Shadow Slave: A Supreme Bond (Sunphis Wedding One-Shot)

The night was silent.

Too silent.

Rain moved carefully through the dense undergrowth, her steps featherlight against the damp earth. The trees loomed around her like silent sentinels, their skeletal branches reaching for the sky like gnarled fingers. The distant glow of the city barely touched this place, leaving only the cold silver light of the full moon to guide her way.

A whisper of unease curled in her chest.

She should turn back.

Every instinct screamed that following the reflection of that damned creature was a mistake. That she was walking into something vast. Something beyond her.

And yet, she pressed on.

It had started during the dance ceremony. A sudden premonition had struck her—a feeling so visceral, so wrong, that it sent an icy shiver down her spine. It reminded her of the call of a Nightmare Gate, that dreadful pull that all Awakened knew. But this... this was different.

It was eerier. More dreadful. And yet, at the same time, incongruous.

Like a discordant note played in the depths of her soul.

The moment she felt it, she had turned to the Saints nearby, searching their faces for the same dread that gripped her. But there was nothing. Only confused gazes and unknowing replies.

Why were they acting like nothing was wrong?

Could it be that only she had felt it?

Then, a realization struck.

The tremor—the whisper of something vast and terrible—was too faint. Too diminished. Like the echo of a distant past... or a forewarning of the future.

No other Awakened was strong enough to feel it. Not even Saints.

But Rain was different. She had both a divine Aspect and a True Name. And, more than that, the [Mark of Shadows] tied her to her brother's domain, granting her a sliver of his affinity for fate and revelation.

And if she had felt it... then so had her brother. And so had the Sovereigns. And so had Mordret.

Her expression darkened.

Mordret. That bastard.

Just what the hell was he plotting now?

She had seen him slip away from the celebration the moment the tremor hit her. Moving with that same languid grace, quiet and subtle. Deliberate. Calculated. As if every step he took was part of a grand design.

A design meant to lay ruin to everything.

That was all Mordret knew how to do. Ruin. He did not care for anyone, only himself. If slaughtering an entire city served his convenience, he wouldn't hesitate.

And now... now, he was planning something again.

Rain clenched her jaw.

Tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration. A night her brother had earned—one he had bled for, suffered for, waited for.

She wouldn't let that bastard ruin it.

Not now. Not ever.

Clicking her tongue under her breath, Rain clenched her fists.

She would never understand why her brother trusted that monster. Why he had let him live. Even now, if she went to Sunny with her suspicions, he would likely shrug and say it wasn't anything to worry about.

And maybe, if he said so, it was true.

Sunny had more insight than her, knew more about the world than anyone else. He was a better judge of character, too.

But he was not omniscient. And if there was even the slightest chance that Mordret was plotting to ruin the wedding... Rain could not ignore it. 

So she followed.

At some point, the air around her changed. It grew heavy. Unsettled.

The further she walked, the worse it became. What had begun as a whisper of unease—barely noticeable, creeping at the edges of her awareness—soon grew into a formless weight pressing against her chest.

Rain frowned.

Had she been found out already?

That shouldn't have been possible.

She turned her wrist, revealing the crimson-hued band coiled around it— A sacred Memory pulsing dimly in the dark. Its anti-divination enchantments were formidable, strong enough to veil her presence even from Sovereigns. At least, until she got too close.

And yet...

A sudden, suffocating pressure settled upon her soul. Like something vast and unseen had turned its gaze upon her.

Her breath hitched.

This wasn't the presence of a mere Transcendent. It was deeper. Colder. More insidious. 

She had been found, there was no doubt about it now—but how? She shouldn't have been close enough yet.

More than that... this presence wasn't normal. Not even a Supreme should feel like this.

No.

This was something else entirely. Something deeper. Something wrong.

It was like standing at the precipice of an abyss, knowing—with absolute certainty—that something inside was staring back. Watching. Waiting. Something that could erase her existence with the slightest flicker of its will.

A shiver traced down her spine.

'Cursed... there's a cursed creature here!'

For the first time in a long while, she felt small. 

Fragile.

...Prey.

The shadows between the trees shifted. Stretched. 

Something moved within them—too fluid, too silent, as if the darkness itself had taken form. A quiet sound slithered through the silence—not quite a breath, not quite a whisper.

Mocking.

Her pulse quickened. Her instincts screamed at her to turn and run. That whatever waited beyond the trees would not grant her a fate better than death.

Rain clenched her fists, inhaled sharply—then exhaled, steadying herself.

Death?

She scoffed.

