Shadow Slave

Sunny and Mordret face each other in the rain. The trail of blood was slowly being washed off the wet asphalt, and the neon sign kept blinking above them, drowning the street in dim radiance.

Mordret’s mirror-like eyes seemed to shine with a dark crimson glow as they reflected the world back upon itself. His pleasant smile felt... dangerous.

Feeling a bit hateful was only natural for someone who knew that Sunny had killed their father, even if the source of that hate was somewhat unconventional in this particular case.

Sunny looked at Mordret somberly, not showing any sign of being disturbed.

He loathed to admit it…

But he was rather cold.

’Damn.’

Why had he not put on a jacket before jumping out of the window? It was raining outside, and the night was chilly!

Perhaps it was because he had grown unused to being bothered by the weather.

Looking Mordret in the eye, Sunny grinned.

”Why? Jealous?”

Mordret’s dangerous smile slowly widened.

Raising his head, he laughed.

”Jealous? Ah… no, not quite. Jealousy is not the word I would use.”

Taking off his cap, he allowed the rain to pelt his tousled black hair for a moment, then swept it back and pierced Sunny with a cold, eerie gaze.

The neon sign blinked, and for a moment, his mask of pleasant friendliness seemed to crack, revealing a raging ocean of scathing fury and boundless loathing beneath.

But then, the sign lit up, and Mordret seemed… almost normal again.

He smiled and shook his head, taking a step to circle Sunny.

”My, my. I had a feeling that there was something off when the valiant Devil Detective kept popping up near my other self. So, I wanted to make sure that he was indeed who he claimed to be… that question has been answered, I suppose. Imagine my surprise, though, when I saw a man flying through your window while keeping watch. How scandalous!”

Mordret chuckled.

”Do you often toss people out of the window… Sunless? Was that the name you use? I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t address you as the Lord of Shadows. That title is a bit unwieldy.”

Sunny turned slowly, keeping Mordret in his line of sight.

’He sure is in a talkative mood.’

It seemed that the Prince of Nothing had been staying close to his other self, watching him closely. And if his words were to be believed… he had not sent the killer to get rid of Sunny. Instead, he had simply been investigating a person sticking close to the Valor Group heir when the assassination attempt had taken place. But why was Mordret watching over his other self? What was he doing here in Mirage City? How had his nicer version ended up in the Great Mirror, to begin with?

Sunny gave Mordret a cold stare.

”That is indeed a name I use. Oh, by the way… I have some questions for you. You can answer them the easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice.”

He smiled darkly.

”I really hope you choose the hard way, though.”

Mordret studied him for a few moments.

”You know, Sunless, I always wondered where this animosity you feel toward me stems from. I think I was quite courteous the first time we met, back in Godgrave. Admittedly… I did try to take you as a vessel when you dismissed that eerie mask of yours. But can you really blame me? I mean, you had been provoking me the whole time.” Ṟ𝓪ΝÓβËŝ

Sunny shrugged.

”I can blame you. I do blame you, as it happens.”

Mordret’s smile slowly drained from his face. Looking at Sunny with a chilling lack of emotion in his eyes, he said evenly:

”How regrettable. Who knew there would be an army of abominations hidden in your soul? But, Sunless… you might have noticed that we are mundane here, in Mirage City. Which means that there’s no legion of Nightmare Creatures to protect you from me.”

At the end there, his voice grew a bit lower, making him sound quite menacing.

Sunny was not intimidated, though.

Instead, he grinned.

”...The hard way it is, then.”

He lunged forward, throwing his fist in Mordret’s face. Mordret deflected it easily enough, but that attack was merely a feint — a split second later, Sunny unleashed a hurricane of kicks and punches, aiming to bring the Prince of Nothing down.

He had absorbed countless battle styles for unarmed combat, so fighting with his bare hands was no less familiar to Sunny than wielding lethal weapons. In fact, his hands were deadly weapons in and of themselves.

Mordret laughed, evading the barrage of strikes with infuriating ease.

”Ah… this is great. This is wonderful! You know, I’ve grown tired of killing men of powerful combat Aspects while possessing no similar powers myself over the years. This place evens that playing field, though. How refreshing!”

He caught Sunny’s fist in a vice grip and added in a low tone:

”I remember you sent me a gift not too long ago, Sunless. Should I return the favor?”

He was talking about the Cursed Demon, Abjuration, of course.

’Oops.’

In the next moment, Sunny found himself on the receiving end of Mordret’s fury. The bastard did not lack combat skill by any means, and now that they were both mundane, small things like height and reach mattered much more than usual. On top of that, Sunny was still not used to his altered state.

The loss of shadow essence, of the [Feather of Truth] trait of the Onyx Shell that had become a staple of his battle technique, and even of his Aspect was not too difficult to adjust to. But it was the absence of shadow sense that truly made him feel like a cripple.

Sunny felt like a blind man.

So, he found himself nearly defenseless against Mordret’s vicious assault.

The Prince of Nothing battered his defense until it was completely unraveled, then callously sent a devastating punch flying toward Sunny’s temple.

Sunny knew that he would not be able to evade it, deflect it, or block it.

He didn’t try.

Instead, he turned his head slightly and took the blow straight on.

’Ah… crap…’

Despite Mordret’s slender build and refined manners, his fist truly packed a punch.

Sunny did not even feel any pain, just found himself suddenly dazed and reeling. He could also feel blood streaming down his face from a cut above his brow.

But that did not stop him from raising both hands and catching Mordret’s wrist.

The Prince of Nothing frowned.

”What are you…”

Pulling his enemy off balance, Sunny unceremoniously head-butted him in the face. Mordret staggered back with a stifled curse, blood pouring from his nose. Before he could recover, Sunny pivoted on one foot and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of his head. No matter how skilled Mordret was, he was still thrown to the ground in a daze.

”How about I reunite you with your father, bastard?”

Taking a step forward, Sunny prepared to stomp on Mordret’s head and crack his skull.

But instead, something glinted in the red neon light, and he felt a chill penetrate his flesh, followed by sharp pain.

Grasping his side, Sunny staggered back.

His pants were already soaked by rain, but now, they were being washed by blood, too.

’That… damn miscreant…’

Mordret slowly rose to his feet, smiling darkly. There was a narrow switchblade in his hand, its pale steel painted red.

’Why is everyone dying to stab me today?!’

Sunny let out an infuriated growl.

”You think a little knife will stop me from killing you?”

The growl...seemed to take Mordret aback. Enough so for him to hesitate, at least — instead of trying to stab Sunny, he looked somewhere behind him warily and lowered the switchblade. ”Maybe not. But they will.”

Turning his torso to see what Mordret was looking at — while still keeping an eye on the bastard — Sunny saw a few silhouettes looming in the windows of his apartment complex.

He could not discern their features, but his neighbors were all eerily motionless, still, all staring down at him with glassy eyes.

Dozens of them.

Mordret smiled faintly.

”Detective Sunless… I suggest you stop behaving erratically.”

His smile faded quickly, though.

”Unless you want to become the next victim of the Nihilist, that is.”