instead she simply took a step into the gateway.
Leaving Sunny behind.
Nephis eyes snapped open as she took in the environment from her pod. The white walls of the room remained as pristine as ever as the full weight of what she did finally came down on her. However, Nephis fought back her tears as she made her way out of her pod.
After being offered quick and hollow praise by the academy staff, Nephis finally made her way next to Sunny's pod, where Cassie stood with tears cascading from her face. Sunny's face was pristine and peaceful, his body not portraying the anguish he was going through.
"I...betrayed him. I made him my slave." Nephis coughed out, her voice reverberating with guilt as Cassie quickly fell into her arms. They gripped each other tightly as Cassie willed herself to speak "I asked him if he'd protect you, he said no. I knew it wouldn't change my decision, but I asked anyway, trying to give myself an excuse! Now he's stuck there alone and afraid!"
Her wails were muffled by Nephis shirt as she continued to stare down at Sunny's body. She knew he would survive, and when he emerged, he would have nothing on his mind except plotting the death of Nephis and Cassie. Being the spiteful fellow he is, nothing would change his mind, his resolve would never waver.
Nephis heart told her she was ready for it; she was ready to receive his hatred and his anguish no matter how much it hurt her. She would embrace him with open arms and be there for him when he needed it, because she knew she wasn't there now.
But a small part of her, wanted to run Sunny through with her blade. She didn't want him to suffer any further, putting him out of his misery seemed almost the humane thing to do, however she strangled those thoughts. Murdering any weakness within her as she forced her eyes away from Sunny's sleeping form, she had to make this betrayal matter.
A year had passed, Sunny was unsure if anyone still remembered his name. Likely being forgotten as time passed him by. He couldn't help but laugh to himself as he trudged through the lonely streets of the dark city, slaughtering any foe who dared make its presence known.
He was right! There wasn't a single soul in the two worlds who cared if he lived or died.
Turning to Saint, who had been his only form of company for the past year, Sunny shot her a warm smile. "Despite everything, you're still here huh Saint?" his voice carried a tone of humour that supressed his internal anguish, each time he spoke he begged for a human voice to reply and each time he was disappointed.
He remembered the feeling of developing a new core. The sharp pain that tore through his chest as his soul was destroyed and rebuilt, one harrowing experience after another plaguing his senses as he watched Nephis form retreat from his sight.
Sunny didn't quite know what he was going to do with Changing Star yet, most of his encounters with other living beings were violent so he expected it to follow the same trend. He had gained an insidious serpent in the form of a tattoo that coiled around his body, allowing him to flow a mystical energy through his body that he couldn't quite grasp.
'That's soul essence huh' he thought to himself. Turning his head to the left, he observed the form of a gigantic metal spider encroaching on his position. He wasn't making an attempt to be stealthy however in all two worlds he was sure his presence wasn't the most noticeable.
Despite this, he readied the midnight shard and prepared to fight. Ducking into the shadows, he weaved his way through the legs of the fallen beast before thrusting his sword upwards. This wasn't enough to pierce the creatures metallic carapace however as it quickly moved it's arms towards its underbelly to gore the sneaky assailant.
However, that was a lapse in judgement. Saint appeared from above a nearby building with a great sword in hand. Using the power of gravity as well as her own strength, Saint slammed her sword into the head of the spider, ending it's life immediately.
A small shockwave emanated through the ground as Sunny stared at it's corpse indifferently. "That's dinner Saint!" he chirped excitedly before cutting off pieces of the spider's flesh to use as sustenance. Instinctively, his head snapped east as a tear within existence made itself known to him.
It was a seed for the second nightmare.
Sunny's face split open with murderous glee, east marked freedom from this hell. Turning towards Saint, he stretched out his hand for a high five however he was only met with a puzzled gaze from the taciturn knight. Grumbling under his breath Sunny put his wilderness survival skills to good use, lighting a flame and cooking the spider he had killed.
"Freedom, I'll be free from here soon. I'll see people again! I've almost forgotten what they've looked like, what about you Saint?" he asked, turning to Saint only to be met with another silent reply. Laughing to himself, Sunny slapped his knee lightly. "I know, I wonder if I can buy a house with these soul shards too!"
Only madness filled his tone.