Shadow Slave: Purgatory

Sunny could feel the comforting warmth of shadows protecting him as he was embraced by the eclipse. This situation called for celebration - he had survived the wraith and was returning to the comfortable embrace of his home domain. Better still, he was heading in the general direction of his original destination.

However, Sunny watched in silent fear as the wraith fell, helplessly blanketed by the same shadow that comforted him. Sunny didn't fear the shadows themselves; he feared what the wraith could accomplish with them.

With a violent growl, he grasped the black arrow embedded in his chest and yanked it out. As soon as he was freed, Sunny augmented himself with essence and pulled himself up with the invisible string of the prowling thorn.

As he climbed the eagle's back once more, he felt his dwindling essence and worse still he heard a soft thunk which sent a chill down his spine.

Instinctively, he looked down just to see a black great arrow embedded a few meters below him.

The corner of his eye caught a blur of black zipping across the black rope, but before his predicament could be processed, he found himself hovering through the air as the scenery switched to that of the dark sky and the black eclipsed sun.

Suddenly, with a violent slam, he found himself pinned to the eagle's back with the wraith straddling his chest, his gaze locked onto the wraith's empty eye sockets. Sunny's fate had been sealed.

But despite his impending doom, Sunny gazed into the ancient wraith's empty eye sockets with a limpid look as they remained in the same position for minutes. The remnant golden rays vanished one by one, shadowed by the eclipse. There was no murderous intent between the two anymore.

The environment around them grew serene and tranquil as the cool air whipped between them. Simple acceptance engraved itself in each other's hearts, almost as if the two enemies had accepted their fate - yet behind the calm, limpid look, a tempered, restrained, hideous hatred could be seen.

As the final golden ray dissipated into golden granules, Sunny's lips curled up into a sinister smile as he instantaneously dissolved into the shadows. Before his essence could be depleted, Sunny emerged from Gloomy behind the Shadow wraith.

Suppressing his fear, Sunny wrapped his hands around the wraith's neck once more. As he expected, the wraith didn't thrash anymore - it had learned from its previous experiences. But the panic and thrashing wasn't what Sunny wanted. It was a simple misdirection.

If the ancient shadow wraith had focused its attention on Sunny's remnant shadow Happy, it would've noticed the armored figure emerging from it. Before the wraith could tear Sunny off its back, both Sunny and the wraith were tackled by Saint.

Unable to respond or resist, the wraith was thrown off the eagle's back along with the two shadows. As they plummeted towards the blood-red river, the wraith screeched in anger, realizing its situation as it whipped around during their fall. A wide, friendly, and mocking smile was plastered across Sunny's face.

The wraith slashed and diced Sunny's abdomen and chest with its claws, sending fresh blood floating around them, but Sunny didn't resist - his smile simply grew wider as his body began shutting down with destined death. His vision darkening, in the end he felt his body enveloped by the searing heat of the steam, and with a splash and a wave of freezing coldness, Sunny's vision was clouded by the blood-red river.

And then Sunny died.

***

For minutes or hours, Sunny felt his consciousness flickering and his body being drained. With a weak grunt, he tried to resist the flow of the river and its effect on his body, but he couldn't stop it.

It was almost as if his very soul was being broken down and disintegrating. As his body was being broken down, he could see motes and sparks of light emanating from his figure and floating like bubbles across the blood-red liquid, but as his soul was being dismantled, he simultaneously felt his physical body being put back together crudely. His diced body and slashed insides healing.

He was in so much pain - but what was pain? Sunny didn't know. It was as if he had been dreaming all along, almost as if his entire life was one long torturous dream that wouldn't end.

Maybe it would end now. Gradually, Sunny felt his sense of self dissolving and his very being dissipating as if a person called Sunny had never existed.

Who was he anyway? Just a nobody! Just nothing that had once existed and now was dead.

As his body floated across the blood-red river, his arms spread wide as he stopped struggling.

