Shadow Slave

Sunny remained in the Hall of Chains for a while, looking at the Seed of Nightmare and the shimmering darkness that suffused it.

Then, he walked outside. Full of thought, Sunny passed between the jaws of the dead dragon and slowly headed toward the lake. There, he sat on the stone bench and stared at the water with a dark expression on his face. The wind lightly caressed his face and his pale skin, soothing the few remaining burns that he had received in the Sky Below.

Saint stood silently by his side, her graceful onyx figure reflecting in the clear waters of the lake.

A heavy sigh escaped from his lips.

'...I am almost home.'

More than a month ago, he had ventured on an expedition to explore the Shipwreck Island and search for clues about the whereabouts of the treasure left behind by mysterious Noctis. He had only planned to be gone for a week.

He had found the treasure, but also fought and defeated two devils: one Fallen, and one Ascended, receiving two powerful Memories in the process. After that, he gazed at the tapestry of Fate through the eyes of a divine mask, and plunged into an endless abyss.

He spent several weeks plummeting through a sea of nothingness, only to be met by an ocean of flames in its depths. On the other side of the fire was a black tower built by an ancient demon, and in it was a severed hand of a deity, consumed by a terrible rot. There, Sunny swallowed a phalanx bone of Weaver, and received the second part of their lineage.

After that, he used divine flames to open a portal between the dark void and the sunlit heavens, and found the seven chains that a god had once used to bind Desire, the daemon of Hope.

And somewhere along the way, he met a lost soul who called himself Mordred, the Prince of Nothing… a disembodied voice that came out of nowhere, and helped him along the way.

Now, Sunny just had to do one last thing… either plunge into a deadly Nightmare, or off the edge of the Ivory Island, to be met with the obliterating fury of the Crushing.

With a heavy sigh, he turned around and stared at the white bones of the great beast that had wrapped its mighty body around the base of Hope's beautiful tower once, thousands of years ago, before succumbing to death.

"...Let's get this show on the road, I guess."

***

Some time later, Sunny was leaning on the wall of the Ivory Tower. He was in a tight spot between the tail of the dead dragon and the white surface of the great pagoda, with Saint standing near him, her weapons dismissed.

With a crooked smile, Sunny wrapped the two shadows around his body and circulated shadow essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, preparing for what was about to come.

Then, he looked at the taciturn stone demon and raised his eyebrows.

"What are you waiting for? Push!"

Saint gave him an indifferent look, then took a step forward, placed her hand on the surface of the massive bone in front of her, and pushed with all her demonic strength. Her feet sunk into the soil by a few centimeters, but the ancient bone did not move.

…Until Sunny joined his Shadow, that was.

Pressing his shoulder against the adamantine white surface, he poured shadow essence into his muscles, and pushed, too. Although it felt as though the strain was going to kill him, the bone finally gave.

the dead dragon's tail rolled over,

Keep

to challenge a Second Nightmare alone. What was he, crazy? Well, maybe he was a little. But being suicidal was not a part of his

dead dragon's tail off the edge of the Ivory Island and

couldn't, then

back into

his encouragement… or advice… so Sunny was mostly shouting for his own benefit, since producing loud noises seemed to help him cope with the strain of trying to push the ancient bone, for some

it had been dislodged, the

inactive portal, then past the grove of ancient trees, and finally to the very edge

a moment and tried to catch

That… was a mistake.

colorful mosaic of the flying islands far below was simply a breathtaking sight, now that he

"Uh…"

was too late

...Wasn't it?

his teeth, Sunny tried not to think about the inconceivable height and climbed inside the vertebra, which, of course, was hollow at the center. There was just enough space there to fit his body, and that was the reason why he had chosen

a long time, trying to gather

maybe I should just enter the Seed. What's the big deal, anyway? It's... it's

way back. He simply had to

held his breath for a moment,

"Saint! Push it over!"

vertebra, the taciturn demon stared at the surface of the

it

edge of the Ivory Island, giving Sunny a serious rattle, he yelped, dismissed Saint, and dissolved into the shadow that dwelt in the

the Crushing in his physical form… he just needed a large enough shadow to hide in. As long as the

…If it endured.

island, and suddenly… an inconceivable pressure struck

the sky. Only this time, the vehicle he had chosen to transport him was even stranger, as well as

Don't break, you

of the dead dragon was cracking and slowly breaking

deadly enough to pulverize the flesh of a Saint — a bona fide demi-god — into a bloody paste. Maybe even a big,

started, though, it

all around him. Then, a piece of the bone flew away, letting in a chaotic flood of light. Cursing, he shifted

'Crap!'

more holes and cracks in the

then... it crumbled

second, Sunny slid onto the biggest remaining slab of the ancient vertebra, and then went into a crazy dance,

from it, and then,

'Argh!'