A lonely Shadow

Mirth, contempt, loathing, hatred, anguish. All these emotions flashed through Sunny's eyes as he laid eyes on Cassie's form. He couldn't farm her directly in the building, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to do to the woman. Making her suffer like he had was impossible, lest he travel through the hollow mountains only to abandon her there and return.

So instead, he chose the easier option. He kept walking, his shoulder colliding with hers roughly as he brushed past her. If he turned around, he knew his scythe would make it's way to her throat in moments, he desperately wanted to turn around. With just one fluid swing, he could take everything from her.

All the future experiences she could have had, the happiness, joyful moments she would have shared with Nephis. He could rip them away from her in just one moment, and where would that leave him? Even if he killed Nephis, even if he waited till she got all she wanted, just to rip it away from her. Where would that leave him?

He wasn't happy, he trusted nobody, he cared little. Where was he left in this equation? These thoughts surged through Sunny's mind as he moved to walk past Cassie. Then, he was stopped by an almost imperceptible tug. Someone was pulling his shirt from behind to get his attention.

Spinning around on his heel, he saw Cassie with her arm weakly attached to his shirt. A bitter smile appeared on Sunny's face. This wasn't the place for words, and so he simply led her out the building with him. He walked briskly, not paying much heed to Cassie's ability to match his pace yet she did anyway.

Soon enough, Sunny found himself far from the barracks that had been made his temporary home. He was standing across from Cassie, his fist curled into a tight ball. His knuckles had become paler than usual, and he was sure without the marble shell he would have drawn blood.

Sunny wanted to hit her, to punch her in the face, to bathe in her blood until he was satisfied yet his body wouldn't move. "What do you want, make it quick" Sunny's voice came as a mixture between a pained groan and a growl, he wasn't sure what he was feeling but it wasn't pleasant.

"I just want to know, what would it take for you to give up on killing Nephis?" Cassie's question elicited a chuckle from Sunny, then full blown laughter as he closed the distance between the two in seconds. Placing a hand on her forehead, Sunny tilted his head to the side with curiosity.

"Are you high? Maybe you're sick or you're under a mind-hex. Of all the things you wanted to speak to me about, it's that!?" Laughter erupted from his lungs once more as he slammed his fist into the ground. Cracks spread across the floor like spiderwebs as Cassie shifted to balance herself, remaining silent in the face of Sunny's outburst.

"I...am not sure there is anything I can do to make you forgive me once more. And I'm not sure if breaking your chains would make you able to tolerate my existence, but this is something I must be sure of."

Cassie's voice was sombre yet resolute, soon enough, she felt the familiar cold steel of Sunny's weapons placed against her throat. Sunny's arm was far more balanced and trained compared to their initial encounter, she felt his blade brushing past the hairs of her neck as she continued to hold her impassive expression.

"Of course! You're never sure about anything else, are you!? You dumb wench, you're never sure when it's time to tell your friend that you might make him a slave, you're never sure when it's time to be useful in a fight! But always when it comes to your stupid excuse of a master, you're always fucking sure!"

Taking a breathe to gather himself, Sunny allowed his blade to grow blunt as he pressed it further against her neck. He wanted her to feel how easily he could kill her; he wanted her to suffer with the knowledge in mind. Cassie's continued silence only served to infuriate him further, her lip trembled slightly as she continued to shift her weight from one foot to another.

Then finally, she broke.

"What was I supposed to do! Only I can see the future, only I know what's going to happen! I'm the one burdened with the knowledge and I had a choice! It had to be either one of you, there wasn't any way out of it!"

Finally, Sunny's laughter stopped. His eyes grew cold as he extended his hand and ripped off Cassie's blindfolds. Grabbing her by the face, he pressed his forehead against hers. Forcefully. Like how Nephis had once done with him, except there was no comfort to be found in Sunny's grasp.

"Look through my eyes! Look at yourself! See how pathetic you are! You're pathetic! You knew my fate was to beat Nephis and leave, yet you could change it! Don't spout this bullshit about how there wasn't a way! There was! Abandoning me was easier because you were WEAK!"

Shoving her backwards, Sunny allowed his scythe to sharpen once more as he swung it down at Cassie. Cassie summoned her rapier to deflect the blow however the force of it sent her flying to the side. Leaping in the air, Sunny landed down in front of her, sending cracks flying through the ground with immense speed.

"Weakness! You held on to Nephis like a leech, you're loyalty is just surprise that she didn't rip off a parasite like you!" He swung his scythe once more, Cassie jumped over it however a thin like of blood traced its way across her palm as she failed to completely evade the blow. Suddenly, Sunny's attacks stopped. He sighed and summoned the sin of solace.

In seconds, whispers flooded into his mind. He knew that if he cut Cassie with this for even a moment, she too would be continuously subjected to the whispers of the cursed sword until he dismissed it. Sunny contemplated what to do with the blade, before dismissing it.

'Artificial anguish isn't good enough for you.'

Sighing, Sunny turned around to notice a presence flying through the air and slamming itself between him and Cassie. As always, Nephis was present whenever Cassie needed it the most. This wasn't a battle he wanted to engage in, if he wanted to, he would. But this wasn't the time.

Extending his free hand, the shadows came into place and formed a short dagger. Sunny threw it to Cassie lightly, not showing any killing intent in hopes that Nephis doesn't intercept the blade. She grabbed it in one fluid motion before her eyes flashed with confusion.

Shrugging, Sunny stared at her with a smile on his face and turned his attention to Nephis. "Cassie wants to know what she can do to get me to forgive you, now granted, after the pitiful excuses she gave me I'm reluctant to give her a way out, but I'll do it anyway."

Nephis snapped her head backwards as she glared at Cassie. It had been the first time she had ever done such a thing, expressing anger was not one of Nephis strong suits yet in this situation she felt like she had no choice. Cassie had gone behind her back and spoken to Sunny, knowing full well he might kill her for what purpose?

"Why did you go speak to him? You knew he could have killed you!" Nephis hissed, Cassie could only remain silent as Sunny clicked his tongue impatiently. "Nephis, I'm sure you also would want to know too so I won't give you any more suspense."

The next words that escaped Sunny's lips, changed the courses of their fates forever.

"Cassie, if you kill yourself right now, I will act like nothing ever happened between Nephis and I, like she isn't my master, and I was never betrayed. You live and kill for your master right!? Now it's time to die for her."