Chapter 43

Slow steady steps made their way towards Connector. Blood was covering Sunny's body in a shroud as the devilish grin he wore on his face remained. He had dismissed the Sin of Solace, opting for hand-to-hand combat to end the mock rivalry they had.

All things considered; Connector was just like him. A fiendish, rouge shadow who only lived for violence, who only took pleasure in violence. It just so happened it ran into another one of his kind, who was far more harrowing in nature.

Despite his injuries, Sunny felt strong. Far stronger than he had at the beginning of the battle, it felt like everything was right in the world. His body flowed with power; his mind flooded with new battle styles he created merely from this singular bout with Connector.

For the first time in his life, fate itself had become his ally.

As he continued to walk down Connector, who was groggily raising itself to it's feet to engage in it's final bout, comments from those of Valor echoed out, not being considered by the frenzied shadow in the slightest.

"Is he even human?" The mumble caught Nephis attention, her eyes flamed with rage as she turned to the soldier who said that. In a blur, she was in front of them. Roughly grabbing the man by his shirt, she pulled him in close so he could see the fury that dwelled within her eyes.

"Do not talk about Sunny like that again." She whispered, before shoving the man backward. She watched with baited breathes as Sunny prepared himself to engage in his final bout with the creature, in all honesty, she was having similar doubts as the solider.

Although she wanted to reject it, to deny it, to fight against Cassie's prophecy. An insidious snake like part of her mind continued to rear it's ugly head as doubts of Sunny's humanity arose. He didn't look human, he was more like a horrifying demon who transcended the dichotomy between nightmare creature and human, bringing down death on all who stood in his path.

And yet, she refused to acknowledge it. 'He's not a demon, he's Sunny! He's the man I fell in love with!' she proclaimed to herself continuously, and yet, she found that she was doing little to convince herself as she watched the final bout commence.

Sunny and Connector stood inches away from one another, balling his fist to the limits the human body could allow, Sunny threw a right hook that dented Connector's steel carapace. Connector responded with three of his own, levelling a punch to Sunny's jaw sending blood pouring from his mouth like a geyser.

But Sunny wasn't done yet, leaping up, he grabbed the two horns of Connector before slamming his knee into it's face. Black blood painted his knee as Connector quickly counterattacked, plucking him from the air and slamming him into the ground.

Yet Sunny's grip didn't relent, he continued to keep his hold on Connector firm as he slammed his elbow into the back of the creatures head, denting it continuously. Roughly pulling his head back, connector rolled out of the way before attempting to slam his injured foot into Sunny's chest.

Fatal mistake.

Sunny drove his open hand into the open wound, ripping out another piece of flesh as Connector fell onto his back with a howl of pain. Sunny leapt atop the creature, slamming his fist into it's face continuously till it barely had enough life left in it to resist.

His breathes were baited, Sunny had been holding in a breathe for nearly ten minutes as blood flooded his injured lung. Yet he continued swinging his fists. Blood poured from his lips as his internal injuries continued to grow more serious.

Yet he continued to swing his fists.

Finally, he lowered his head down, extending his jaw so wide that he dislocated it from it's socket before biting deep into the neck of Connector, ripping out a piece of it's spine as he pulled his head back roughly.

Spitting out the piece of flesh, Sunny raised a hand triumphantly as the spell sang it's glorious song into his ear.

[You have slain, Six Handed Connector: Herald of The End]

[Your Shadow grows stronger] 

[You have received a memory]

Despite his injured lungs, Sunny let out a guttural roar that shook the ground beneath him, his hand remaining stagnant in the air as he raised himself to his feet. With a stagger, he felt like dropping to the floor unconscious, yet he remained standing.

"That's for killing my people, you six handed bastard." Sunny grunted, and in a moment, everything went black. Everything was stagnant, people were unsure what to do as Sunny remained standing with his fist raised, motionless.

People were scared to approach, no matter how mentally resilient Valor had trained them to be this was something far beyond their capabilities. Yet one radiant Changing Star arrived near Sunny's body. Looking him over, she realised he had passed out before ripping the sword from his chest and laying him on the ground.

"You passed out standing? What human does that-" Her mumbles were cut off as her hand slapped on her mouth. She had done it; she had seen what Cassie had proclaimed she would see and spoken as Cassie said she would. Nephis lip twisted into a snarl as she looked down at Sunny's body.

He was smiling.

A presence made itself known next to her, a woman with pale golden hair arriving from what felt like thin air as she knelt next to Sunny's injured body. Nephis released her flames, healing his wounds at a rapid rate as Sunny unconsciously coughed blood, stopping him from drowning himself.

"Are you sure you want to heal him?" Cassie asked softly, her eyes visible and evidently sombre. She held a dagger in her hands with an iron grip as her eyes remained fixated on Nephis. Nephis didn't meet her eyes though, yet the intensity of her flames wavered as Sunny's healing slowed.

"It happened just like you said it would." Nephis whispered, her eyes remaining fixed on Sunny's bloodied face. She summoned a cloth, wiping his face down and returning it to the pristine state it once was before Sunny's brutal bout.

"And you know what you have to do now, right?" Cassie asked softly, she placed a hand on Sunny's chest, summoning a memory. Nephis head snapped towards her incredulously, fury burning in her eyes. "What did you do!?"

"It only restrains his essence for a short while, just in case he wakes up early." Cassie whispered, before handing her blade to Nephis. Nephis took it weakly in her own hands, arms shaking as her flames dimmed over Sunny's body. She had to make a choice quickly, before Valor mustered the courage to investigate what had happened.

"I don't want Sunny to die, I don't want Sunny to become a sacrifice for the world again! He's been through enough!" Nephis exclaimed, tears cascading from her eyes as her hands trembled, Cassie was crying too, softly releasing sobs as she stared down at Sunny's body.

"I don't want this either, but it's either him or us. And you've always picked us." Cassie whispered, Nephis grip tightened on the blade, her eyes focusing down on Sunny's form as memories of their time spent together flashed through her mind. It was her all along.

It was her who proclaimed she wanted Sunny to be happy.

It was her who proclaimed she wanted things to be fixed.

It was her who proclaimed she would never hurt Sunny.

With trembling arms, Nephis gritted her teeth before bringing the dagger down, lodging it deep into the snow beside Sunny. "I've made the mistake of being a coward once Cassie, and I won't do it again. Consequences be damned, if he causes the world to burn, I'll enjoy my time with him till that happens."

Her voice boiled with resolve as Cassie gently wiped her tears off her face. She knew there was no way she could win this encounter without dying in the process. And so, she simply threw on her hoodie once more and walked away.

Nephis broke down into tears, bawling gently into Sunny's chest as she lamented the fact that killing him had even been considered. "I'm such a horrible girlfriend; I'm a horrible person!" A hand weakly reached up, running through her hair gently.

Sunny had woken up.

"Hey Neph? What happened. Why are you crying? I went overboard again, didn't I?" turning his head to the side, Sunny saw a dagger lodged near his head as he looked up at Nephis with a wide smile on his face. He was happy, for the first time he was genuinely happy. Nephis offered no words in reply as he continued speaking.

"You chose me in the end, ahh I'm glad. I'm glad I have you Neph."