Chapter Text
At the top of the Crimson Spire, a shadow and a Nephilim fought to see who would escape that hell. Both wanted to leave, but both also wanted the other to leave.
…
“Go away… lost from the light.”
The world stopped for Sunny as she felt a searing cold run down her spine. Something stirred deep within her soul. A void he didn't know existed was suddenly filled with an irresistible warmth, an eternal comfort, a bitter and suffocating submission.
His True Name has been spoken.
Before his rational mind could process it, Sunny's instinct took over, propelling his body forward with relentless speed, so fast that for a split second only a black blur could be seen covering the distance between him and Nephis.
He gripped his most deadly weapon at that moment, his phantom dagger—the Moonlight Fragment—drawing a deadly line straight into Nephis's eye.
“Stop,” he released it the instant she was killed.
Immediately, Sunny was petrified in the instant after those words. Neither the inertia of his speed nor the brute force of his advance could break that command. It was an unstoppable order. So absolute it was frightening just to witness.
The Moonlight Fragment still vibrated millimeters from Nephis's face when Sunny stopped, as if it were a prelude to Sunny's hatred in that instant.
Sunny stared at her in utter shock. He tried to move his hand, but his fingers only trembled, trapped in an invisible cage. Hatred and betrayal bloodshot his eyes as he looked at Nephis before he... she wouldn't meet his gaze.
“H-how?!” Sunny spat out forcefully, as if the word could barely escape him, as if he had made a massive effort just to think it.
She looked at him with an infinite sadness in her grey eyes. She knew the weight of what she had just done, but she could not back down now—not now that she had decided to save him, to save the person she believed she loved.
She knew that if she told him the truth, if she told him that Cassie had sacrificed him by using Sunny's secret to save her, Sunny would go after Cassie. She knew him too well to doubt that he would do it, but she did not want to risk it; she did not want to lose either of them...
“How?... With a Memory, obviously,” Nephis lied while looking at the ground, feeling an unparalleled shame.
Nephis preferred to carry Sunny's hatred rather than expose Cassie to any danger, no matter how small.
Sunny stared at her with too many feelings swirling inside him, but one outlasted the rest. Hatred—that feeling was in full bloom in his eyes, but it mixed with a tragic smile. A look of pure bitterness could be seen on his face, an image that would remain branded in Nephis's mind forever.
Sunny felt his will being betrayed by his own body. He felt a tug demanding movement, demanding him to obey, without questioning his master's command.
His body responded to the concept of "leave" that she had dictated before. With a dull ache in his chest, it forced him to stand up, turn around, and walk toward the gateway of glowing runes.
But Nephis kept speaking: “I suppose… I suppose this is goodbye. I hope you take care of yourself, that you take care of the others, of your sister, of Kai, Effie…”
Nephis said, without looking at his face. She sounded exhausted, sad.
Sunny did not want to move, but his body did. Even so, he felt his will being betrayed, his desires and personal safety vanishing in the blink of an eye.
One step.
Another step.
'Stop, damn it! STOP, SUNLESS!'
Sunny's mind screamed, but his legs ignored him.
His body treated his own will like a rock in the road, dodging it and moving forward, advancing.
The tug of the command pulled him toward the portal, pushing him with violence, with relentless and unyielding force.
'Stop... please, stop...', he begged internally, feeling the bitterness crawling under his skin. 'STOP!!' he desperately demanded of himself in one last internal scream.
'Cassie… I won't be there to support her…' Nephis thought to herself as she looked at the ground, feeling guilty, exhausted.
Nephis raised her eyes, seeing Sunny just one step away from the runic ring.
Her mind faltered for a second. Weary and weak, her mind held a simple equation: Sunny was the only person she blindly trusted to protect those she loved.
Without thinking of the ramifications, forgetting that every word of hers was now a divine decree to him, she let her desire slip out loud, like a human plea.
“And take care of Cassie for me, don't leave her alone,” she said in a tired, soft voice.
Cassie needed someone to support her after getting out of this hell. She could pretend to be strong, but it was obvious she was still suffering because of her blindness; Nephis did not want her to suffer alone, not like she had during her own childhood…
Sunny took the final step into the portal, but just before vanishing, the air around him compressed. A second tug, a new invisible and searing chain stabbed straight into his soul, intertwining with the previous command.
Sunny could only feel absolute despair as everything happened. He had ceased to have a voice at that moment—a voice to act, to think. He couldn't even turn around to look at her with even more hatred, or with whatever he was feeling in that exact instant.
A heartbeat passed.
Suddenly, Nephis frowned fiercely.
Her eyes went wide in shock as she felt the color drain from her already pale skin. She tried to speak, to correct her words.