He smiled as he let go. 

But as he floated with no purpose, he could feel something annoying screaming at the back of his head. It was jarring.

He forcefully cut the connection to Gloomy, preventing himself from feeling his sullen companion's dread and worry.

'Who is Gloomy? And what is a feeling?'

As he thought contemplatively, he found himself unable to remember. His inability only forced him to try harder.

He...

He tried to remember something important or someone important to him in curiosity, but as he did, he could remember nothing. Instead, he felt a cold unbearable chill blooming in his heart - like the chill of snowfall but also like the stab of a frozen dagger, and it was telling him something.

It was telling him not to accept this outcome.

'Is this a feeling? Regret?'

But the cold unbearable chill only made him more depressed. He didn't want to feel this way, driven away by the inexplicable sadness; in avoidance, he tried to feel something else.

So he dove deeper into what remained of his being. In the very depths of his being, a depth he hadn't known existed, he saw multiple golden strings wrapping around him tightly, holding him up like a chrysalis or a marionette.

He didn't know what the strings were but as he gazed at the strings, he felt an inexplicable fiery sensation; this sensation was searing, it enveloped him almost as if he was swimming on the surface of a star. It was a fiery drive that burned as bright as the sun, the brightness surprised him, and this fiery drive... it was pushing him... it was telling him to do something, anything.

'What is this called again?'

This feeling was familiar and something very important to him. It defined who he was. He wanted to know who he was.

'This...'

'This...'

As he thought contemplatively in familiarity and desperation, he remembered one word that changed everything.

'This is spite. Spite!'

And as he remembered his spite for the world and everyone that lived in it, the overwhelming sound of shattering glass echoed in his head, and he felt free.

Invisible restraints that chained his memories away were shattered, and with an overwhelming flood, he remembered. Sunny remembered!

He wasn't nobody! He was Sunless!

He was a divine aspect holder. One of the strongest sleepers to ever exist, he was a member of the legendary Changing Star's cohort, he was Kai's best friend, and he was Rain's big brother. He remembered Nephis and eventually his friends and enemies. But as he remembered, his spite grew.

He wouldn't accept death! He didn't want to be nobody; he wanted to be somebody.

His fiery spite flooded him with overwhelming drive and one unbreakable rule that existed above all his desires.

He wouldn't accept death! He would never accept death! He would live just to spite them all!

And as he remembered, Sunny was flooded with strength. Strength that had come from somewhere beyond what he could see.

'Breathe. I have to breathe!'

Instinctively his body remembered to swim, so he did. His arms and legs flailed around; he felt weak but also invincible at the same time. It was a beautiful contradiction.

Slowly but surely he swam up to the surface with a fierce look.

Suddenly, a pale hand exploded from the surface of the blood-red river, and soon a pale face followed.

With a loud gasp, Sunny breathed in the air. It wasn't too late - he could still save himself! With desperation, Sunny tried to swim against the river's flow and strength. As he reached the bank, he tried to claw his way up, but before he could grasp onto something, he was pushed away.

His body rolled as his consciousness flickered once more, but this time Sunny didn't allow the river to break his body down. Instead, he summoned a pale ghostly stiletto and stabbed it at the rock; it failed to pierce the rock and with multiple sparks, Sunny was pulled away, but right before he could be completely pulled off the surface of the river's bank, the moonlight shard stuck itself in the gap between two rocks.

With happiness, Sunny pulled himself up and climbed outside the river.

Pant! Pant! Pant!

With heavy breathing, Sunny crawled away from the river as the blood-red liquid dripped down his body.

He felt immensely weak but also immensely strong. He felt so much essence flooding his body.

"Weird, wasn't I almost empty a few minutes ago?" he murmured to himself as he collapsed. He felt himself losing consciousness, but before he did, he heard a familiar voice shout with worry and happiness.

"Sunny?" And then Sunny was embraced by darkness.

***

i would like to get this chap outta the way. and start fresh