Shadow Slave | School Days

Crashing into the ground in front of Morgan, Nephis stared at her with an expression filled with fury as their eyes met. A brief silence settled over the two before a smile cracked Morgan's face open as she studied her form intently. Placing a hand over her mouth, Morgan broke out into cruel laughter at the sight of her, her voice reverberating through the sounds of violence that echoed throughout the city.

"I still can't believe it, what would someone like you want to do with Sunless! You're a rich stupid wench trying to take my property and I can't stand it! Look, he even admitted it!" Pulling out a phone from her pocket, Morgan scrolled through it with her eyes still fixed on Nephis as she played an audio recording.

The sounds of Sunny's pained voice admitting he belongs to Morgan struck something within Nephis. Her pale alabaster skin reddened slightly with anger as the fact that she stood before the cause of Sunny's suffering truly settled into her mind. Without uttering another word, the two blurred from sight.

Morgan initiated the exchange with a ferocious front kick—her technique perfected through years of private training as it flew towards Nephis midsection. Nephis however anticipated the move with supreme precision as she pivoted to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow as her fist flew for a counterattack.

A jab tore through the air and landed on Morgan's cheek with a sickening thud. Morgan's cheek split open slightly as the impact caused her skin to tear slightly, crimson rivulets trickled down her face as her eyes momentarily widened in shock. In response, Morgan thrust her forearm forward, parrying Nephis follow up—a vicious right hook intended for her jaw.

Their limbs colliding sent a shockwave of pain up the two women's arms as the force of impact rattled their bones. Nephis wasted no time, with a fluid flourish of blows she sent a fluid roundhouse kick aimed at Morgan's head. The kick grazed Morgan's forehead, despite her leaning backward to avoid the blow, however Morgan countered with an elbow strike to Nephis stomach.

Nephis body absorbed the blow like a dry sponge to water as the elbow cracked against her side. Gasping slightly, the sound of breaking cartilage filled the air as a jagged bruise bloomed across her ribs. The taste of iron arrived within her mouth as blood attempted to escape from it.

Gritting her teeth, Nephis grabbed Morgan by the arm, spinning her wrist with all her strength as Morgan was thrown onto her back. Before her spine could make contact with the floor, Morgan's legs planted themselves on the ground firmly, stalling the throw as she used Nephis arm as leverage for a follow up.

Spinning her waist, Morgan slammed her knee into Nephis thigh as she screamed in shock. Sending a fist flying at Nephis throat, Morgan's eyes widened as the fist hit air. Nephis leaned low, grabbing Morgan firmly by the waist before slamming her completely onto the ground.

'She went for my knee to weaken my throw; she expected to lose the exchange.' Nephis analysed, as Morgan rolled out of the way to avoid Nephis foot cascading downward onto her head and leaving a firm dent into the cement. Leaping away from each other, Morgan immediately pressed forward.

Unleashing a flurry of blows, Nephis met her onslaught with equal resolve as she dodged with machine like precision. Only her training with Revel allowed her to deflect the blows she couldn't dodge as she redirected them with palm strikes.

But her defence wasn't eternal, Morgan's right fist flamed into Nephis's left shoulder forcing a jolt of pain to reverberate through Nephis entire body. Not one to let a blow go unpunished, Nephis pulled Morgan's fist forward as she slammed a knee into Morgan's abdomen.

The collision was brutal; Morgan doubled over as the impact ruptured a few superficial blood vessels, leaving a network of veins bulging through her skin. Nephis knee strike was quick yet heavy, almost eliciting a cry from the woman as she leapt back.

In a seamless transition, Nephis closed the distance once more with a clinch—her grappling style was hard wired to subdue strikers like Morgan, and she was showing it in full here. Locking her arms around Morgan's waist once more, Nephis attempted to execute a takedown on the other woman. Yet, Morgan wasn't one to lose to merely that much. With a powerful twist of her hips, Morgan freed herself from Nephis grip temporarily before using her momentum to land a brutal sweeping kick.

Caught off guard by Morgan's counter, Nephis lost her balance as Morgan's boot connected with her thigh. The impact shattered a small cluster of capillaries in Nephis's leg, causing blood to streak down along her calf. As Nephis staggered, Morgan pressed her advantage.

Charging forward, she unleashed a palm strike to Nephis's chest, followed by a devastating low kick to Nephis's leg. Buckling backward under the assault, a sharp crack resonated through the opening as one of her ribs suffered a hairline fraction.

