Sunny remained under the sacred tree for a while, staring silently into the mist. The cold wind blew from beyond the island, bringing with it an insidious chill. The silence was only broken by the muffled rustling of leaves.
His thoughts were dark.
He did not know how much time had passed, exactly, when something seemed to change about the world. Sunny let out a quiet sigh and rose to his feet, hugging himself to preserve what little warmth remained from escaping into the fog.
Looking down, he lingered for a few moments, and then said somberly:
"So you are finally here."
At first, there was no response.
Then, the fog moved slightly, revealing a vague silhouette that had been hidden by its flowing veil. A wraith made of mist was standing on the deck of the Chain Breaker, mere meters away. Her inhumanly cold blue eyes were gazing at him with no emotion.
Sunny smiled darkly.
"No wonder it took me a whole week to catch up on sleep."
Every time Sunny slept, he would come to his senses at the start of the loop. There were two possible explanations for why he did - either Sunny was sleeping for too long... or something killed him while he slept.
He had assumed that it was the former. But now, he knew that it was the latter.
His hands trembled and turned into fists.
'Of course...of course. Why else?'
For dozens of revolutions, Sunny had been telling his companions to hide inside the Chain Breaker and wait while he risked his life exploring the island.
But who said that the ship was safe?
Sunny had never seen Undying Slaughter find it. But today was also the first time he had remained on the Chain Breaker for more than a couple of hours, awake...
'Curse you...'
A deep darkness shrouded his eyes.
It meant that every time Sunny had left, thinking that his companions would be safe, the mist wraith discovered them.
And killed them.
Cassie and Jet had been killed terribly, over and over again, while he was gallivanting around the island.
Nephs had been killed, too.
Or had she been?
Would he have felt if his master was no more? Would the Spell have announced her passing? If Sunny had checked his runes... would he have seen her name grow dim and disappear?
Staring at Undying Slaughter, Sunny gritted his teeth.
"I'll... destroy you."
As a bitter smile appeared on his lips, he took a step forward and added calmly:
"...One day."
The mist wraith moved.
Not long after that, Sunny died.
Sunny was crouching on the deck of the Chain Breaker once again. Straightening, he looked into the fog.
His face remained motionless.
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