A lonely Shadow

Cassie's arrival marked the beginning of Valor's early expeditions into Antarctica. Whether it was simply to test their capabilities in real combat scenario's or to actually save people Sunny was unsure, however what he was certain of was Cassie's presence being an irritant he couldn't stand.

Their arrival to Antarctica was quite swift, they had ridden on Saint Tyris all the way there before crash landing in the middle of a hoard. There was a corrupted terror at the rear, a gigantic jade beetle which Tyris had decided to make her opponent. This left the corrupted devils and monsters to the three members of a long-broken cohort.

Nephis turned to Sunny, plans to take down the hoard already being concocted in her mind however Sunny wasn't making eye contact with her. His eyes were firmly focused on the corrupted terror that was currently in heated battle with Tyris, although Tyris outclassed the creature in every physical aspect, she still had been unable to kill the creature due to it's tough metal carapace guarding it's internal organs.

Summoning Saint from his shadow, Sunny pointed towards Nephis, a silent command being relayed before turning into a shadow and making his way past the horde. "I guess he doesn't want to fight the nightmare creatures with us?" Nephis question only elicited an awkward nod from Saint as she hit her shield with her sword twice before rushing into the battlefield.

Cassie remained at the back, picking off any creatures which managed to pass by Nephis and Saints slaughter however her focus was elsewhere. She too had her eyes intensely focused on the Corrupted Terror, unknown to anyone present, a silent plan flashed through her mind as she continued to fight.

Passing through the shadows was easy for Sunny, however he had no reliable way to enter the air and meet the Terror to kill it. Usually, he had Saint to act as a launchpad into the air, however, she had other uses elsewhere.

He had received Morgan's war bow as a reward for besting her in combat, but comparing his skill in archery to Kai's would be insulting to the beautiful archer. All Sunny could manage was a single, controlled shot and even then, the creature had to be stationary.

Placing his hands on the floor, Sunny called upon the rogue shadows formed by the jagged landscape of Antarctica, although he was sure nothing, he could conjure would be strong enough to stop a Corrupted Terror or bring it to the floor, he was at least fairly certain he could stall it.

Chains burst from the floor, barrelling upwards towards the Corrupted Terror. A swipe of Saint Tyris paw sent the Jade Beetle flying downwards, however before it could steady itself and resume the engagement, the insidious chains coiled themselves around it's body.

The beetle thrashed and shrieked as it attempted to untangle itself however the chains stood firm, finally, with a concentrated burst of speed it flew upwards. Sunny's shadow chains groaned and quickly became undone under the immense strength of the creature, but Sunny was a step paster.

A lone arrow flew through the air, lodging itself into the wings of the creature. Although Sunny had not the slightest clue of anything related to anatomy, he was sure that any creature which flew was bound to have their wings as their weakest point.

Focusing, Sunny poured his essence into the [Burden of Peace] enchantment of Morgan's war bow. Slowly but surely, the gigantic Jade beetle descended to the floor. Now, it was a contest of what would last longer: Sunny's essence, or the Jade beetle's stamina.

Thankfully, those weren't the only two factors in the battle as Tyris flew down like a bullet, slamming her beak into the centre of the Jade Beetle's carapace. She had flown high in the sky, tucking in her wings to decrease air resistance all for this single obliterating blow.

Yet, the Jade beetle still lived. Four of it's legs had been obliterated under the crushing force of gravity and Tyris combined, yet it still possessed another eight to keep itself upright. It's movements were slow and cumbersome, if Sunny could see it's eyes, he was sure it felt dazed.

"Now, to kill it." Sunny mumbled, as he made his way towards the creature. Thankfully, it was too busy attempting to survive Tyris continued onslaught to notice the human sliding between it's legs, cocking a bow backwards and aiming it at it's cracked carapace.

Pulling the bow backwards with all his might, Sunny felt the bow groan under his immense strength as he poured all of his five shadows into his arms. In a moment, everything exploded as Sunny released an arrow directly into the creature.

The force of the blow was so much that it sent the beetle a few feet into the air, as the arrow passed through it's body. Sunny felt the essence leave his body like a tidal wave as he swayed on his feet, gritting them and forcing his mind to focus. In any moment, the beetle's gigantic body was going to fall down on him.

He lacked the essence to turn into a shadow, or even use shadow step, so the only other option was to run. One foot was placed in front of the other in rapid succession as Sunny bolted like his life depended on it, because it did. He didn't even have time to listen to the spell's addictive voice announcing his kill as he blitzed past the beetle's legs, which acted like a cage trapping him inside.

Sunny's run turned into a roll as he leapt from beneath the creature, slamming into the ground with no focus to control his trajectory as he soon ended up colliding into a piece of upturned rock and leaving a gigantic dent in it. His eyes lost focus, despite his lack of direct involvement in the battle, he felt like is body was being torn apart from the inside.