A fist soared toward her face as Nephis let loose a sly grin, grabbing Morgan's fist firmly, Nephis grunted in effort as she began her swing. "You're my bitch now, so sit." She mocked as she slammed Morgan's face into the concrete. Morgan only had enough time to use a hand to break her fall as her body collided with the ground.

Pulling her hand backward roughly, Morgan freed herself from Nephis grip as she raised herself to her feet. Blood trickled from her nose as she cracked a bloody grin. "Sunless raised his bitches well I see, tell me, what did he offer you? Let me guess, he offered you, his body."

Nephis grimace could only increase further as she stared at Morgan's bloodied form before her. "He didn't offer me anything except his love and unbreaking loyalty you scum. Now just sit quietly while I kill you." Morgan could only laugh loudly, her laugh pierced through the environment as she held her bruised side.

"You? Kill me? You're pathetic, you've never taken a life before and you never will. Wait... I recognise you! Why didn't I see it before?"

Morgan wasn't allowed to continue as Nephis blurred in front of her. Morgan's fist tore through the air, piercing through Nephis defences as it collided with her chest. Her bones groaned slightly under the impact as a torrent of blood escaped from her lips.

Spinning on her heel, Nephis took a page out of Sunny's book and swung her elbow at the velvet eyed woman. Yet, Nephis elbow was caught mid motion as Morgan looked at her with contempt. "You're fast, but Sunless was hundreds of times faster than that wench!"

Digging her fingers into Nephis arm, Morgan drew blood as she flung Nephis upward. Midair, Nephis used her free hand to grip Morgan's forearm, spinning her hand forcefully as the friction left slight burns on Morgan's arm. Yet Morgan remained undeterred as she slammed Nephis into the ground.

Relaxing her muscles to lessen the impact, a torrent of blood escaped her lips as Nephis raised herself from the ground quickly, her fist clenched as it soared through the air towards Morgan. Morgan responded in kind as their fists clashed with each other's faces in unison, sending the two women flying backward.

Both women were battered, blood cascading from their body in monumental amounts as the two slowly raised themselves to their feet. "Stop, you're Nephis of the immortal flame." Morgan's groaning voice caused Nephis eyes to widen as she too struggled to remain standing.

"You don't know what he did, do you? You don't know what Sunless did at all!" Her voice was strained yet firm as Nephis eyes became widened in shock, unable to utter words in reply. "The immortal flame was becoming too dangerous, so why wouldn't I get my most loyal hound to take their life!? It was amazing, they were killed by their own blade!"

Taking two steps back involuntarily, the implications of the statement settled themselves upon Nephis shoulder as a black blur clashed between them. Sunny was bruised, battered but still injured as his eyes remained focused on Morgan.

"It's fine Nephis, I'll take it from here." Nephis didn't know what to say, Sunny had taken everything from her. Killing them was her atonement, her way of giving back to the world that her existence had contributed so much to destroying. And Sunny had ripped it away from her, he had taken it. Like he had done to so many others, he had killed them.

Usually, Sunny wouldn't have showed himself before Nephis as per the plan, yet his mind wasn't functioning properly, knowing Mordret had been experimented on too shifted his mind in ways he didn't understand. All that was left was seeking answers.

On his way, his unconsciousness had faded, allowing his mind to fully focus as he reflected on what had happened when he passed out. He had won; he had beaten Mordret at the heights of both of their strengths.

He was the strongest, yet he never asked to be strong.

"Sunless, don't you understand!? You're a monster, my monster! You killed the woman you love's parents!" Morgan screamed, causing Sunny to take two involuntary steps back as Morgan's words collided with his senses. "No, you're lying. You're lying to me!"

Morgan merely smiled at his plight before continuing. "Don't you realise it!? You're an experiment, you were experimented on by her parents to be their perfect weapon! You were meant to be a slave! You only managed to escape being her private dog because you tried killing yourself you wretch!"

Two steps back once more. Sunny turned his head towards Nephis, who wouldn't meet his eyes as his lip quivered. "Neph, tell me she's lying." Sunny whispered, yet Nephis heard it all. Upon noticing her silence, Sunny's body bubbled with rage as his eyes narrowed.

"NEPHIS TELL ME SHE'S LYING!" Yet Sunny received no response, Nephis lip merely trembled further as her eyes began to water, tears streaking from her eyes as Sunny's eyes flashed from betrayal, to hatred, to rage.

"How long... how long did you know?" Sunny muttered, turning around and closing in on Nephis as he stared at her bleeding form in the eye. She tried to break eye contact, yet Sunny gripped her chin firmly and directed her eyes toward him. "Since... since Eubin's house."

