Shadow Slave

It happened a few weeks after he left the castle behind. Back then, Sunny was just starting to feel confident in the absolute darkness of the cursed night. He stalked the ruins, searching for prey and slaying one monster after another.

Looking back, those few victories might have gone to his head a little. Or maybe he was just too sane to survive alone in the Dark City.

It was the first meeting with the Black Knight that caused him to lose that state of mind.

Sunny did not become interested in the ruined cathedral by accident, nor was he led there by empty curiosity. In fact, he had noticed something strange about the ancient temple and decided to explore it after careful consideration.

Because the thing he saw was too alluring to ignore.

At dawn, for a few short minutes, he could see a weak, ethereal golden glow emanating from the dark cathedral. The same golden glow he had seen twice before.

Once deep within the ruby droplets of his own blood after consuming the Drop of Ichor, and another time exuding from Changing Star's unconscious body after her battle with the horror of the depths.

Without having to guess, Sunny knew what this golden shine was.

It was the light of divinity.

With his own eyes altered by the drop of divine blood, which was left on the talons of the Vile Thieving Bird after it had stolen Weaver's eye, Sunny was somehow able to perceive it.

Considering that both Nephis and he possessed some measure of divine affinity, it wasn't hard to come to this conclusion. More than that, the circumstances surrounding the awakening of his ability to see the golden glow supported it.

Thus, hoping to find another treasure equal to the Drop of Ichor, Sunny entered the ruined cathedral. Then he froze for a second, awed by its grandeur.

That second was all it took for the Black Knight to skewer him on his sword.

Sunny didn't know how the massive devil managed to avoid being seen by his shadow, nor how he got so close without making any noise. All he knew was that a menacing black giant suddenly stepped forward from the darkness that enveloped the temple and pierced him with a wrathful gaze.

There were two scarlet flames burning in the impenetrable emptiness behind the visor of the knight's helmet. Looking at them, Sunny felt as though he was staring into the eyes of death itself.

However, even though Sunny was caught by surprise, his body moved on its own. Countless hours of practice did not go to waste.

In the end, it were the reflexes that Sunny had engraved into his muscles and bones that saved his life, even if only by a hair's breadth. Because of his quick reaction, the massive greatsword of the evil creature did not cut him in two.

Instead, it simply disemboweled him.

Feeling a blinding pain pierce his abdomen, Sunny staggered and looked down, only to see a river of blood flowing from his stomach, which was cut wide open. The red ropes of his intestines were clearly visible in the terrible wound, already on their way to falling out.

The horror of seeing something that should have been inside of him moving to the outside was much more powerful than the excruciating pain of his flesh being torn apart.

Pressing one hand against the wound, Sunny fell on his back and weakly tried to crawl away. However, the Black Knight was already moving, rising his greatsword to deliver a finishing blow.

For a fraction of a second, everything froze. Sunny didn't have time to come up with an elaborate plan, nor even think things through. All he knew was that he had to buy himself a chance to crawl away… somehow.

Of all the Memories at his disposal, nothing seemed to be of use. Not the austere and razor-sharp Midnight Shard, not the ominous and powerful Puppeteer's Shroud. His mighty tier-five armor did not even slow the black blade for a moment.

Even augmented by the shadow, they were not a match for the terrifying devil of the ruined cathedral.

…In the end, Sunny simply thrust his hand forward and let a small and ordinary-looking rock fly from it into the depths of the ancient temple. His shadow wrapped itself around the little stone, enhancing its enchantments.

In the next moment, the rock suddenly howled, replicating the scream of the last Nightmare Creature that Sunny had killed. Augmented by the shadow, the howl shook the walls of the cathedral, causing dust to fly into the air.

The Black Knight stopped, then looked over his shoulder in the direction where the howl was coming from. He seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Not wasting any time, Sunny pressed tight onto his terrible wound, rose to his feet and staggered away, almost slipping in the puddle of his own blood. Groaning from pain, he tried to reach the exit of the old temple.

