The café's lights dimmed without warning, the walls of the cafe trembled. Cups rattled on the tables. Suddenly shadows grew deeper and darker their form stretched unnaturally long, their edges rippling as if alive.
Sunny froze, his eyes locked on the far end of the room. He didn't move. He didn't even breathe.
The others felt it a moment later ,the wrongness.
The air grew heavy, like gravity itself had thickened, Everyone looked around, tense and confused.Nephis's grip tightened around her sword. "Sunny… what is it?"
Sunny didn't answer. His pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, shadows spilling faintly beneath his feet, trembling.
"shadows.." His voice faltered, Before anyone could question him, a figure stepped out from the wavering dark.The man was clutching his face, muttering through gritted teeth, "Damn it… why am I so weak?" His voice was low, tired, but laced with frustration.
When he finally lowered his hand, everyone froze.Nephis's hand tightened around her sword hilt. Jet, who rarely betrayed emotion, took an involuntary step back.Effie's mouth fell open, words dying before they formed.
Sunny felt his pulse hammer in his ears. Every instinct screamed wrong, The man before them looked impossibly familiar.
Long raven-black hair, tied loosely, with strands falling into a porcelain face that seemed sculpted by a mad artist,too beautiful. His onyx eyes glimmered like gems, full of exhaustion and something else.. The shadows in the café shifted drawn to the newcomer like they recognized their master.
The familiar yet unfamiliar man froze when he saw them..
****
'What the ', He stood there, unmoving, his mind blank for the first time in years."What the actual hell," he murmured, disbelief roughening his voice. This was wrong. Utterly wrong.He had woven the Divine Memory to retrieve the Shadow's lineage from the past , a precise, one-time construct for that specific purpose alone yet what was this he was seeing...
His cohort.
Every one of them younger, unscarred by what was yet to come, before Antarctica, before Ariels tomb, just their awakened self even Nephis was awakened who was supposed to return as a master. And this place… his café.
That alone made no sense. The mimic was supposed to anchor itself as the Dark Castle on the forgotten shore not this. He frowned faintly, his fingers brushing the edge of a table as if testing reality itself. It felt real. Too real.
For a long heartbeat, the future Sunny simply watched them, an unreadable weight in his eyes. Surprise threatened to overtake him,but it never quite did, after all he nothing if supremely adaptable.
But the same could not be said for the others.
They stood there frozen, their expressions shifting between shock and disbelief. Effie's mouth hung open, words caught somewhere between a curse and a question. Jet's stoic composure fractured , her icy eyes widening in rare alarm. Nephis looked as though her breath had been stolen from her chest, her fingers twitching near her sword but never moving further.
Kai, poor Kai, had gone pale as moonlight,his towel barely hanging on as his knees buckled slightly. For a second, it genuinely looked like he might faint.
The silence was oppressive. Even the faint hum of the café seemed to dim, as though the world itself was holding its breath.
The older Sunny's gaze drifted across their faces, lingering briefly on his younger self,the mirror image of what he used to be. So weak, so small.
"…Well," he finally muttered, voice carrying profound weariness. "This… wasn't supposed to happen."
Finally, the younger Sunny broke it, his voice barely more than a rasp. "Who? …what the hell are you?"
The older Sunny blinked once, his expression unreadable. He tilted his head, a faint, humorless smile ghosting across his face. "its me...Sunny."
Nephis took a step forward, her tone calm but tense, the edge of her sword catching the light. "You look like him," she said quietly with disbelief, "but are you really him?"
The elder Sunny's eyes softened at that ,just a fraction. "I'm me, Neph," he said, voice low, tired, but steady. "Just… a little further down the road."
Effie finally found her voice. "A little further down the—what the hell does that even mean? Did we time travel? Is this another nightmare!"
The future Sunny clapped his hands once, the sharp sound breaking through the heavy silence.
"Now, now… everyone calm down," he said lightly, though there was a strange weariness beneath his tone. "Why don't we talk this over with a cup of coffee?"
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward one of the café tables, his steps unhurried,as if none of this absurdity surprised him in the slightest. The others exchanged wary glances before following, still tense and unsure.
They sat down. The future Sunny leaned back in his chair, perfectly composed.
Effie frowned. "Alright, but who's making the coffee?"
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Good question."
Before anyone could blink, a ripple passed across the floor , and from the future Sunny's shadow, another Sunny rose soundlessly. The incarnation moved with quiet precision,making them even more dumbfounded.
Effie's mouth fell open. Nephis stiffened. Jet's eyes narrowed.Kai stared for a second, went pale, and promptly fainted.
Future Sunny sighed. "And there he goes."
With a lazy flick of his hand, shadows stirred at his feet,fluid and alive. They slithered across the floor, weaving themselves into a dark robe that gently draped over Kai's unconscious form, making the cohort flinch.
The younger Sunny watched it all unfold in silence, his expression unreadable.For a moment, the two Sunnys met each other's gaze one calm and impossibly composed, the other quietly tense. It was like staring into a distorted mirror, each recognizing something deeply familiar… and profoundly unsettling.
