Shadow Slave

Sunny was at a loss for words.

Had he even heard it right?

"You are going to… repair… the ancient, broken, monster-infected ship?"

Well… it made a lot of sense, actually.

Cassie nodded.

"Yes. We are going to cleanse, repair, and make it fly again."

Oh, so it was a flying ship, too!

'Perfect!'

Honestly, Sunny shouldn't have been surprised. All the clues had been there for a long time.

He had already known that the ship depicted on the miraculous coins was, most likely, the very same that lay broken on the Shipwreck Island. The connection was pretty easy to make, considering that they looked alike, and that the coins had come from its treasury in the first place.

Sunny had also asked himself the question of what a sailing ship was doing in the middle of Chained Isles, which had no sea and no rivers for it to sail on. The thought that it had actually been designed to fly through the skies had crossed his mind, among other things.

And finally, on the coins, the ancient ship was shown as having a beautiful tree wrapped around its mast. It had also belonged to the enigmatic person called Noctis. Wasn't it too much of a coincidence, then, that Cassie had come to the Sanctuary of Noctis and ventured on a long expedition to a Desecrated Grove?

The word "desecrated" implied that the burned grove had been sacred once. After all, only sacred things could be desecrated. And a sacred tree sounded exactly like something capable of making a massive ship fly.

…Right?

Sunny stared at the large wooden box with a ponderous expression. After a while, he asked:

"So what's in the box?"

Cassie walked over and gently put a hand on its lid.

ghastly place. And finally, deep underground, we found the only one that remained. The wondrous tree which kept the ancient ship afloat in the sky had come from that grove, once. The sapling will grow into

and then turned to

and was Kido's

silent for a

ancient wreck for a long time. From before he had come to invite her to challenge the Second Nightmare with him… was it a coincidence? They

much did she

turned to him. Her face suddenly

we might be able to cross the Hollow Mountains. At least… at least that is our

while, the familiar girl — Shakti — said in a

matter what. Going there on foot is suicide. Maybe

resolute in their

about Sunny

Well… things were complicated.

He sighed.

why you want the ship, and how you might be able to repair it. But how are we going to defeat its current tenant without using fire? No offense, guys, but I really don't think that you can handle that fight. Maybe you can hold on for a while outside the wreck, but

at each other again.

for a few moments,

someone as bait,

Sunny rubbed his face.

me guess… I am

girl smiled,

the bait. You are the blade that will pierce the

solemn and sort of grand, but she immediately

uh… if it has a heart. If it doesn't, then… well, you know. Kill it some other

the icon of eloquence, are

Sunny frowned.

the bait. Actually, this plan sort of made sense. He already knew that he could survive in the poisonous miasma inside

infused the [Dark Mirror] enchantment with divine flame. Yes, Sunny couldn't burn the ship itself, but that didn't mean that he couldn't deliver once surgical, immolating

was… would the Fire Keepers be able to keep

them gravely,

are you all so sure that I

the