Changing Star walked towards him.
"S-stop!" He replied weakly, "Please don't enter the gate..."
She stopped right at the gate of the park, confused. She knew what this place was, only that the last time she saw it there were three marks instead of four.
'So she truly is dead...' Nephis thought. 'A-and it's all my fault!'
Yes. It was all her fault. With that realisation, she threw the Onyx ring onto the ground, she would only give her echo: Nightmare. That was destined—or Fated—to be his. It would be useful, unlike her ring.
She failed, again. Changing Star, the one who couldn't fail, failed.
Once again.
So how... How could she want him? He looked so pitiful and weak right now, unlike something she ever saw in him.
Unlike something Sunny would ever be.
Sunny—Sunny wasn't like any other men she knew. Not idiotic or dull. He was clever, with an unrivaled survival instinct. He didn't trust easily, which provoked a desire to have his trust... And she failed. She gained it and destroyed it... Shattered it as easily as glass.
He was strong, and had a determination in him that few others could boast. Was it because of Rain? Or was it just his own wish? Did he survive the Second Nightmare with the wish of meeting Rain or having revenge on her?
Others she'd known were more classically attractive, but this Sunny—Sunny, who was from the outskirts was magnetic in a way she couldn't pinpoint. Not exactly.
His wit was sharp, and he was the only person who made her emotions stir. His onyx eyes held their own charm.
"Sunny... Can I talk to you?" She asked with a soft voice, holding back a choked sob, "Can I?"
No. She couldn't. She didn't deserve it.
Didn't deserve... Anything.
"Yes."
Was it what he meant? What he truly meant? What he... What he truly meant. Did he convince himself? Did he... Did he mean to say no but wanted to talk deep down? Was he forced by his flaw?
She wished it was that. Wished it was his flaw. Wished he cared, deep down.
She was, after all, in love.
Even if she didn't deserve it.
Even if—even if he didn't care.
"I'm sorry." She said, "I failed you. Again."
Sunny let out a weak laugh, "You're sorry? Really? That's all?" He sighed, "You know, after what you did, after what you took it would be a mercy if you just killed me, or turned me into a mere hollow. A shadow, exactly what I am, and remove my memories dammit." He cried.
Broke.
Let himself be shown vulnerable.
"Its not like my parents would care what happened... Because they won't. It was all my fault. My fault they all died. My fault my mom died. My fault my dad died... And the worst, my fault that Rain died..."
A pause.
"Because I trusted you..." He whispered.
"Always... It's always my fault. Cassie betrayed me because I was acting suspicious. She thought I would kill you..."
A pause.
"It's my fault I'm a slave... My fault I lived the Nightmare... Everything is my fault." This was in a much weaker and softer tone...
If it was even possible.
She barely heard it, and that was as a Master. She saw him break, and sighed. She took a deeep breath and ordered Sunny...
"Sunny I'm sorry to do this but... I command you to never obey my commands out of your free will. I'm not sure if it would work but I don't want to test otherwise."
A long pause, the whole area turned colder and the silence felt suffocating, as the shadows stirred with hostility.
"How dare you order me to not follow you... HOW DARE YOU! HOW. DARE. YOU. HOW DO YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SAY THIS AFTER STEALING MY SISTER AND THE WORST WAS DONE."
The silence stretched longer again, still suffocating.
"How... Could... You... A-after stealing Rain from me..." He continued, "Just kill me already..."
She felt as if every puzzle pieces that made her—her, were falling. All because of one crucial piece breaking away from her...
Shattering her existence.
Destroying her.
After all, Sunny was a huge piece of her puzzle. The biggest. The strongest. The one that connected all the rest, and at this moment she finally broke. Broke completely...
She was supposed to tell him about the valor ball and give him her echo. It would help him a lot, enough to... Well she didn't know but it would be helpful. They were both Shadows after all...
Aftwr a while, she breathed in and broke the news, the invitation to the valor ball and his attendance. Even her plan on joining them.
"You know, people think you were a part of our cohort, although unofficially, you still need to attend the ball."