But nothing came out of her mouth.
She had realized her mistake; her mind had faltered for a second, forgetting that Sunny would likely be forced to fulfill that as a command and not as a final favor.
She did not want to give him a command; she only wanted to ask him to take care of her friend…
she did not want Sunny to hate her even more, nor did she want to chain him; that was unacceptable.
She extended her hand with enough force that something could be heard moving in her arm, reaching in Sunny's direction, as if trying to stop him, as if trying to reach him from the ground, as if… she wanted to take it back.
“NO, WAIT—” Was the last thing Sunny heard before his body vanished from the confines of the Dream Realm, leaving behind only the void, before he managed to escape that hell everyone called… The Forgotten Shore.
***
Sunny did not know how much time had passed, but he was becoming increasingly rushed, stressed, irritated, and even annoyed.
He felt deeply betrayed. Nephis had stayed behind to save him... but she had also betrayed him and chained him against his will.
He was terrified of the idea of someone having absolute control over him.
It filled him with fear and disgust to remember how his body had moved despite himself demanding to stop, as if he were nothing more than a mere puppet with new strings that were not controlled by him.
And that drove him mad with rage.
His mouth still held a bitter taste when he decided to let the tug in his chest guide him through Shadow Step.
His vision became tinted with shadows, becoming one with the darkness.
Sunny had just come from speaking with an academy official about his experience in the Dream Realm.
During the interview, he had been unable to properly control his words due to a tug in his chest. It was a heavy, intense, and searing tug that demanded something from him; something was requiring him to fulfill an order, and he suspected perfectly well what it was.
When he emerged from the shadows, he was greeted by the electrical hums of Nephis's sleeping pod. The cold of the beginning of the year, combined with being underground, was extremely palpable in the environment; so much so that it would have made a mundane person shiver slightly.
But he was no longer a mundane. He was an Awakened.
Sunny looked at the figure submerged inside the pod.
He observed her white hair, her smooth skin, her beautiful figure... and he felt hatred, but it was a dead hatred.
It was a hatred that was present, but it demanded nothing immediate from him, which made it even more annoying.
He could kill her right there.
He could do it, though he knew that would not free him; he would remain chained since her soul would still exist, connected to his.
But he decided to restrain himself.
He knew that such an attack would not be enough to kill the Changing Star, and that she would likely manage to escape death from that hell one way or another.
After all, if that was her will... Nephis could go to hell.
Sunny had barely arrived in that room when the tug in his soul loosened noticeably.
At first, he had not given it any importance since he had Nephis right in front of him, but now that he was more aware of his surroundings, he could notice many more things.
He could notice the oppression of the room and the tension in the air, which was almost palpable.
The tug remained persistent, but now it had been reduced to a whisper... and it pointed directly at a certain girl standing behind him.
Cassie.
She was standing by the door.
She looked tense from head to toe, and her hands were tightly gripping her robe. Her breathing was heavy, tired, and nervous.
As if she could feel the weight of his gaze, she spoke in a fragile tone:
"Hey, Sunny."
Sunny sighed deeply.
He had already cursed Nephis a thousand times in his mind, and all for an excellent reason: she had chained him to Cass. She had commanded him not to leave her alone; she had commanded him to take care of her in her place.
It wasn't that he hated Cassie.
In fact, he considered her a sort of younger sister, and it wouldn't even be the first time he was in charge of protecting her.
The real problem lay in his own freedom. He deeply disliked the idea of being bound to someone, whether it was by a stupid accident or not.
Now, that damn, whimsical command from Nephis required him to remain by her side from now on.
And that irritated him to his very bones.
Fortunately, it seemed the bond was not entirely absolute. Perhaps he could physically distance himself from her and simply endure the tug on his soul; he was sure he could learn to live with that annoyance.
Sunny exhaled the air from his lungs once more and looked at his friend.
Cassie was still standing in the room, but for some reason, she had begun to shiver slightly.
Her shoulders hunched as if she were trying to make herself smaller, more invisible.
"Hey, Cass," Sunny replied.
His voice sounded restrained, stiff.
He could still feel a storm of conflicting emotions raging in his chest; he wanted to scream, he wanted to break something, he wanted to do anything but think. A part of him wanted to vent his frustration on Cassie, but he immediately held himself back.
Cassie was not to blame for anything.
"Sunny?" she asked in a bitter whisper.
Cassie gripped her hands even tighter against the fabric of her robe as she turned her head in his direction.
Panic pulsed through her features. Her blank, lightless eyes seemed to want to pierce the distance to see him, desperately trying to read his expression amidst her blindness. She was waiting for the blow. She was waiting for him to confront her. For him to scream at her.
"... Yeah, it's me," he replied, softening his tone slightly.
