"I love Nephis".
During a loop in Windflower Island, Sunny had finally admitting his feelings for her. After all this time, he'd always loved her but kept denying it. The fear of not being her equal due to the bond was a prison in itself.
He remembered their previous fight. The anger had been a blinding storm. At the ball, confronting Nephis, he'd felt a surge of righteous fury, convinced he was breaking free, asserting his own will. He'd lashed out, made his stand, walked away. Finally, he thought, his own choices.
But then he'd found himself back. Standing there, agreeing to fight for Valor, for her. The words had come out of his mouth, heavy and real, committing him to a path he'd just sworn to reject. A cold dread seeped into his bones, colder than any nightmare.
"She has really predicted me, huh? I am following her... I'm now smiling like an idiot as I think on how to confess my feelings to her, on how to become 'hers' as she said."
The Sin of Solace, that insidious voice, echoed in his mind, no longer a whisper but a chilling pronouncement:
'She didn't predict you, dumbass, she guided you.'
Sunny felt a sudden chill.
The truth, revealed by the sword, was a poison seeping into his very soul. That outburst? That grand declaration of independence? It hadn't been an act of defiance, but a mere contortion on a leash he hadn't known was there. He'd done exactly what she wanted without even realizing it. She did it on purpose. Every furious word, every step he'd taken, had been a dance to her unspoken tune. He remembered her words:
'You can't escape fate'
A declaration that had felt like a challenge, but now felt like a push and a tug on his very will.
He remembered her other words, a declaration he'd once dismissed as an arrogant truth:
"Why should I settle for submission when I can have loyalty? People who will follow me, serve me, and obey me will do so because that is their most ardent desire. They will do so with a smile. If I ever want to make you mine, Sunny, you will become mine — not because you were forced to, but because you would want to. That... is also a fact."
Sunny kept repeating that last part, "you will become mine." Not a question, but a command.
The realization hit him like a physical blow: his 'choice'" were merely reactions to her subtle commands, his 'free will' an illusion. He was a puppet, and Nephis, unknowingly or not, was pulling the strings. The love he felt, the loyalty that burned so fiercely... Were they even real, or just the forced affections of a thrall? The thought was a torment, twisting his gut, leaving him breathless with a terrifying, hollow despair.