Past Sunny broke the silence first, his voice steady but carrying a hint of suspicion. "You're… a Saint," he said, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
Future Sunny tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Seems like I am," he replied, as if the fact barely mattered.
Past Sunny's eyes narrowed. "Did you bring us here?"
"Maybe I did," Future Sunny said after a pause, his tone calm but distant. "But not on purpose." He waved a hand dismissively before anyone could speak again. "Don't ask too much ..for now. I'll answer your questions… later.", Of course, Future Sunny knew exactly how his past self would react stubborn, always needing answers even when they weren't ready to be heard.
Sure enough, Past Sunny's composure snapped. "You bastard— you brought us here without any warning, and now you won't even answer our questions?!"
The future version didn't even flinch. Instead, he let out a amused chuckle. "Be quiet."
That was all he said.
And yet, the command sank into the air like a divine decree. Past Sunny froze mid-breath. His lips sealed tightly by unknown force.His eyes widened in disbelief as he tried opening his lips forcefully, trying to speak,trying to move but his body refused.
The rest of the cohort tensed, unease rippling through them like a storm. Even Nephis, who rarely showed fear, felt a chill creep up her spine.
Future Sunny watched impassively, his onyx eyes dim . "Don't struggle," he said softly, almost kindly. "You'll only embarrass yourself."
Even after ranking down to a Saint, Future Sunny still had his mastery over Will, sharpened through countless battles. Combined with the enhancement of [curse] and his innate nature as the Lord of Shadows, it granted him a level of control no mere mortal or even Saint should possess.
He had just silenced the Child of Shadows...his own younger self. The irony wasn't lost on him. It was like imposing a Shadow Bond upon his own past incarnation… and it had worked flawlessly.
As the younger Sunny struggled against the invisible restraint, Future Sunny watched him with detached fascination. Several threads of reasoning began to weave together in his mind.
"Now that the vermin is quiet," Future Sunny muttered dryly, rubbing his temple with faint irritation. His dark gaze swept over the others, catching the palpable tension in the air. He frowned. "Why are you all so tense? Don't be. I mean no harm."
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Everyone's eyes flicked toward the younger Sunny,still frozen, struggling against the invisible force holding his mouth shut.
Future Sunny sighed, catching their stares. "Oh, you're worried about him?" he said with an almost teasing smile. "Don't be. I know myself quite well. If I allow him to speak right now, he'll ask all sorts of questions...and you all know my flaw, don't you?"
Younger Sunny's eyes widened, fury and disbelief mixing in their depths. He tried to snarl something, but no sound escaped.
Effie, sitting tensely beside Nephis, muttered under her breath, "Well, that's just creepy."
Before anyone could respond, another Sunny emerged from the shadow behind the counter, carrying a tray stacked with steaming cups of coffee. The second Sunny looked perfectly composed, almost cheerful, as though none of this was even remotely strange.
Kai who had just regained consciousness blinked blearily, staring between the two identical figures. "Wait… there are two of you now?"
Future Sunny didn't miss a beat. He turned to him with a faint smile that somehow carried both amusement and menace. "Ah yes, Kai, my dear friend. You're awake." He gestured toward him, tone mockingly polite. "Do you need some clothes?"
Kai looked down, realized the robe had slipped slightly off his shoulder, and groaned. "I hate everything about this."
Effie nearly choked on laughter. "You look like a tragic romance protagonist."
"Shut up," Kai hissed, dragging the robe tighter.
Future Sunny chuckled softly, then accepted a cup from his shadow-self. The aroma of coffee mingled oddly with the thick, electric air of tension. He took a slow sip, eyes drifting across the table calm,until it paused on Nephis.
A faint, knowing smile curved his lips. "Little Neph," he said, his tone light and teasing "How are you doing?"Nephis's face remained impassive, but Future Sunny knew her far too well not to notice the subtle twitch at the corner of her lips the slight flush she tried to suppress.
Little Neph. The Changing Star of Immortal Flame… being called little like some child? The audacity was almost blasphemous.
Before she could respond, Effie suddenly burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. "Oh, this is rich," she wheezed, trying to catch her breath. "Never thought I'd live to see someone who could actually make the Princess blush."
Nephis glared, the faintest hint of color dusting her cheeks which only made Effie grin wider. Before Nephis could respond, she noticed the man the one who looked like Sunny, yet older tilt his head upward. His expression shifted, the teasing ease draining from his features. For the first time since he appeared, his smile faltered.
His onyx eyes seemed to pierce through the walls, gazing at something beyond the confines of the café. The air grew heavier, as though the shadows themselves were holding their breath.
"Looks like…" he murmured, a pale smile ghosting across his lips, "someone's mad."
A split second later, a deafening crash erupted just outside. The ground quaked violently,tables rattled, glass cracked, and dust rained from the ceiling. The elegant café shuddered under the force, the soft hum of lights flickering in panic.
Effie's grin vanished, replaced by alarm. "Uh… was that"
"a knock?" Future Sunny finished for her.
*****
Authors Note: I won't be able to update as frequently for the next couple of days since I've an interview coming up, but I'll try to post on alternative days..
If anyone has questions feel free to leave a comment.