shadow slave, Echoes of the forgotten

The void dissolved, reality reassembling around him with jarring abruptness. Sunny's consciousness snapped back into his physical form, his body tensing with the sudden transition. The automated pod should have opened smoothly, gently easing him back to consciousness.

Instead, something went wrong.

Before the pod's release mechanism could activate, Sunny was violently ejected from the nightmare space. His muscles coiled with stored energy, reflexes heightened from survival. He began to sit up—too quickly, too forcefully.

CRACK!

His head slammed into the pod's glass with devastating force. The reinforced material spider-webbed with intricate fracture lines, a complex network of breaks radiating from the point of impact. Pain exploded across his skull, white-hot and immediate.

"Motherfucker, I didn't expect that." Gently pressing his forehead, he felt like there was a wound but it already seemed to have started healing.

He took a look at how his underground dojo was doing, all in all it looked the same as he left it. At least that was what he felt like, memories started resurfacing in his mind of what happened in the nightmare and before.

As well as what will happen soon, so Sunny decided to shadow step up to his living room. It looked the same as he remembered, the house cleaning system worked wonders as it seems.

He then turned around toward Effie's room and screamed almost at the top of his lungs. "Effie, don't!"

Effie in her room froze for a second, she was just about to open the door, but she hadn't gotten used to her new powers as it seems. She almost broke it, but when she started opening them she noticed she wasn't wearing anything so she quickly put something on and left the room.

She saw Sunny outside on his communicator, with a light smile. She suddenly got an amazing idea of what she was going to say, but decided against it, because even she knew how far she would go with it.

"Are you okay?" Asked Sunny, without rising his head from his communicator, typing something on it. Most likely to Kai or Cassie, he probably wants to meet up so they can talk.

"Yes I am, what about you. Wait, is that blood? I though you couldn't bleed."

"If you must know it is, I woke up and started standing up before the pod could react so I hit my head on the glass. And I can bleed but only on special occasions."

A huge smile crept up on Effie's face, something Sunny didn't like, not one bit. Before she could say anything she was cut off by Sunny who finally stood up and was stretching, lightly.

"Kai will come soon and we will pick up Cassie when he does. Then we will go to a restaurant or a cafe to talk about what awaits us."

A displeased face could be seen of Effie as she sat on the couch next to where Sunny was sitting previously. He was now going to the front door like he knew someone would be there.

And there was, a charming yet beautiful archer just landed on his front lawn. He had a bright smile on his face, happy to see his friend again. At least in his real body.

The two hugged on Sunny's porch, although Kai hugged first Sunny gripped him stronger. He was a little displeased at first but then realised how much he needed it. They were there for a good ten minutes before Kai finally got out of Sunny's grip just barely.

He was barely breathing, his friend even in his human form was stronger than he imagined. He saw Effie in the background laughing hieratically, fearing for Sunny he gestured to him to start the PTV so they can go.

Sunny got ahold of himself and went straight to it after seeing Kai's gesture and sensing Effie's shadow behind him. He started the PTV and opened the door to let them in, he saw Effie with her arms crossed and a disappointing look on her face.

Kai was walking next to her with a smile that looked happy, but Sunny somehow felt that he wasn't happy at all. That feeling came from Kai's shadow, he felt its emotions—a dissonance between the outward appearance and the inner turmoil.

Something was different. The connection he felt to Kai's shadow was more intense, more nuanced than before. It was as if he could taste the underlying emotions, sense the hidden currents of feeling that ran beneath the surface.

He didn't understand where this came from, since the spell clearly showed him that his abilities were the same as he remembered them. Maybe the spell only showed him what his abilities were before, not what they currently are.

The spell proved to be incapable of doing certain things, maybe showing him his actual abilities was a part of it. He suddenly wanted to stop this meeting and just go to his room and do all sorts of experiments.

But he couldn't cancel it now. He needed to talk to his friends and make sure Cassie doesn't do anything rash and try to continue her plan.