"I will have to see if I can attend it..." Sunny replied, "You can obviously see what my mental state is right now..."
She stayed besides him. Well it wasn't besides him since she was sitting at the gate but that was besides the point. She was rather surprised that no once came to rob them, and when she asked Sunny about it he simply replied with, "Survival instinct." And that was it.
Nothing more.
After Sunny passed out, she walked towards him, her steps were light and soft. Sunny's face held a grimace filled with pain and a face filled with terror and sadness.
He looked pitiful... Was that her fault?
Yep. It definitely was.
It was all her fault...
Her fault that everything bad happened to him, ever since they met back at the academy gates.
She leaned towards him and held his shoulders, transfering the echo.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. She knew what was going on in his head, if he returned he would join song clan, and maybe some more preparations.
He would kill her. That was a fact. She would try to live without hurting him but only time could tell what would happen...
Sunny woke up to having a new Shadow, Nightmare. After checking it, he laughed, startling a sleeping Nephis awake.
"Did you really have to mock me like this? You know I've been having nightmares and so you give me Nightmare as a Shadow? Really? How thoughtful of you..." He continued laughing, "I didn't know you had this in you. I mean, really, you?"
Sunny looked more hurt than before, and she now understood it why. To him, someone who was betrayed and broken multiple times, and by multiple people, it was insentive. Rude.
He took it in the way where he thought she was mocking him, for having nightmares, and feeling pity. She didn't think that far. She should have done so... Should have cared to, instead she was quite happy with the idea of gifting it to him, seeing them having the same kin.
He was right. She was an idiot.
"I-I didn't mean it that way. I meant to gift it to you... Just that and no ulterior motives... I promise."
At that moment she decided to do something she never would. Something Changing Star never could.
She didn't know what else to do... Not in this situation. Not when—not when she... She did this to Sunny.
She ran.
She ran without turning back.
Tears came as if, at long last, her accumulated ocean of brine was trickling through. She did cry before, but right now all she wanted was to completely dry her tears and no longer hold back. The tears that were falling reflected the sunlight like the morning dew.
She didn't realise it was as bad as she saw... She didn't think enough about it. It was all her fault...
Back at the tree Sunny smiled to himself, after all, he masked himself perfectly. She needed to think he was insane, needed to know it. She knew his flaw and he did as well, every word he said was infact true. Her gift was indeed insensitive.
He did blame himself for everyone's death.
He did wish to forget it all... To save himself and live a mechanical life.
And he did know his parents wouldn't care. They were long dead.
And now—now he wished to live. To have revenge.
Sunny was wondering why an echo turned into a Shadow, since Changing Star have it to him, without supplying it enough fragments but it turned out that way. It shouldn't work since he didn't have the Shadow of Nightmare in his soul sea... So how? Perhaps it was Shadow Bond or maybe something else, all he knew was that he had to experiment it later.
Sunny opened his runes, he got another Memory from Alex which he had to see
[Blooming Resolve]
Memory Rank: Supreme
Memory Tier: 1
Memory Description: [Blowing Petals]
Memory Enchantment: [Given Promise]
Memory Description: [You have promised to finish the will of Weaver, so hereby you have a gift. Pluck the petals and Blow them away for you shall have your way.]
So that's what Sunny did, he plucked the eight Onyx Black Petals from its thin stem and blew them with some wind, and that's when something unexpected happened...
[Your Memory has been destroyed.]
[...Your shadow grows stronger.]
And then, he felt a flood of shadow fragments entered his soul, containing enough of them to drown it.
No...
"NO STOP."
He screamed as pain filling him, he was about to form a new core...
At the same time the Spell whispered with triumph in its voice:
[Your shadow is overflowing with power.]
[Your shadow is taking shape...]
He supersed the pain by biting his lips.
[Your shadow is complete.]
He was now a terror...
His only regret was not checking the weave...
An: get 80 hearts in disclrd thread and give likeidk like 10 comments here?
15 votes on Wattpad btw