Death was the last thing in this world that could make her falter. It wouldn't be the first time she had tasted it, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Fighting against the primal urge to retreat, she took a step forward. Then another. Pushing past branches and roots, forging ahead despite the unnatural weight pressing down on her.

Until, at last— She saw him.

Mordret stood in the clearing, his back to her, bathed in fractured moonlight.

His golden attire—so pristine at the wedding—was dulled by shadow, his silhouette impossibly still. He exuded no malice, no overt ill intent.

Nothing about him seemed wrong.

Nothing... except the ground.

The dirt was darker than it should have been. Almost ink-like. Small, jagged shards glistened within it—like broken mirrors, half-buried in the soil.

Rain inhaled slowly. Then exhaled. She raised her chin.

"Mordret."

Her voice was steady. Unwavering.

Slowly, he turned.

His eyes caught the moonlight, reflecting it in an unnatural way—like a mirror slicked with blood. Like a malevolent glass, brimming with something old and unspeakable.

A desire to ruin.

His expression remained calm. Too calm. As if her presence was neither unexpected nor unwelcome.

"Ah. Rain." His voice was smooth as silk, almost amused. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Rain scoffed.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure you didn't."

Mordret tilted his head. "May I know why my dear sister-in-law has followed me into a secluded clearing, deep in the forest?"

He chuckled, low and amused. "I'd rather not get in trouble explaining this to your brother."

"Don't you dare call me that."

Rain's voice was sharp, cold.

"Nephis and Morgan are no longer sisters. Don't go looking for excuses to form some nonexistent relation with me."

Mordret's expression remained unchanged. "That's unfortunate." His golden eyes met hers, steady and unbothered. "Considering they still refer to each other as such."

Rain ignored the bait.

She held his gaze. "What are you doing out here?"

Mordret smiled.

"Just... enjoying some solitude." His gaze flicked past her, lingering on something unseen in the darkness. "Preparing for the event that will happen tonight."

Rain's expression darkened.

"That wave of unease before you left the ceremony... what was it?"

Mordret let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "I have no idea what you might be referring to."

A muscle twitched in her jaw. "Don't play dumb with me."

Her voice was edged with ice.

"I know it has something to do with you slipping away. Tell me what you're planning, bastard."

Mordret tilted his head. "What gives you that idea?"

Rain scowled. "You mean you're not planning anything?"

"Oh, I am," Mordret said, lips curling in amusement.

Rain frowned. "Then—"

"I meant, what gives you the idea that I'd tell you anything?"

Silence.

Then—

Rain clicked her tongue and exhaled slowly. "The idea that you value your 'heart' seems good enough to me."

The air shifted. The world seemed to bristle, seething with unseen rage.

Mordret's amusement bled away, his voice turning to ice.

"How amusing... A mere Saint, threatening a Sovereign to his face."

He took a step forward... and vanished.

Rain's breath caught.

In that same instant, something vast and suffocating descended upon her. A pressure heavier than mountains.

The air thickened with murderous intent.

It was so close, so immediate, that for a split second, she even forgot about the cursed gaze still lurking in the darkness.

Then—

Mordret was beside her.

His presence was sudden, effortless, wrong.

One moment he wasn't there.

The next, his fingers rested lightly on her shoulder. Mere inches from her throat. Close enough to tear the life from her with nothing more than a flick of his wrist.

"Tell me," he murmured.

His voice drifted, distant, slipping between layers of reality.

"Have you ever looked into a mirror and wondered... what is looking back?"

Rain's blood ran cold.

The weight of him pressed against her ribs, against her lungs, against her soul. Her body screamed to react—to move, to fight, to run.

But she didn't. She breathed. Slow. Even.

And with an almost casual motion, she brushed his hand from her shoulder like it was nothing more than dust.

"Your antics don't scare me, Mordret." Her voice was cold. Unyielding. "And neither does your pet."

Mordret's lips curled. Not quite a smile. Something amused. Something... empty.

"Brave. Unyielding." He sighed, almost disappointed. "You really are just as much of a pain as your brother, aren't you?"

His voice softened, wrapping around her like a noose.

"But tell me, Rain... will that bravado save your body from being ripped apart? Your soul from being devoured?"

The world darkened. The pressure surged. A force suffocating, crushing, surrounded her. The air itself seemed to recoil around her existence.

And yet—

Rain only smiled.

"Foolish Prince," Rain scoffed, her voice dripping with scorn. "You threaten me with death?" She took a step forward, unshaken. "Don't you know it is but a mere servant to my brother?"

Mordret's expression didn't shift, but something in the shadows behind him did. A faint ripple, a subtle stir—like a predator shifting in its den.

