A Sunless Dream

A flash of black flickered through the air as Nephis was immediately blown back by the force of it. Using her foresight, Cassie barely managed to keep her head out of the way of several sword strikes aiming directly for her neck, intending to decapitate her in one fluid motion.

Before Cassie could muster a counterattack, Sunny vanished into the shadows, his presence becoming undetectable as he appeared behind Nephis. She barely had time to pivot before a scythe of pure shadow cleaved through the air, aimed at her throat.

She parried with a desperate cry, her flames roared to match the dark void that fuelled the shadows. Sparks erupted; the force of the clash forced her to stagger backwards as she weighed her options.

'If I detonated a soul core, I'd kill everyone else here. I'm not even sure Sunny or that fiend would be harmed because of shadow step though.' She assessed, with gritted teeth she swatted away a swing of Sunny's scythe.

Before he could follow up, Cassie darted in, her rapier a blur. Her strikes were precise, targeting Sunny's blind spots with eerie accuracy. Sunny mirrored the movements in a matter of moments, his sword flew past her cheek leaving a light gash in it as he kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

"I'd go after your blind spots but that isn't useful against a witch who can't see. Seems like the only time you are effective is when it comes to hurting me!" Sunny roared in anger; his scythe morphed into two swords as he blitzed towards Cassie. One blade met her rapier while the other lashed towards her side.

Cassie twisted away; her movements almost appeared like she was dancing as she narrowly avoided Sunny's blows. Despite her foresight, the speed difference between the two was immense as Sunny nicked her on the arm, causing blood to flow down from her shoulder.

Nephis lunged, her blade consumed with fire as she swung in a wide arc from behind Sunny. Sunny ducked under the blow as he punched her in the liver, the crack of her ribs under the force sent a sickening smile across his face as he watched her fly into the air.

In a moment, Nephis was upon him once more. She struck with ferocity and discipline, each swing accompanied with the ethereal flames that followed her every command as they scorched the ground and seared the air.

Sunny swatted away her attacks with ease, his shadow weapons shifting form to meet her every attack. "You may not remember, but the form you taught me went a little like this" without further pause, Sunny's movements became fluid and unpredictable, matching Nephis fighting style perfectly.

Lashing out at Nephis throat, he felt his sword make slight contact as she bent her head to dodge the blow. Ignoring the wound, Nephis kicked Sunny in his already injured ribs eliciting a grunt of pain from him as he jumped backwards. His laboured breathes caused Nephis to form barely restrained tears as she prepared herself for another onslaught.

Sunny stepped forward once more, ignoring the heat. He copied her flames, his sword igniting with darkened fire as he swung at Nephis with merciless fury. The impact of the blow threw Nephis backwards as he pointed the tip of his sword at her.

'He still has the energy to do that?' Nephis mentally exclaimed as she jumped to the side, barely dodging a beam of light that had just flown past her head. Blood seeped from her mouth however she forced herself to her feet, her sword flaring with the flames of life once more.

Cassie moved in once more, her rapier darted towards Sunny's throat. Sunny twisted, catching the blade between his twin swords. With a snarl, Sunny kicked her in the chest, before she could exit his range, he threw a kick which she barely dodged.

"Oh yeah, you haven't seen this one before, have you?" his mocking voice echoed through her head as he pulled his leg backwards. Sunny's leg acted like a hook as it brought her face downwards, only for it to slam into Sunny's knee, in a split second his knee viciously slammed itself into her midsection before Sunny jumped in the air, spinning slightly and slamming his elbow into her jaw.

The force of the blow sent Cassie flying, however she quickly regained her composure and spat out a wad of blood. Nephis screamed, flames enveloping her body. The pain was unbearable however she forced her mind to ignore it, channelling her flames into a focused point.

For a moment, Sunny's mind flashed back to their date at the beach before quickly crushing the memory. His eyes narrowed in fury as they flashed crimson. Sunny didn't move to dodge, rather he met Nephis stride and allowed her to run him through with the blade, running her through with his own in response.

Eyes widening, Nephis looked down to realise she had made no contact. Sunny's torso had turned into liquid shadow as his sword remained lodged in her torso. Twisting the blade, Sunny pulled it out before slapping Nephis across the face and punching her in the nose.

Nephis flew backwards, her downed form looked pathetic beneath Sunny's feet as he glared at her with visible rage. Sunny's sword twisted with shadows and formed into a scythe as he swung his blade downwards in a wide arc. Instead of meeting flesh, Cassie's rapier collided with his scythe sending sparks flying.

Cassie moved without hesitation; her rapier became a blur of precise thrusts. Sunny jumped backwards avoiding the blows, before pointing downwards at her feet. Cassie suddenly felt the tension around her ankles as shadow tendrils ensnared them.

Suddenly, Cassie's face made contact with the ground as Sunny's tentacle like appendages continued to rapidly slam her into the ground with force. Cassie twisted with inhuman accuracy, slicing apart the shadow tendrils as she rushed at Sunny once more.

Sighing, Sunny prepared to continue his onslaught however Nephis flames roared to life once more. She lunged with all her strength, her blade slicing towards Sunny's chest. Sunny leaned backwards however the blade left a deep gash as he moved away from it.

Surging forward, Nephis continued to press her advantage as she unleashed a flurry of blows upon Sunny. Sunny parried, but the sheer force of her strikes drove him back. His shadow sword shattered under the pressure of her immense strength.

Raising her sword in the air, Nephis intended to end the battle in one movement. However, her face ended up firmly planted into the floor as Sunny slammed her into the ground in one blow "You're better off commanding me to let you win." Sunny jeered, reforming his sword in his outstretched hand.

The shadows around him exploded in a tidal wave, they slammed into Nephis and Cassie sending them flying backwards. Before they could go far, Sunny's hands wrapped around their throats firmly as two arms of shadow emerged from his back, each holding a blade.

"Tell me, tell me why I shouldn't kill you." Sunny asked, his voice low and unsteady. His gaze wavered as he stared at the injured forms of Cassie and Nephis. They had been his family, even closer than that at a point in his life, and here he was about to end their lives.

"Sunny, I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did" Nephis pleaded, Sunny's eyes flashed with rage as he roared at her "Liar! You're such a fucking liar, if it wasn't your fault then who's was it!"

"Admit it, admit it and I'll let you live. Admit you're no better than the sovereigns you're trying to overthrow, admit you wouldn't do things any differently!" Sunny spat, Nephis eyes flamed with resolve as she remained silent. Sunny gritted his teeth and turned to Cassie.

"And you, what can I even say about you. You're a pathetic witch who has only brought misfortune to my life since we've met!" Sunny spat; Cassie's now visible eyes poured with tears as she blinked them away.

"Sunny I'm sorry. It wasn't for me to tell" Cassie reasoned; Sunny hated that about her. He hated her attempts to appeal to pragmatism to escape her obvious wrongs, and he wasn't going to let it slide now.

"You could have remained silent, but you didn't even speak to Changing Star! Not even a word of reprimand ever came, because you're a leech! A pathetic leech who clings to others for validation!" Sunny's voice broke as he said in a low tone "Just like me."

Suddenly, his eyes flared with fury once more as he continued "But not anymore! Killing you two will finally remove everything that was getting in my way." This time, it was Nephis who spoke "Getting in the way of what Sunny, anything and I'll help you get it."

His eyes flickered with unparalleled sadness as he replied in a broken tone...

"Getting in the way of my happiness."