Sliding to the floor, Sunny took a moment to watch the battle continue to rage on. He was quite certain Nephis and Saint could kill thirty beasts of corrupted rank, so he felt no need to go and save them. Even if he wasn't sure, saving Nephis wasn't his duty. They weren't the same as they used to be.

Thoughts of the Forgotten Shore brought a bitter smile to Sunny's face as he remembered breaking his hand to fight off the pain of that odious tree. Or when he almost got into a fight in the dark city for Cassie's sake. Memories flashed through his head in seconds as he watched Nephis and Cassie fight side by side.

'I wasn't enough for Cassie to choose me, and I wasn't enough for Nephis either ha!' Sunny thought to himself, his lips parted once more as a laugh escaped. It was one filled with fatigue and mirth, yet it was a laugh, nonetheless. His laughter was cut off by Tyris form making her way towards him.

Despite everything, despite her dishevelled appearance, Tyris presence held firm, in fact, after witnessing her monstrous power in combat, Sunny was sure her presence had increased in his mind. Tyris crouched down to meet his eyes, causing an awkward expression to make its way onto Sunny's face.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked, her tone laced with confusion yet still the dire authority which it always had. Sunny shrugged "I just thought of something hilarious" he replied, turning his head back to Nephis, who was almost done with her side of the battle.

Tyris only nodded, before raising herself to full height once more and resting her back against the rock that Sunny had made his resting place. "You have my thanks for helping me take down that creature" she commented idly, without even taking a moment to glance at Sunny's form. Sunny shrugged lightly before replying "It's fine, plus I got a sword out of it. Speaking of which, is it possible to get the sword reforged into a scythe?"

He turned his head upwards to Tyris, who only gave him a nod before silence settled between the two warriors. Nephis and Cassie quickly made their way towards the two as Sunny dismissed Saint, transforming serpent into a scythe, Sunny used it to push himself off the floor so he could meet the two in a less pitiful form.

"We're all done on our end. Sunny, did you get anything new from killing the corrupted terror?" Nephis voice caused Sunny to raise an eyebrow. 'She knew.' Before nodding his head. "I did, but you can just check yourself." With that, Sunny disappeared into Saint Tyris shadow.

The infuriated grimace that flashed across his face when he laid eyes on Cassie didn't go unnoticed, however it did go unmentioned as they made their way back to the barracks of Valor. Tyris separated from the two, likely going to report the details of the mission to someone of relevance as Sunny emerged from her shadow.

Not even sparing the two women a glance, he made his way towards his training grounds before analysing the runes of the new sword he had just gotten. In all honesty, the sword was beautiful. It was a beautiful Shuang Shou Jian, a straight, thin double-edged great sword with a narrow guard and a graceful blade that gradually tapered to a sharp tip.

Giving it a few practiced swings, Sunny noticed the whispers that arrived as he summoned the weapon. They were loud and shared his voice as he turned around and searched for the source of them. Each word that escaped from their mouth was vile and a bitter reminder of Sunny's failures, eventually, he just laughed them off as he analysed his runes.

Memory Rank: Transcendent.

Memory Tier: V.

Memory Type: Weapon.

Memory Description: [This blade is a whisper of Ariel, the Demon of Dread, who turned a beautiful monster into a queen and gave her a sinister gift of forbidden knowledge.]

Memory Enchantments: [Sinister Whisper], [Perfect Jade], [Omen of Dread], [Hideous Truth], [Cursed].

Although these enchantments were intriguing, what truly caught Sunny's attention was the [Cursed] enchantment. Which he deemed as the source of the incessant whispers that refused to leave his ears. As his focus shifted onto it, a voice lingered in the back of his head, sounding eerily similar to his own.

"Look at you, pathetic, loathsome wretch who can't even kill his own master out of petty pride. You're just as much of a slave as the blind wretch you incessantly berate. You're a fiend, a reliant Mongrel who will allow himself to be treated like a dog for a sense of Kinship. Think about it, why shouldn't you kill yourself. You won't even be missed!"

A low growl escaped Sunny's lips; an unconscious reply escaped his lips as he turned into the open air. "Shut the fuck up!" Finally focusing, Nephis was standing behind him. A confused expression settling upon her face as she watched Sunny sigh and dismiss the blade.

"I'm not talking to you, what do you even want from me anyway?" he spat, his eyes blazing with anger as he paced towards Nephis. Nephis eyes blazed in response as she met his glare, never taking her eyes off his own as she responded in a calm tone.

"Don't pretend like you're angry with me right now, something's bothering you." Sunny gritted his teeth as he locked eyes with her once more before brushing past her and making his way out the training hall. Nephis didn't let him leave so easily however, as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him backwards.

Their eyes met once more, Sunny shoved her backwards and descended into the shadows. Nephis watched him descend as her face flashed with emotion, she wanted to speak yet her lips didn't part as Sunny finally made his way out of her sight.

Soon enough, Sunny found himself aimlessly wandering through the halls of Valor, the Sin of Solace had only taken one sentence to completely throw off his mood. Balling his fists, he quickened his pace as he brushed past several awakened roughly.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Cassie.