Chapter 642: Familiar Faces, Unfamiliar Names

A certain harshness lingered in the air.

Sunny couldn’t quite explain why or when his expression twisted into a scowl. If anyone asked, however, he would tell them that his doppelg?nger did it first!

The eerie, life-like shadows shrouding the area parted, revealing the two captives to each other. Sunny, in his armor forged from black marble, and Chernobog, dressed in the same robes Sunny had put on earlier. He would bet that their loincloths were identical, too—

"...Lady Hollow Maiden, may I ask who this... fellow is?"

Chernobog, the resident playboy of the temple devoted to the mysterious Shadow God, wearing a face and voice identical to Sunny’s own, spoke in a well-articulated manner that implied deep politeness and a respectable upbringing. Totally unexpected for someone born into slavery.

It was odd, but not completely unfamiliar. Sunny had his own moments where he appeared well-spoken, but most people would admit that he was a little brash when it came to words.

...Or very brash, even.

’Hollow Maiden...’

Now that he thought about it, Sunny remembered Chernobog’s mother, Morana, speaking about a Hollow Maiden coming to visit the temple. If Chernobog referred to the three-eyed entity by that name, then...

’Huh.’

Morana was containing the Hollow Maiden? Or perhaps...

There were a few possibilities regarding her Fate.

Morana was recognized by the worshippers at the temple. That meant that the Hollow Maiden — or the entity Sunny decided to recognize as the Hollow Maiden — either possessed the real Morana, which would imply that she was dead seeing as the body exploded before the Hollow Maiden revealed herself, disguised herself as Morana while taking the real Morana elsewhere, which meant that she was alive, or Morana never existed, which meant that the Hollow Maiden used a mind hex to convince everyone that she did.

She was capable of doing so, with the illusions she placed on Sunny...

’This is annoying...’

"Hey, Fuckface, if you’ve got something to ask, I’m right here!"

At Sunny’s brazen confrontation, Chernobog turned his head with an expression of distaste. His nose wrinkled.

"Who—"

A pause, as his gaze landed on Sunny’s feet.

"...Are those Mayla’s panties?"

Or rather, what was next to them.

Sunny blinked, looking down. Indeed, the underwear he had woken up to was left on the floor, quickly abandoned when the Hollow Maiden appeared. When he had been following Morana, or the Hollow Maiden in Morana’s body, or the Hollow Maiden disguised as Morana, Sunny had left the used undergarments balled up in his fist. He couldn’t quite leave them wherever, and the woman who appeared to be Chernobog’s mother had wanted him to return them, but he didn’t know where to take them so...

"Dunno. How do you recognize these on sight, anyways?"

Chernobog huffed in arrogant displeasure.

"A woman’s undergarments are not meant to conceal their body, but their hearts. And as one who has touched many hearts, is it not imperative to know that which I am undressing them of?"

’...Why does he talk like that? Seriously, what an annoying asshole.’

"How should I know? Sounds gross, anyways."

Sunny pinched the outermost edge of the undergarments, lifting it up at an arm’s length away from his body. It was odd, seeing someone who was almost identical to him sending him a deathly glare.

"Give it back."

Sunny blinked at the sudden shift in tone — from deep contempt to bone-chilling murderous intent. He tilted his head curiously, looking between the article of woman’s clothing in his hand and at Chernobog’s expression.

The moment they had looked at each other, there was an immediate sense of disgust between them. As if the very idea of an ’other’ was repulsive, heretical, and one that should have never existed in the first place. The Hollow Maiden watched there interaction with watchful eyes — three eyes, to be exact, showing an uncharacteristic quiet.

It was unnatural, and Sunny took note of unnaturalness. He didn’t like Chernobog, but he understood that his emotions were not completely his. Or perhaps they were his, but without reason, they weren’t worth acting upon.

Chernobog did not realize any of this, making it very clear that the kind of life he had to live was devoid of the same threats Sunny has to often deal with. Another reason for contempt, really.

The smart move was for Sunny to comply with what Chernobog wanted, ease the tension, and get rid of this supernatural hostility between them. That, or just kill him before he became a problem.

Either option was viable. One let him resolve the problem, while the other let him get rid of the problem.

So, it should be understood that Sunny had completely considered his options. There were no doubts in his mind that his next move was the right one.

Balling up the used underwear in his hand, Sunny opened his mouth—

And shoved it in.

It was really gross, but...

"You, you, youyouyouyouyouyouyou—! How dare you?!"

’Heh. Ragebaited!’

Totally worth it.

As Sunny basked in the oddly tangy, coarse feeling of used cloth soaked in who-knows-what on his tongue, along with the satisfaction of pissing someone else off, he heard a squeak through the darkness. A sound that came from every direction, resounding deeply.

"Woah, woah, you guys can’t fight! That’s... that’s not nice!"

Sunny’s brow furrowed at the childish exclamation by the Hollow Maiden, whose three lilac eyes spun around the two slaves. The faint silhouette of countless laughing, crying, smiling, scowling maws could be faintly sensed in the shadows — but he could not see them, as the shadows populating the world around them were under the Hollow Maiden’s authority, and were able to override the command of the Master of Shadows.

Chernobog, however...

The Temple Slave promptly dropped all signs of aggression, kneeling down upon the shadow-covered ground. He uttered with deep reverance:

"My Lady, I plead for your forgiveness."

"...Uh, sure, whatever."

The Hollow Maiden’s reply lacked any sincerity, awkward as it was. Sunny pursed his lips, not wanting to waste anymore time. His tone fell back to something more respectful:

"What is it that you want?"

...But still blunt, unlike the flowery speech of Chernobog.

The three eyes danced around at Sunny’s question.

"Right, right! So, hm... consider this a test! I need to remember something, and you two need to help me, so... just complete my tests, okay?"

Sunny breathed a sigh of relief. A test did not automatically imply death. He didn’t know if he could die in the simulation, but he didn’t really want to find out.

Surely, he would catch a break for once, right?