Shadow Slave

Sunny considered the peculiar vision he had received for a while. Eventually, his eyes gleamed darkly.

’They were playing for truths.’

Ariel had been a collector of truth, but one mystery he could never solve was Weaver. Weaver, meanwhile… seemed to have been interested in finding a way to change fate.

That truth alone was priceless. Sunny had suspected that the Demon of Fate had a complicated relationship with their own… source element? Domain? Aspect? In any case, the Nightmare Spell seemed to have been designed with the explicit purpose of training its carriers to defy and twist fate.

Sunny firmly believed that the appraisal the Spell gave to those who conquered Nightmares was connected to how much they strayed from the original flow of fate, at least. But having a strong suspicion and hearing it with his own two ears were two different things. Granted… Sunny only learned that Weaver was searching for a way to change fate, not why. He did not know what the Demon of Fate had discovered, either.

In any case, the two daemons had played Death Game - the winner was supposed to be rewarded with a truth. And Weaver had utterly crushed Ariel, in the end.

’Rewarded, huh?’ Was that what had happened to him? He had sacrificed the figure of a slain figure… and received a truth as a reward.

But why that truth, in particular?

Sunny stared at the remaining Snow Beast figure, then at the pit opening into the main vent of the volcano.

’Wait,’ Was it simply because he wondered who the players of this game had been? ’My head was full of questions, though. Why this one in particular?’ Was the answer given at random, or did the strength of a sacrificed figure play a role?

Would he learn something far more important if he sacrificed a Snow Monster figure? A Demon, A Devil…

A Tyrant?

Suddenly, Sunny was very glad that there were twelve whole Snow Abominations left on the board. He had many questions.

Sunny had spent a decade slowly learning the secrets of the world. By now, he knew more about the truth of existence than almost anyone… but he still desperately wanted - needed - to know more. Why had the Doom War started? How did it end? How did the gods die? How did daemons perish? Was the Forgotten God still imprisoned in the Void? Where had the Nightmares and the Dream Realm come from?

What had been Weaver’s goal? Why was the Nightmare Spell created? To what end? And countless less grandiose questions, as well… For example, what did he need to do to kill Eurys? What lay at the heart of Shadow Realm? When had the Demon of Oblivion died? How could she have been dead before Nether and his siblings rebelled against the gods?

’I think…’

A strange smile slowly bloomed on Sunny’s face.

’I think that coming here may have been the best idea of my life, Kai.’

Twelve Snow Abominations, and the Snow Beast figure in front of him…

Sunny had just discovered a way to pry thirteen truths from Ariel’s Game.

Kai gave him a peculiar look.

’Sunny, can you please snap out of it? You’re scaring, uh… your elegant Shadow over there. Yeah.’

Sunny blinked a couple of times and glanced at Slayer. Slayer seemed perfectly at ease. Kai, however, looked a little nervous. Sunny chuckled.

’Alright, alright. It’s just that I discovered a use for the figures of slain Snow Abominations. I’m a little excited.’

What answer would he receive next?

Sunny reached for the remaining Snow figure, but then halted.

His expression turned guarded.

’Am I… letting my curiosity trump caution?’

They had just recently talked about how some truths were too dangerous to learn. Sunny did not need to think too much to remember a dreadful example… they were the runes containing the knowledge of the Void that Ariel had left behind in the Estuary of the Great River. ṝ𝔞Ɲố𝔟Ё𝘴

The closer one’s soul was to being Divine, the more resistant it was to the corrupting influence of the Void. That was why Awakening could destroy the Seed of Nightmare blooming in an Aspirant’s soul… that was also why Sunny could endure knowing more about the Void as a Supreme as he could as a Master or a Saint. But that did not mean that he could endure much of such knowledge… not at all. And he definitely could not endure what Weaver and Ariel could. Even they had not been entirely immune to Corruption, so what hope did Sunny have?

If Ariel’s Game granted him a truth that he could not endure, what was he going to do?

Sunny hesitated for a while.

’Wait. Isn’t it wonderful, though?’

This incarnation of his was currently separated from the other six. Their minds and memories would fuse once again after Sunny escaped Ariel’s Game… but not before it. So even if his mind was infected by Corruption as a result of learning something he was not supposed to know, he could simply kill himself. That way, his other incarnations would never come in contact with the forbidden knowledge.

Kai frowned a little.

’What… are you thinking about?’

Sunny shrugged absentmindedly.

’Killing myself…’

Kai was suddenly standing very near, looking at him intensely.

’No, you mustn’t!’

Sunny glanced at him in confusion.

’Huh?’

Kai grabbed his shoulders, a rattled expression on his face.

’You… we don’t know each other that well, and I won’t presume to know what scars lay hidden in your heart… but you must not, Sunny! In this world we live in, a human life can be lost in an instant. But that only makes it more precious - just like your life is precious, too…’

Sunny scowled.

’What are you on about, fool?’

Then, realizing how his words must have sounded to Kai, who could feel their sincerity, he winced.

’Oh, you misunderstood. I wasn’t really thinking about killing myself… just this version of myself, should the need arise. It’s not that big of an issue. Plus, this wouldn’t even be the first or second time I killed myself. As you can see, I’m still perfectly alive!’

Kai stared at him silently for a while, then slowly let go of his shoulders, turned away, and coughed a couple of times.

’Oh. Oh, I see. Never mind, then.’

Then, his expression turned cold and wary, full of concerned apprehension.

Sunny sighed.

’This guy… such a handful, really!’

’Listen, why would I kill myself? I am filthy rich, drop-dead gorgeous, have an awesome castle, and my girlfriend is literally the most gorgeous woman in the world. Who would want to die and leave all that behind?’

Kai glanced at him and shook his head.

’No, it’s not that. I just looked beyond the castle.’

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

’And?’

A dark expression appeared on Kai’s face.

’Do you remember saying that we’ll have to wait for the adversary to make the first move? Well…’

He sighed.

’I think they’re making the move now…’