A lonely Shadow

Sunny was only a few meters away from the exit of the colosseum before he collapsed onto the floor with a hand gripping his chest as though it would flee from him should he release his hold for even a second. Before he even had the chance to close his eyes, Nephis was at his side in moments.

Calming, warm, benevolent flames passed over his body in a frantic attempt to heal him, however though they could close his mild physical wounds he had endured from his fight with Morgan, what was happening to him was far beyond that. It was something far simpler yet incomprehensibly more difficult to deal with.

Lifting Sunny's unconscious body up in her arms, Nephis bolted out of the colosseum. Kai, Effie, and Cassie quickly followed after her as they quickly made their way into the PTV. The consequences of Sunny's duel with Morgan didn't matter for now, no matter how dire they may be, all that mattered was making sure he was safe.

Usually pristine and at ease in his sleep, Sunny's face was contorted into a horrified grimace even as he slept, his chest rose and fell rapidly as his heart slammed against his chest with such force even Cassie could hear it. Kai knew he was speeding down the roads of the NQSC, but he didn't care. His eyes remained focused on the road ahead without even glancing backwards for a fraction of a second, despite all his heart roaring at him to do so.

"What happened to him? One moment he was ripping into Morgan like a madman, the next he's like...this!" Effie exclaimed, panic and confusion marring her features as she studied Sunny's shivering form. Nephis was at his side, gripping Sunny's body as he convulsed and shivered in her arms, turning to Effie, she struggled to keep her voice stable.

"I think he had a panic attack." Nephis mumbled, despite her low tone, everyone around her felt the impact of those words more than any blow. Effie's expression became downtrodden as she became shocked into sombre silence, this time, it was Cassie's turn to speak.

 "A panic attack? Why? No, more importantly, why now?" despite everything, she still cared for Sunny. She had no right not to, he had been put through hell itself because of her own actions and the guilt continued to tear through her every day. Watching Sunny collapse onto the floor the way he did shook something inside of her, although she didn't observe the fight through her own eyes, the horror was still all the same.

"I noticed something was off when he entered the colosseum, I just thought he might be nervous." Turning to the drivers seat, Nephis eyes flashed with anger as she continued speaking "Can't this thing go any faster!" Without offering a word of reply, Kai simply sped up, reaching speeds far faster than he knew were legal.

Soon enough, they were in Sunny's home. Surprisingly, he didn't have any defences around his home, why would he? After all, as long as he was in the house that was all the defence that was needed. Despite that, the lack of physical defences didn't mean that the house was left unguarded.

As they approached the door, Sunny's body still hanging limply in Nephis arms, only shuddering slightly as pangs of pain continued to flash through Sunny's expression, the light around his home dimmed. In a moment, Saint appeared from the shadows, her blade held in one arm and her shield in the other.

Despite her lack of speech, the look in her eyes portrayed all the emotion that was needed. The glowing red light that her eyes emitted was far deeper and more insidious than it had regularly been. Extending her blade, she pointed it at the cohort, barring their entry into the home.

Upon noticing that Sunny was in Nephis arms, Saint blurred to her side and attempted to snatch her master away from the hands of the would-be intruders only for her attempt to be repelled by Effie. "We're here to take care of Sunny so piss off!" she exclaimed, halting Saint in her tracks.

She wasn't sure if Saint understood what she said, or if we was merely studying her facial expression to determine her honesty, however the look of rage in her eyes dimmed slightly as she stepped to the side allowing the cohort access to Sunny's home.

Nephis paced her way to Sunny's bedroom with him in her arms, gently laying him onto the soft mattress before studying his expression further. For the first time since she had met the man, Sunny seemed genuinely terrified. Despite his eyes being closed, his lip quivered, and his muscles tensed, it appeared like he was fighting something in his sleep.

"Shouldn't that echo protect him from Nightmares?" she thought aloud, as she sat on the side of the bed and continued to glance at Sunny's form. As time passed, his condition only got worse so much so that Nephis had to hold him down to stop him from thrashing his way out of the bed.

Eventually, the convulsions stopped. Sunny's face returned back to the pristine and tranquil state that Nephis was so familiar to seeing as he slept, she extended a hand to his face, cupping it with her palm as she ran her thumb across his skin. It was smooth and soft, addictive to the touch.

Unconsciously, her hands moved to his hair. She loved the way it felt as it fell through her fingers, the saddening part of it all was she would only be able to have such close contact with Sunny was as he slept. However, that didn't matter to her, she continued to run her hands through his hair till the door behind her creaked open.

There stood Cassie, she had taken off her blindfold and used it to wipe the beads of sweat that continued to grow on her brow as she studied Sunny's sleeping form. "How is he?" she asked, Nephis turned to her with a slight smile and replied "He's been through the worst of it, now he's just sleeping. For someone so...violent he's oddly peaceful as he sleeps."

Cassie took a moment to borrow Nephis senses as she studied Sunny's sleeping expression herself, she found herself agreeing with the sentiment however that only raised more questions in her mind. "What...happened to him. With Morgan that is. One second, they went from being equals and the next he's ripping into her and the blood...oh gods the blood."

Remembering the sight made Cassie weak at the knees as she leaned onto the wall of Sunny's room to keep herself stable. Nephis didn't turn away from Sunny's sleeping form, her hand still unconsciously running itself through his hair as she gave her reply.

"Sunny's taken a liking to killing people, it's so much that he won't even fight nightmare creatures himself and only attack people. The exact reason why eludes me, he says that's it's his way of seeing people at their most honest."

A sad sigh escaped her lips as her hand made its way back onto Sunny's face, her fingers tracing his skin slowly "He said he wishes everyone has his flaw, I can't blame him for it really. But it isn't a favourable situation to be in, even for me that's the first time seeing him so violent."

An uncomfortable silence settled itself across the room as Cassie slowly made her way outside, surely going to guide Effie and Kai out as well to leave the two of them alone to their troubles. Hours flew by, unconsciousness sweet embrace claimed Nephis despite her efforts as she found herself laying on Sunny's chest.

Sunny's eyes shot open with a jolt of electricity, he shot up from his bed, startling Nephis awake as his eyes frantically scanned the surroundings. "Stop, fucking chanting!" Sunny growled as he placed a hand on his head, Nephis who had quickly been forced awake tentatively stretched her hand out to Sunny's head, attempting to calm him down in any way she could.

"Sunny, what chant are you talking about?" she asked, as her hand slowly made her way onto his head. Sunny wasn't focusing on her, he didn't even acknowledge her presence in the slightest even despite her hand gently placing itself on his skin. Despite his lack of acknowledgement, his flaw wasn't so lenient as a reply burned at the back of his throat.

"Fucking glory, those bastards keep chanting that vile word! They made me fight like a dog for their pleasure!" Nephis eyes sharpened, her hand pulled Sunny's hand down from his face as she gripped it tightly. "Valor made you fight for them against your will?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.

Sunny nodded his head, his lip quivered as scenes from his second nightmare flashed through his head once more. "My second nightmare, it was a vile odious thing. I even got to encounter the ancestors of this wretched clan! They made me fight like a dog, hah! It was worse than slavery, I was a dog! I wasn't even seen as a human! I was whipped till I bled; I fought everything till everything around me died!"

Sighing to himself, Sunny tried to curl in on himself but Nephis grip on his face tightened, making him lock eyes with her. "That witch! She killed Elyus! I couldn't protect anything!" Sunny's pained groans turned into pained whispers as a crooked smile made its way onto his features once more.

A low laugh escaped his lips, slowly growing louder as he locked eyes with Nephis once more. "I'm so pathetic aren't I."