After more than three weeks of falling into the Sky Below — at least Sunny thought that it had been that long — he sighed and stood up, balancing on the dangerously swaying treasure chest.
His hair was wet with sweat, and his skin glistened in the piercing white light of approaching stars. By now, they did not resemble white dots in the boundless darkness of the abyss. Instead, each was the size of a fist, surrounded by a furious, blinding halo.
The heat permeating the void was suffocating.
Sunny stared down, at the ocean of white flames beneath him. If this was what remained of the inferno of heavenly fire after thousands of years of burning in an empty void… he shuddered to imagine what it must have looked like right after the hammer of divine punishment had fallen on the ancient land.
His gaze was locked on a small empty space between several radiant stars.
The rift.
This was his goal.
As Sunny stared darkly at the tiny patch of emptiness amid the vast field of flame, the void suddenly spoke:
"Have you… huh? Is that a… uh… what a large tattoo you have."
Sunny glanced at the darkness, then shrugged.
"What about it?"
Mordret lingered for a few moments, as though not sure what to say, then asked with amusement:
"Sunless… are you sure that you are a research assistant?"
Sunny grinned.
"Of course I am! Do you know how many contribution points they give me every month? I scribbled a few words about this and that, and that bought me a house. An entire house! Maybe being a researcher is not as swell as being a prince, but it's still a sweet gig… with all due respect, of course. Your Highness."
The void laughed.
"You are such an interesting person."
Sunny stared into the void with an incredulous expression.
"You are a bit of an enigma yourself, are you not?"
silent for a
what is about to
of answering, Sunny pointed to the ocean
"Look there."
lost prince spoke, his voice was
that well.
'Oh… right.'
a few seconds, then
the rift
surprise in his
"...Really? You found it?"
Sunny shrugged.
said that it should be somewhere under the Tear, right? Since I
lingered, then said in
"What if you're not?"
Sunny smiled.
it has been nice knowing you. Anyway… anything else you want to tell me before you go? I
for a few
you at all after that. So…
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
voice of the void
"Yes. Why?"
He shook his head.
I just thought that you are stuck somewhere out
Mordret chuckled.
I am stuck somewhere
distant. Then, an
"I hope… survive… Sunless…"
gone, leaving Sunny alone in the
He sighed.
hope I'll survive,
***
and then broke the rule he had set for himself for a second time since starting this expedition — he summoned another
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