Rain ignored it. She took another step, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Let me tell you something before you waste more breath playing games." She leaned in, ignoring the blood-curdling weight pressing into her very bones. 

"I love my brother. I respect his decisions. But not once—not once—have I believed in you. And neither have the others whose lives you've shattered."

Her gaze hardened.

"You can pretend to act good all you want, Mordret. But it will never be enough. We know you haven't changed. We know you never will."

For the first time, something flickered in his golden eyes—an irritation, subtle yet sharp, like the brief glint of a blade. Softly, almost absently, he murmured her words.

"It will never be enough..."

The air shifted.

Something unseen, something hateful, flinched.

The world around them seemed to recoil, shuddering like a wounded beast. The darkness trembled, as if loathing her words but unable to act upon its fury. The unseen presence in the shadows twisted—helpless, enraged.

Then, just as suddenly, it stilled.

The weight lifted. The pressure receded. The suffocating malice dissolved, like fingers slowly unfurling from around her throat.

Mordret's lips curled.

The smile he wore now wasn't amused. It wasn't even cruel. It was sharp—razor-thin, hateful.

"You," he said softly, "are every bit as loathsome as him, you know that?"

Rain exhaled, tilting her head slightly. A slow, deliberate smirk touched her lips.

"I like to think I've long surpassed him."

Something flickered across Mordret's expression. A shadow of thought, brief yet deliberate. Then, unexpectedly, he stepped back. His tone shifted—quieter, almost... gentle.

"That might be true."

His golden eyes gleamed, opaque and unreadable. As if something he never wanted to say had been forced from his lips.

"You must have already far surpassed him long ago."

A quiet laugh. Soft. Unsettling.

"But tell me, Rain... do you even know the 'him' I'm talking about?"

His gaze lingered, piercing.

"Are you sure it's the same person you claim to love and trust so dearly as your brother?"

Rain's scowl deepened. "What kind of question is that?"

Mordret tilted his head, watching her with quiet amusement. "When was the last time you really looked into his eyes?"

The air turned heavier.

"Did they look... human to you?"

Rain's patience snapped. "Don't play games with me." Her voice sharpened with anger. "I won't tolerate you interfering with my brother's wedding—or anything else in his life. Unlike you, he has sacrificed himself for others. Many times. Even when no one was grateful to him for it."

She stepped closer, her voice rising.

"You don't know how long my brother has waited for this day. How many years he's suffered. How hard he's fought—against fate, against impossible odds—all for the sake of his love. If you think I'll let you ruin this for him—"

"Oh, I know very well."

Mordret's voice cut through hers, smooth, knowing.

"I know exactly how many centuries he has suffered."

He stepped forward. Close. Too close. His voice dropped, soft as a whisper, sharp as a blade.

"It's you who doesn't have a clue."

A cold pit formed in Rain's stomach.

"Tell me, Rain... has your brother ever spoken to you about the abyss?"

A breath of silence.

"The monster-shaped hole in the world?"

Mordret's eyes gleamed.

"The river that flows beneath the desert?"

The cold tightened in her chest.

"The creature that lurks beyond the darkness?"

Her fingers twitched. "What are you talking about?"

Mordret didn't blink. "Do you even know why he chose this particular day for his wedding?"

His voice lowered, almost conspiratorial.

"Why he insisted on moving the ceremony to the dead of night—under the brightest full moon of the year?"

Rain opened her mouth. Then froze. The words caught in her throat.

She didn't like where this was going.

A subtle warmth curled in Mordret's chest—an unwelcome pleasure at getting back at her for threatening his 'heart'. But beneath it, something else lingered. Something bitter.

Guilt.

He chuckled, maddeningly patient.

"Have you ever considered," he whispered, "that the person you call your brother... might not be who you think he is?"

A breath of cold air slithered against her skin.

"That maybe, just maybe, the real threat you should be worried about... has been standing beside you all this time?"

Rain's heart pounded.

Her jaw tightened. "What nonsense—"

She turned, and he was gone.

The suffocating pressure vanished. The unseen eyes withdrew.

The world returned to stillness. As if nothing had ever been there. As if she had imagined the entire thing.

But she hadn't.

Rain's scowl deepened.

Mordret was planning something. Something was happening tonight, and it wasn't good. She was sure of it.

Even if her brother trusted him enough to let him roam free, she didn't.

And now, she had caught him red-handed. Lurking in the shadows. Speaking in riddles. Planting seeds of doubt.

Her grip tightened.

She had to tell him. She had to tell Sunny. Before it was too late.