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

The wedding hall was alive with chatter and laughter, the air thick with warmth and celebration. The night had unfolded beautifully so far, a joyous moment amidst the endless struggle, a breath of solace for warriors who had spent their lives bathed in blood... and for the ordinary people who relied on them to keep the nightmares at bay.

Then, as if compelled by an unseen force, the lights dimmed.

A single note rang out, soft yet commanding.

Conversations died in an instant. A hush fell over the hall as all eyes turned toward the stage, where a lone figure stood, bathed in golden light.

Kai.

Dressed in a fitted suit, his auburn hair shimmered under the chandeliers, the strands catching the glow like captured fire. That familiar, easygoing smile played on his lips, but his emerald eyes carried a weight rarely seen. When he raised the microphone, his voice—smooth as silk, yet steady as steel—cut through the silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, his words threaded with quiet power. "Tonight, we celebrate something more than a wedding. More than a union of two Sovereigns. We celebrate a journey—one that began in darkness and bled its way toward the light. A path carved with hardship, sacrifice, and an unyielding will to change fate itself."

His gaze softened as it flickered toward the bride and groom.

"So... I thought it would be fitting to honor that journey the best way I know how."

A ripple of anticipation passed through the guests.

Sunny narrowed his eyes. "...Kai."

Of course. He should have known it.

Beside him, Nephis tensed. Then, to his horror, she squealed.

"Sunny! You didn't tell me Kai was going to perform tonight!" she whispered, barely able to contain her excitement.

Sunny exhaled, dragging a hand down his face.

"Well, I would have told you if I knew. Probably."

Nephis shook her head, barely containing herself from bursting from excitement. Sunny glared at the proud singer, as if asking, 'What's this about?'

Kai only chuckled. "Relax. I promise this won't be too embarrassing."

Then, without another word, he closed his eyes and strummed the first note.

He began to sing.

The melody was soft at first, like the whisper of waves against the shore. His voice carried through the hall, weaving a tale through sound—haunting and beautiful.

It began with a lonely shadow.

An unfortunate boy living in the outskirts. He walked alone in the abyss, cursed by fate. His name held no value and he had no future, no warmth to call his own. His heart burned with a spite too grand it threatened to devour the world. He carried a darkness that refused to be embraced.

The tune shifted—lighter, hopeful.

A girl, bathed in silver fire, like an angel falling from the heaven. A warrior, radiant and unbroken, her heart burning with a dream too grand that it made the world itself shudder. She carried a flame that refused to be snuffed out.

Their paths intertwined beneath a crimson sky, amidst blood and nightmares, in a world that sought to devour them whole.

The song grew heavier, sorrowful.

It told of their battles. The betrayals. The losses too great to name. A lonely shadow, drowning in the weight of his own darkness. A fallen angel, lost in the flames of her own desire.

Sunny's fingers tightened around the armrest of his chair. The memories, long buried beneath the weight of survival, stirred in the depths of his soul.

Beside him, Nephis sat frozen, her expression an unreadable mask. Yet in the stillness of her posture, in the way her gaze bore into the stage... he could tell.

She was remembering, too.

The melody shifted again—softer, aching.

A hand reaching through the darkness. A promise unspoken, yet never broken.

The angel suffered. Her flame dwindled. The shadow, never embraced, found himself ensnared by the same cruel fate. A darkness crept in, threatening to devour them both. The song recounted the lowest moments, the heaviest burdens. It ached like an old wound, bittersweet in its familiarity.

Sunny let out a slow breath, his chest tightening with something he couldn't quite name. Across from him, Nephis exhaled just as quietly. The glow of the chandeliers caught in her silver eyes, shimmering like molten starlight.

And then— The song surged.

A battlefield, drowned in carnage. A blade of white flame carving through endless foes. A tide of living shadows swallowing the abyss whole. The melody painted their war, their suffering, their relentless struggle toward an impossible dream.

A dream they shared. A dream they bled for.

The crescendo built, soaring toward its inevitable climax—

Then, at last, a single, delicate note. Gentle. Longing.

The shadow reached out. And this time, the angel did not fall. It embraced him.

The darkness within him unraveled, no longer a shackle, but a part of him at peace. The fire within her rekindled, not as an all-consuming blaze, but as a steady, enduring warmth.

A man, no longer a lonely shadow, stood at the edge of the world. A woman, no longer a fallen angel, stood beside him.

Not as warriors.

Not as monsters.

But as two souls who had walked through hell and back—together.

The final chord faded into silence.

Kai lowered his guitar.

The hall remained still, as if even the air itself was reluctant to break the spell.

Then—clapping. A single pair of hands. Then another. And another. Until the entire hall erupted into thunderous applause.

Then, slowly, Sunny exhaled.

His fingers unclenched from the armrest, leaving indentations in the wood. His body was taut, his throat thick with something he refused to acknowledge. The weight of old wounds, of battles won and lost, of a life carved out of this unforgiving world, of his time spent with the ones he loved, settled heavy in his chest.

Beside him, Nephis hadn't moved. Her silver eyes, always unwavering, always resolute... glistened.

A drop of warmth trailed down Sunny's cheek.

Before he could react, Nephis reached out, her fingers catching the tear. A teasing light flickered in her gaze. "I didn't know you were such a crybaby."

Sunny huffed, smirking. "Neither did I." He lifted a hand, mirroring her, brushing away the single tear slipping beneath her eye.

Nephis blinked, then smiled—small, flustered. "Looks like we both learned something new about each other today."

Sunny hummed. "Unless, of course, Kai used his ability to make us cry on purpose."

Nephis chuckled. "If that were the case, the whole hall would be wailing right now."

Sunny swallowed, his throat still tight. He muttered under his breath, "Damn Kai... how dare you make us cry at our own wedding..."

Kai simply grinned, winking at them as if to say, I did warn you.

Sunny sighed, shaking his head. That bastard had outdone himself. He had never heard something so achingly beautiful in his life.

Then, a thought struck him. He turned to Nephis, lips curling mischievously.

"...Now I understand why you were fangirling over him like a little girl the first time you met."

Nephis nodded without hesitation.

And just like that, the moment passed.

But the echoes of the song remained—haunting, eternal. A story sung before the world... One that only the two of them could ever truly understand.