He is fine with being freed from his shackles of a slave, but he doesn't want to be forgotten by Nephis and his cohort. Honestly, Sunny was perhaps taking this whole knowledge of the possible future too good, he was taking it seriously, but perhaps he wasn't quite grasped the weight of the situation.

When both of his friends got into the car, he started it and went straight to Cassie's house. The drive was surprisingly uneventful, for some reason Sunny had expected that there would be a gate of the fourth rank randomly open right in front of him.

Luckily nothing of the sort happened and they quickly picked up Cassie, who was waiting in front of her house for them. She didn't have much trouble getting to the car, and so they were able to get to the restaurant quite quickly.

When they finally got to their tables, they all simultaneously sighed and started laughing. There was no reason for it, they just did it because they felt like it.

They soon ordered the food and drinks, Effie ordered one of everything on the menu, Sunny got a few different meals because of his growing hunger. He felt extremely hungry ever since he woke up but only now noticed. Kai also took after Sunny and decided to take a few different meals while also maintaining his calorie intake.

Cassie took some synthetic chicken nuggets as well as some synthetic ice cream. Coincidentally, this was the exact thing Sunny expected from her to do.

He didn't know why he felt like she was going to do exactly that. But he also didn't really understand why he also asked for tea either. It was probably something to do with his relationship with Noctis in the second nightmare.

Effie ate most of her food before someone even said a word, maybe that was because of what everyone was thinking about the events in the nightmare. Kai and Cassie were more than a little hesitant about saying anything, while Sunny was waiting for someone to say something.

Things had some somewhat differently than what he saw in that possible dream. In it, they were in Sunny's house eating food that Cassie brought with her.

Now they were in a restaurant, eating some food that was mostly synthetic and drinking tea, well at least Sunny was. When Effie finally stopped eating, although she still had more on her plate, she said in a curious voice.

"Why aren't you guys saying anything. Did something unspeakable happen while I wasn't paying attention?"

The trio was more than a little surprised to hear that Effie stopped eating and was actually curious about something. Kai was the first to say something after Effie, even if it took him a few seconds to do so. While waiting, Effie started eating again but slower this time so she can pay attention to whatever someone is saying.

"I was just thinking about what could have happened. As for if something happened, I don't know. Also Sunny, what happened after sevirax swallowed me?"

Effie almost chocked on her food after hearing what Kai said. His choice of words was quite unique, not as unique as Sunny's, but his were kinda close.

It took her a bit of time to actually be able to say something, when she did it was with a very surprised voice and also a little concerning.

"You were swallowed by that dragon? Why am I only hearing to this now?"

Kai who originally was looking toward Sunny, now looked at Effie, who was sitting next to him. He just smiled with a bit of embarrassment and said hesitantly.

"Well....I actually sort of.... jumped into his mouth. I didn't know how else to kill it, so I just did that."

Effie stayed silent this time, she then blinked a few times and slowly reached for her food.

"Nothing much, the fifth challenger went away after I stalled him for a while for you to get the job done. He then went to salvage some other things before the nightmare ended."

Answered Sunny while eating his food, he looked somewhat relaxed, even if that isn't what he really felt. He was mostly confused, about what happened before he got to the space where the spell told him his appraisal.

Was it really a dream, did he come back to the past? How would he even have a dream in a nightmare, he had one in the dream realm when he was a sleeper, but that was more like a vision, was this also a vision.

But if it was, why did it happen right before the spell's appraisal, why had it ended in him activating a weird set of runes? Did he really go back to the past, why was he so okay with it?

Did he even fully understand what was happening, how can he know if this isn't just some kind of illusion created by that weird set of runes? Also why had that temple even been there, who did the followers worship, why was the guardian trying to kill him? Was he even going to be killed, was he going to be enslaved, maybe even used as am experiment?

There were so many question Sunny didn't have any answers to, but the biggest one was. What was he going to do with Nephis.

If his feeling were telling him the truth, he loved her, but they also told him that they hated her. Which side was he supposed to listen to, what will he do when she returns, will he do the same in his possible "vision" or will he tell her his true feelings?