Looking at her, Sunny felt a small sting of guilt and awkwardness in his chest.
After all, he had never had as close a relationship with her as Nephis did. In fact, he remembered with some bitterness that Cassie had tried to distance herself from him during their final weeks on the Forgotten Shore, for no apparent reason.
Cassie parted her lips. A small line of tension crossed her brow, and she made a move to speak, but she was unable to articulate a single word.
The air caught in her throat. Finally, she closed her mouth, swallowed hard, and nodded slightly while pressing her lips into a thin line. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Seeing her narrow her eyes to hold back her tears brought Sunny that intense discomfort he always felt around other people's crying.
It wasn't that it bothered him when people expressed their pain, but rather that his complete lack of social skills left him clueless on how to act in those situations.
Sunny sighed once more and turned around to leave.
He wanted to get out of there.
She was standing by the door.
She looked tense from head to toe, and her hands were tightly gripping her robe. Her breathing was heavy, tired, and nervous.
As if she could feel the weight of his gaze, she spoke in a fragile tone:
"Hey, Sunny."
Sunny sighed deeply.
He had already cursed Nephis a thousand times in his mind, and all for an excellent reason: she had chained him to Cass. She had commanded him not to leave her alone; she had commanded him to take care of her in her place.
It wasn't that he hated Cassie.
In fact, he considered her a sort of younger sister, and it wouldn't even be the first time he was in charge of protecting her.
The real problem lay in his own freedom. He deeply disliked the idea of being bound to someone, whether it was by a stupid accident or not.
Now, that damn, whimsical command from Nephis required him to remain by her side from now on.
And that irritated him to his very bones.
Fortunately, it seemed the bond was not entirely absolute. Perhaps he could physically distance himself from her and simply endure the tug on his soul; he was sure he could learn to live with that annoyance.
Sunny exhaled the air from his lungs once more and looked at his friend.
Cassie was still standing in the room, but for some reason, she had begun to shiver slightly.
Her shoulders hunched as if she were trying to make herself smaller, more invisible.
"Hey, Cass," Sunny replied.
His voice sounded restrained, stiff.
He could still feel a storm of conflicting emotions raging in his chest; he wanted to scream, he wanted to break something, he wanted to do anything but think. A part of him wanted to vent his frustration on Cassie, but he immediately held himself back.
Cassie was not to blame for anything.
"Sunny?" she asked in a bitter whisper.
Cassie gripped her hands even tighter against the fabric of her robe as she turned her head in his direction.
Panic pulsed through her features. Her blank, lightless eyes seemed to want to pierce the distance to see him, desperately trying to read his expression amidst her blindness. She was waiting for the blow. She was waiting for him to confront her. For him to scream at her.
"... Yeah, it's me," he replied, softening his tone slightly.
Looking at her, Sunny felt a small sting of guilt and awkwardness in his chest.
After all, he had never had as close a relationship with her as Nephis did. In fact, he remembered with some bitterness that Cassie had tried to distance herself from him during their final weeks on the Forgotten Shore, for no apparent reason.
Cassie parted her lips. A small line of tension crossed her brow, and she made a move to speak, but she was unable to articulate a single word.
The air caught in her throat. Finally, she closed her mouth, swallowed hard, and nodded slightly while pressing her lips into a thin line. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Seeing her narrow her eyes to hold back her tears brought Sunny that intense discomfort he always felt around other people's crying.
It wasn't that it bothered him when people expressed their pain, but rather that his complete lack of social skills left him clueless on how to act in those situations.
Sunny sighed once more and turned around to leave.
He wanted to get out of there.
He did not want to think about the fact that Cassie already knew what would happen at the top of the Spire; she had had that vision, everyone knew Nephis would not make it out, and yet, Cassie had decided to support her best friend until the very end.
He did not want to think about any of that.
He took several firm steps toward the room's exit. He walked right past Cassie, and the sound of her restrained, choked sobs echoed in the enclosed space.
For some strange reason, hearing her cry in such a desolate manner hurt him for some reason.
Sunny grabbed the handle, opened the door, and tried to cross the threshold. However, something stopped him dead in his tracks.
A sharp, heavy, and searing pain pierced his chest. Suddenly, the tug on his soul intensified with unprecedented violence, pointing directly toward Cassie, who was making a superhuman effort to suppress her tears just a few feet away from him.
Sunny understood it immediately.
The bond was reacting to the directive.
The command did not want him to leave her alone; it required him to go back and take care of her at that exact instant.
´Screw the bond,´ he thought with pure disdain.
Forcing his own muscles, Sunny took another step into the outer hallway, determined to leave the blind girl alone in the room to prove to himself that he was still the master of his own fate.
