A lonely Shadow

It had only been a day since the three of them had their fateful encounter. Since then, all three had taken a temporary leave of absence from their missions to Antarctica and decided to visit their homes. Thankfully, Sunny's performance against the Corrupted Terror was enough to buy them three days worth of rest.

Sunny had been busy during these days; he had managed to reshape the Sin of Solace into a beautiful scythe which had become his primary weapon for combat. Although the whispers from the odious wraith were incessant and annoying, he had at least managed to become resistant to most of it, choosing to ignore the creature as he went into battle.

Now, he found himself sitting in his room, in the dark, alone. Just like he had always been. Sunny was contemplating Nephis actions in the past few days, as well as Cassie's. Her decision by all rights was the right one, Sunny knew that Cassie going so far was a step in the right direction but that didn't mean he liked it.

If only Cassie had that mentality since the first day they met, neither Sunny nor Nephis would have had to fight in the forgotten shore, he was sure Cassie would have found a way out. Her excuses were laced with insincerity and weakness, Cassie knew too that there were other ways out, but they were too difficult for someone of her strength to pursue.

Sighing to himself, Sunny let his mind wander to Nephis. Her actions were the most unexpected thing he had seen in all his years of living; he was sure that Nephis would try and heal him but to go so far as to kill Cassie was something he hadn't expected. Nephis had risked everything for him, she almost severed her very ties to humanity just to save him.

That felt...strange to know.

Descending into the shadows, Sunny extended his shadow sense till he located Nephis. He needed to talk to her; his mind was so clouded he couldn't even think of revenge. Standing on his roof, he balled his hands into fists as he remembered the torturous experiences he had gone through in the dream realm.

'It isn't fair' Sunny thought to himself. What was he supposed to do if Nephis changed? What was he supposed to do with his rage, his anger, his solitude, his madness? His hatred for Nephis had provided him with direction, yet seeing her stray away from the woman he had resolved himself to kill sent pangs of pain resounding through his being.

Before Sunny even knew it, he was next to Nephis. She was seated on her roof watching the descending sun as Sunny calmly took a seat behind her. Their backs were facing each other, not allowing the other to see their faces, their vulnerabilities that they knew they hid.

"You risked it all for me." Sunny stated, he didn't expect a response, he didn't even know how Nephis would respond. And yet, she did. "I did." Was all she said, her tone was soft and pained. Sunny knew how much fighting Cassie had hurt her; in all two worlds he was the only one who could resonate with her pain to such an extent.

"You changed...from the person I wanted to kill." Sunny turned to Nephis, shifting and taking a seat next to her, his eyes studying her impassive expression. "I've been so focused on killing you, the Nephis who was pathetic and a coward. But you've gone ahead and changed, and now it feels like I have nothing to do with this hatred of mine."

Nephis turned to Sunny, her expression unreadable. "You can't say I've changed just yet; I'm still your master. Wait until I break you from these vile chains and then you can say that." Sunny shook his head; he extended an arm and allowed his hand to rest on Nephis face.

Her skin was smooth and soft to the touch, Nephis eyes burned with confusion and yet she didn't attempt to resist. "If it weren't you, I wouldn't have waisted any time to kill whoever was my master. Even regardless of what happened in the forgotten shore. It appears you're...special to me."

Before Sunny or Nephis knew it, her hand had placed itself on his shoulder, gently pushing him down onto his back as she got on top of him. Nephis face was only mere inches away from Sunny's, her breathe mingled with his own as he watched her eyes flare with passion.

"I don't know if it's ok for you to feel this way. Even after all I've put you through, all we've put you through. You were dying, constantly, all alone. You had nobody to serve as your tether to humanity, the only person who could have done that had betrayed you!"

As Nephis spoke, tears cascaded from her eyes and fell on Sunny's face. Sunny continued to stare up at Nephis as he allowed a slight smile to grace his features, raising a hand, he wiped Nephis face of her tears once more and continued to stare at her.

"I know, it happened. I'm not sure if it's ok for me to feel this way either, yet I feel like that anyway. Maybe you haven't changed, and I'm just being naive like I've always been. But I don't feel like that's true, my mind and heart are telling me that you're my person."

Her lip trembled as Sunny finished his statement, she didn't know what to say, or how to respond. How could Sunny act like this? One moment he was screaming bloody murder for her and the next he thought she was his special person. Yet, despite this her heart guided her movements.

She lowered herself further onto Sunny, till their lips were only a few inches apart. "I'm...unsure if this will last. But for now, can you just let this happen?" Her voice was meek, Sunny had never heard her use such a tone before and yet it could only elicit a smile from him as he leaned upwards and captured Nephis lips in his own.

They remained in each others' arms for what felt like hours, their lips never parting from each other even when they needed to breathe. Nephis pulled backwards slightly, taking a moment to breathe in once more before pressing her lips onto Sunny's once more.

A part of his mind wanted to resist, after all, the sin of solace was merely a more insidious and cynical part of himself. Yet he didn't. His body was overwhelmed with pleasure as he enjoyed the warmth that Nephis offered him, a smile never left his face as he continued to look into Nephis eyes, even minutes after the kiss concluded.

Nephis fell on his chest with a thump, all of her pent-up emotions drained from her body with a singular kiss. In mere moments, Nephis had fallen asleep on his chest. Sunny repositioned himself before lifting Nephis off the ground with ease, the slight blush he wore never leaving his face.

Making his way into her house, Sunny laid her gently onto the bed and moved to exit but Nephis arm wrapped around his own and in one absurdly strong movement she flung him onto the bed next to her, coiling her hands around him to prevent all possibility of escape.

"You're staying the night."