Sunny sighed subtly, it went almost unnoticed, if not for Cassie and being next to Sunny, nobody would've noticed. She didn't do anything, fearing that he wouldn't appreciate it. She also sighed, her did go unnoticed though, she had hoped Sunny would notice and would comfort her. To her sadness, he didn't, so she just sat there. She knew why he didn't do anything to help her, he was still scared of being betrayed by his friends.

Sunny then continued with a few moments to think about things.

"One of the two chains holding it in place broke when Sevras passed away. Then… then the other one did, too. The Tower rose into the sky, shifting the force that kept the islands afloat, resulting in the Crushing. This is how the Chained Isles came to be. Hope escaped, and the nightmare came to an end."

A form of silence came over the table, it took a while for someone to say something. It was Cassie who said something, it was in a form of a sad voice.

"So, lord Noctis fell, too?"

Sunny closed his eyes and after a short moment, he slowly nodded.

"Yes, he asked me to give him the Obsidian knife, he then broke the last chain himself."

After a moment, he continued, like everyone expected him to.

"Lets drink some tea in the name of the lord of the east, Noctis."

The four of them took a mug of tea and drank at the same time. All of them smiled after it, they knew what kind of person he was. A devious, wicked, two-faced lunatic. But also in a way a great man, in more than one way. His ambition was unique, more than most peoples, on a similar level of Cassie, who wants to destroy fate itself.

Their conversation lasted for a few hours, they mostly said what they wanted, and some extra in Sunny's case because of Effie.

Later, in the quiet depths of his underground dojo, Sunny began a meticulous investigation of his current state. The basement lights cast long shadows as he prepared to test the limits of his abilities.

His primary focus was understanding the spell—its current state, its restrictions, its peculiar behavior. The connection he'd felt to Kai's shadow lingered in his mind, a puzzle waiting to be unraveled.

First, he attempted to enter his soul sea using the spell. It appeared as before—a dark expanse with four lightless suns, surrounded by orbs of darkness representing his memories and shadows. Each element seemed precisely as he remembered.

But something felt off.

When he left, the rejection was immediate and visceral. The spell seemed to eject him with the same force as his pod's violent awakening. It was as if the spell itself was uncertain of his presence, questioning his very right to exist within its framework.

Minutes passed as Sunny collected himself, his mind racing with theories. The most probable explanation was that the spell no longer fully recognized him, yet somehow still allowed him a limited interaction.

His next attempt was to enter his soul sea without the spell's guidance. The process was arduous. Where once the entry had been smooth, now it felt like forcing his way through a thick, resistant membrane. Thirty minutes of mental struggle preceded his eventual entry.

The soul sea that greeted him was subtly different. Six lightless suns now dominated the center, replacing the previous four. The shadow orbs were fewer but seemed more concentrated, more potent.

His shadows—they were exactly as he remembered. A small comfort in this sea of uncertainty.

But the questions remained. Unanswered. Waiting.

"The spell is here," he muttered to the darkness, "but not *really* here."

A pale imitation of his former power. Locked. Restricted. Controlled.

*Something* had changed in his transition. *Something* fundamental had shifted.

"So... this is what's happening. The nightmare spell—it's here, but not really *here*. I can use it, but only this stripped-down version, this pale imitation of what I once wielded. It's like the spell is watching me, restricting me, allowing just enough for me to function, but nowhere near my true potential. The powers I brought back? Locked away, sealed tight. I'm barely a user now, just scraping the bottom of what I used to be. How did this happen? Something in the transition, in coming back... the spell doesn't like me, doesn't trust me. It's letting me exist, letting me use a fraction of what I know, but holding everything else back. Blocked. Restricted. And I've tried—gods, I've tried to break this seal, to understand the mechanism, but every approach leads to nothing. No way to remove it without risking everything."

He sat up from his position in the dojo of his basement, he sighed loudly and clearly very annoyed. He used his shadow step and teleported to his room on the ground floor.

And as the night embraced him, Sunny drifted into a sleep filled with unanswered questions, hoping—perhaps futilely—for dreamless respite.