One. Two steps.
That was the maximum distance he could travel before the mystical tug became so unbearable that it forced him to clench his jaw and tighten his fists just to keep from letting out a scream of pure pain.
Rage blinded him.
Sunny let out a heavy sigh, loaded with resentment. He clenched his fists to the point of turning his knuckles completely white from the pressure of his grip.
He locked his gaze onto the floor of the hallway, internally cursing Nephis, her lineage, and every single rune that chained him.
He hated the bond.
He hated being a damn slave.
He hated that restrictive command, and he hated Nephis with all his soul.
He hated the whole world at that moment... but he did not hate Cassie.
He glanced back toward the inside of the room.
She had just lost her pillar, her best friend.
Even if Nephis wasn't technically dead, being stranded in the Dream Realm was an identical fate.
Cassie's soul must be hurting. It must hurt her the same way it hurt him when he separated from his sister Rain, letting her have a happy life without him.
Sunny turned around slowly and took a deep breath to calm his heartbeat.
He returned to the inside of the room, and as he drew closer to Cassie, the agony in his chest began to subside, turning into a peaceful vibration.
He placed himself by her side and, in a clumsy attempt to offer moral support, put a hand on her shoulder.
Shortly before feeling the physical contact, Cassie seemed to lose the little control she had left. A spasm ran through her body and she began to shed more tears, crying in a much more open and heartbreaking way.
The situation made Sunny monumentally uncomfortable.
He did not want to be there, he did not want to deal with anyone's emotional breakdown, and he hated the entire situation, but he had no escape; the only thing left for him to do was to mentally insult the gods.
´There you have it. I already comforted her. Now leave me alone, cursed bond,´ Sunny complained to himself.
In response, his soul suffered an even stronger and more aggressive tug, as if the invisible magic were mocking his mediocrity and warning him that placing a hand on a shoulder was not enough to "take care" of someone who was broken.
´What more do you want from me?´ Sunny thought with bitterness, looking at Cassie's tear-soaked face.
´... No. I am not going to hug her. I completely refuse. That would be way too awkward for both of us´.
The bond seemed to perceive his resistance and applied a painful sting to his soul, a clear threat of making him suffer physical agony if he persisted in his stubbornness.
Sunny weighed his options for a couple of seconds, measuring whether it was worth enduring the torment just out of pride.
In the end, the pain was not worth it.
"Ah, whatever," Sunny whispered, giving in.
He wrapped one arm around Cassie's shoulders, closed the distance, and pulled her firmly against his chest.
A wave of monumental discomfort washed over him as he felt the physical proximity.
´Happy now?´ he snapped mentally at his invisible chain.
The spiritual bond calmed down completely the moment Cassie, trembling from head to toe, reacted to the hug.
To Sunny's surprise, she did not reject him; on the contrary, she wrapped her slender arms around him and clung to his clothes with desperate strength, hiding her face in his chest while her sobs soaked the fabric.
She was not crying just for Nephis. In her mind, the protective embrace of Sunny —the boy whose life she believed she had ruined by selling his name— was an act of kindness so pure and compassionate that guilt was eating her alive from the inside.
Sunny stood completely rigid, holding her reluctantly while the seer's crying filled the room, feeling twice as awkward due to the intensity of a hug that he believed was purely forced.
´GODSSSSSS SO AWKWARD!!´ Sunny thought, staring at the ceiling.
Lowering his cold gaze toward Cassie, he sighed internally while cursing Nephis one last time, weighing what he would do now with his damn life as a slave and a babysitter.
On the floor, Gloomy glanced to the side as Happy clapped with joy for some reason… now he knew he would have to endure two idiots, his master and his new brother… life was better when he was an only child! And they had barely spent a few hours with their new brother Happy!.
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[Why is Cassie less calm here than in canon? Because this happens on the exact same day they escape. Cassie didn't have time to mentally prepare for whatever Sunny might say to her, and even so, he didn't insult her.]
[You might say, “Nephis’s behavior wasn't lore-accurate” …. Let me remind you that 80% of Sunny/Nephis fics never respect Nephis's personality.]
[Why another SUSSIE?... Because I like them, and because we have very few SUSSIE fics compared to SUNPHIS.]
[This is made to learn how to manage a better pacing and not exceed 3k words per chapter. Don't expect very frequent updates, unless I'm in the mood.]
[I don't plan on pausing or canceling “The Guide of a Lost Shadow” either; that is still my main work for now, but even so, I wanted to make this… and by the way, I still have more ideas for other Sussie fics! How is this even possible?]
[And lastly, in case it isn't clear, Cassie thinks Sunny knows that she betrayed him, and yet, he still decided to comfort her.]