Miraculously, he did. The Black Knight stopped in the doorway, simply following the small figure of the mortally wounded human with the burning flames that served him as eyes.

Then, it indifferently turned away and slowly returned into the darkness.

***

Some time later, Sunny found himself lying in a ditch somewhere in the depths of the Dark City. He had found his way to this ditch and crawled into it, hoping to hide himself from the monsters stalking the ruins at night.

He was consumed by pain, fear, and disbelief.

Was this… was this how it was all going to end?

Was this how he was going to die?

He wanted to cry for help, but knew that no one would come.

He wanted to simply cry, but, for some reason, nothing but laughter escaped from his lips.

Funny… it was just too damn funny!

An outskirt rat like him, dying in a ditch.

What a fitting end.

Why wouldn't he laugh?!

It was all just so hilarious.

A laughing fit sent him into an ocean of suffering. Every time he moved, it felt as though invisible blades were cutting into his abdomen, slicing his flesh apart.

And yet, he couldn't stop laughing.

The funniest thing of all was that he couldn't even die.

No matter how much he bled, his tenacious blood refused to give up. Guided by Blood Weave, it desperately tried to repair the damage done to his body. However, the damage was just too extensive. Even augmented by the shadow, the Blood Weave couldn't contend with it.

In the end, he was locked in an endless cycle of excruciating agony, not quite alive, but also unable to die... yet. Minute after minute, hour after hour, nothing but pain and suffering drowned his consciousness, until something inside simply cracked.

Who wouldn't have gone mad?

Through the fog that clouded his mind, Sunny hazily realized that the sun had come up, then disappeared again. This happened a few times until he finally let out a quiet sigh.

Enough was enough. He couldn't take it anymore.

It was time to give up.

He had a good run, really.

But how could anyone endure all this?

He wanted to die.

He was ready… ready…

'Are you? Are you really ready?'

Sunny thought for a bit... and then suddenly bared his teeth.

Fuck no.

He was not ready.

Give up?

Never! Never! He was never going to give up!

He refused to give the world the satisfaction of devouring him. Not unless it choked to death on his soul.

'No, I'm not going to die… I'm going to live… I'm going to thrive… I'll be the last one standing, no matter what…'

With that thought, he summoned the Midnight Shard and gripped its hilt with the last bit of strength left in his body.

Memory Enchantments: [Unbroken].

Enchantment Description: [This blade refuses to be broken, and thus is durable beyond reason. It will greatly enhance the power of its wielder when they are close to death, however only if the wielder is still unwilling to surrender.]

Responding to his vicious promise, the ancient blade finally opened the gate to the well of power hiding somewhere deep within his soul. Instantly, a torrent of energy filled his body with dark resolve.

The power given to Sunny by the Midnight Shard enhanced the healing factor of Blood Weave, allowing it to just barely keep him from slipping over the edge of death while it slowly began to repair his ravaged body. And as long as he was almost dead, the effect of Unbroken continued to feed Blood Weave with power, creating another cycle.

A virtuous cycle. A cycle of unbroken will to survive.

This was how Sunny was able to live through his first encounter with the Black Knight.

However, while his body eventually healed, the wound dealt to his mind remained. Days later, after Sunny finally crawled from that ditch, he was never quite the same.

And he never forgot the debt he owed to the Black Knight.

One day, he was going to kill the bastard, no matter the cost.

...And now, approaching the cathedral months later in the company of Effie, Sunny felt like that day was drawing closer.

Perhaps he really should agree to participate in Neph's expedition.

As long as she helps him repay that debt.

There was a lot to think about.

Effie's voice tore him away from these thoughts.

"Huh… Sunny? Are you alright?"

He shook off the harrowing memories, hesitated for a bit, and then smiled.

"Of course! Never been better. Here we are, by the way. Welcome to my humble palace."

The huntress looked at the grandiose cathedral with doubt.

"Here? You live here?"

Sunny remembered his First Nightmare and shrugged.

"What can I say? I have a weak spot for ancient temples…"