A Sunless Dream

rom surprise came anxiety, and from anxiety came fear. All these emotions flashed through Sunny's eyes as he locked them with Nephis. She was supposed to be his, though begrudgingly, he would have followed her to the ends of the earth if she had so asked for it even excluding his servitude towards her.

But every man had a limit.

How was he supposed to continue moving forward, pretending as though everything is normal when he could never stand as an equal to the person before him by no fault of his own. His freedom had been used as a mere commodity and means to an end as it had been casted to the wayside at the end of the forgotten shore. Struggling to form words in his mouth, he simply stared at her.

Though his expression remained blank, the barely restrained unbridled fear that he possessed towards her was clear for all those who took even a second to see. How wouldn't he be? She, like the rest of them likely couldn't even remember who he was and yet she could command him to do her bidding all the same. She had promised not to, gave him her word that it would never happen, however it took one mistake. One conflict of interest. One instance of him stepping out of line. And he was done for.

"Can you sit up?" she asked him her tone subdued, there was nothing she could make of the situation at the moment. The best and only option she had at her disposal was trying to ascertain his standing as a friend or a foe, regardless she would have liked not to make enemies of a saint especially with the plans she had for the world. But if she had to, she would. Despite her request, Sunny continued to lay in bed, staring at her like she was a raging beast who he could not predict in the slightest.

'Is he...afraid of me?' she thought, the idea was preposterous. She had only just become a saint, and her abilities were not even nearly as honed as she would have liked them to be so why would this man who has the capabilities to overwhelm all of her cohort at once with sheer might alone be afraid of her? "Y-you don't know who I am do you?" Sunny asked, his tone remained subdued as he tried to sit himself up on his bed, there was nothing that could be done at the moment.

He was tired, scared, hurt and had nobody to turn to.

The pillar of support that he could appeal to at any moment, who relied on him as he relied on her was treating him like a stranger who could lash out at any moment. And to make matters worse, his carnal desires for freedom attempted to burst free. If left unrestrained, he'd likely try kill Nephis and gain his freedom once and for all. 'What the fuck am I thinking, I...I can't hurt her' he thought, placing a hand on his still throbbing head. Nephis continued to keep her eyes firmly on him, not even taking a second to observe her current surroundings.

"I do not, may I ask what a saint is doing here and how do you know my name?" she replied, not once had she ever heard or seen a saint that looked like he did. He had the eyes of a killer, and his body gave off indications that he wasn't a mere novice in combat however through her extensive research on the sovereigns and the saints they commanded, not once had a 'Sunless' even caught her attention. As the pain of his flaw built up, Sunny stared at her and quickly replied "I..don't think I can tell you that, I'd rather not go through another round of whatever the fuck that was" he said to her.

Though confused, Nephis did not even give the slightest indication of it. She continued to stare down the young man and assess his condition, his body was toned and built to maximise killing efficiency. The aura of a killer surrounded him, however oddly enough he seemed quite subdued for someone as strong as she suspected he was. "Sit up." She said, no longer possessing the patience to wait for him any longer. And oddly enough, the man immediately shot up from his laying position, sitting up with perfect posture and looking her straight in the eyes.

His dark onyx eyes conveyed fear and hatred as he stared at her once more, his face contorted into one only conveying malice and bloodlust, so much so she almost reached for her weapon "Don't tell me what to do." He all but shouted at her. Nephis continued to lock eyes with him, opening her mouth to speak however, Sunny was faster than her "Stay way from me, all of you. Get out of my lives, I never want to see you again! You and that witch downstairs may have forced me into servitude, but I swear by my dead mother I will find a way to hurt you!" he yelled, he was balling in on himself. He tried to get to his feet but collapsed once more, his legs refusing to obey the commands of his mind.

Though he was consumed with anger and hatred, his eyes continued to tell an entirely different story. The endless pit of sadness hidden behind them told a different tale than his outburst of aggression.

"You...you don't realise it do you?" he said quietly, looking at Nephis. Summoning all the strength he had he shot to his feet and made his way towards her, she attempted to summon her blade but to do so against this staggering figure would be beneath her. "I'm, a slave. I'm YOUR slave!" he spat bitterly, he couldn't even hold eye contact as he continued on tears falling out of his eyes as he continued. Sunny reached his hands towards her and grasped them in his own, pulling them towards his own throat, "What are you doi-" she tried asking but was cut off. Her hands were placed around his throat in a choking position, as he stared her in the eyes holding her hands at his throat with tears that were dying to escape from his eyes.

"Go on, do it. I won't even resist, or rather I can't" he said, as he tightened the grip, Nephis attempted to escape but her shock left her momentarily unable to resist "see? It's as easy as this." He continued, forcing her hands around his throat and making them squeeze even tighter, she quickly pulled her hands back as he gasped for air. A deranged smile appeared on his face.

There was nothing he had. Nothing he could do, and nobody he could trust.

"Check your runes if you want 'master'" he spat in a tone of obvious disgust, "there is not a single command you can give me that I am not forced to obey." He continued to stare at her, the situation was so hopeless he could almost laugh, he supressed himself, attempting to calm his emotions by punching himself in the jaw. Nephis eyes opened in surprise as she leaped towards him in an attempt to stop him from hurting himself more than he had already "I'm fine, I don't need your help" he said, shrugging her off of him. "I, just want you to get out of my life. You don't know me but unfortunately enough I've had the experience of knowing you" he continued, though his affection for Nephis ran deep currently his contempt at her, the situation he was in, the strings of fate that shackled him ran far deeper. Deeper than anything he had ever felt before.

"If you see my face, turn the other way. If you hear my name, pretend like I'm a work of fiction. I want no part in the world you, those three ghouls or any one of you are trying to create" he said, his legs giving out as he fell onto his bed once more. Nephis continued to listen with uncontested focus, as he took a moment to lock eyes with her once more "I...just want to be free, and you're always standing in the way! You and your FUCKING PLANS" he shouted once more.

The room remained in utter silence, he had no more to say. Nothing more to give. And no more fight left inside him.

Taking a moment to assess the situation, Nephis paused briefly. Trying to gather the words to say, though she had been trained in the art of battle since she could walk. No. Before that even. Her ability to communicate with humans, the people she wanted to save remained stunted no matter how much she tried. "I cannot guarantee we will never run into each other once more, lest I turn myself into more of a liar than I am" she said, Sunny turned his head to look at her. An emotion which she could not quite catch flashed within his eyes "However, I can promise you that I will try to break the bond between us. As hard as I possibly can" she said, resolve burning in her eyes as she continued to exude the confidence and kindness that Sunny had fallen in love with.

However, that was still not enough.

"Then die." He whispered, "Just fucking die"