Before Sunny could offer a response, Morgan's elated voice emanated through the clearing once more as her grin only grew. "And to make it worse, it was her fault! They made you a weapon to be her slave! Her protector!" Sunny's eyes flashed with rage; rage directed at Nephis as he gripped her chin even tighter.

Morgan moved to speak once more, only for a dull force to the back of her head silenced her. Eubin dragged the woman to the side before snapping her neck with a sickening crunch, before disappearing into the darkness. 'I've done what I can Nephis, your life is in your hands now.'

"I... you... it's your fault. It's your fault I'm like this; it's your fault I can't live a regular life. This... this is all your fault." Sunny muttered, his grip relaxing as his hand shot to his head. Pain lanced through his form as tears began flowing from his eyes, the image of Nephis comforting image clashing with the painful memories he had received through his life in a brutal symphony.

Nephis eyes remained fixed on Sunny too, an irrational feeling of rage bubbled in her soul as she heard him place blame for his suffering onto her as her eyes flared with fury. "None of this is my fault, I couldn't control what my parent's did! It's not my fault you suffered; you killed my fucking parents!"

"I was... trying to atone! I'm not broken like you are, I'm not a murderer like you are! Do you know how difficult it is to kill your own fucking flesh and blood! And yet I resolved myself, I was ready to take that burden on myself and you took it from me! You took it like you always do, you killed them!"

Encroaching on Sunny's form, Nephis glared down at him with fury lacing in her eyes as Sunny could only stare at her emptily. "You did it! You have nobody else to blame!" Jabbing her finger into his chest, Sunny flinched backward with horror in his eyes as he muttered under his breathe.

"I'm...broken? I'm a murderer?" Sunny mumbled, taking steps backward involuntarily as his vision swam. A fist blitzed through the air at Nephis throat as Sunny bit his lip and caught his fist in his other arm. "I should kill you..." Sunny mumbled under his breathe, stepping backward as tears continued to flow down his face.

"Leave, go! You took everything from me and you're going to kill me like you always do! Just fucking go... lost from light."

Sunny's eyes emptied completely as his lip trembled. "My name isn't Lost from light... I'm Sunny. You told me that..." Shaking his head, more tears continued to blur his vision as Sunny turned his back on her, disappearing from view. A moment later and he really might've killed Nephis.

From behind her, slow steady steps resounded in her senses as Nephis snapped her eyes backward. Six foot three with flowing dark hair, the tattoo of a blue crescent moon across each of his palms as he hummed a jolly tune. With a pale white odachi in his right hand, sheathed completely as he twirled it loosely, the man allowed a small smile to settle itself on his face.

"Oh! I've found myself a big catch, immortal flames daughter and Morgan of Valor? It's my lucky day! Shall I kill them, shall I drop a one-liner? Who knows!" The man theatrically exclaimed as he closed in on Nephis. Tensing her body preparing for a fight, Nephis quickly found herself on the floor as the man knocked her off her feet.

"You didn't even ask me my name! I'm Noctis, local wine seller and sword swinger and I'm here to save you!" A silent question arrived across Nephis dishevelled features as she scanned around the environment. Thirteen men armed to the teeth with weapons stood before her as they raised Morgan's slack body to her feet.

"See! These men don't really like you, not that I do either. Anyways, come with me!" In a moment, Nephis view changed as she found herself scooped up in his arms and in the air, quickly disappearing into a secluded building of the underworld as Noctis roughly flung her against the wall, allowing her to slowly slide down it with leaving a trail of blood.

"Job's done!" Noctis exclaimed as he disappeared once more. Now, Nephis was alone with her thoughts, her memories of what she said to Sunny barrelled through her vision as tears cascaded from eyes. Weakly raising her hands upward, Nephis slammed her fist into her head, slowly increasing in force as she left bruises against her head.

Thud...

Thud...

Thud...

"Idiot, idiot, idiot! I'm such a fucking idiot! Who the hell do I think I am!" Nephis cried to herself as tears cascaded from her eyes, her hands raining blows against her head. Sobs escaped from her lips as her vision swam, pain lancing through her body with feverish determination.

Yet her injuries weren't the cause of her pain, it was her heart. The searing, undeniable realization that the cruel words she had said to Sunny were not merely vile thoughts she held in her heart, but words she had uttered. She had watched the light fade from his eyes, in his own way, he had died there. 

Both she and Sunny had done things they could never take back. In only a single day, a friendship, their love, everything that connected the two had been shattered in a matter of moments.

They came to take revenge, and yet all they were left with were broken hearts.