Shadow Slave

Sunny remained silent for as long as he could, until, finally, the Flaw forced him to give an answer.

He looked grimly at Noctis, and then said — or rather, thought — hoarsely:

"...Maybe he just wanted to see you suffer."

Noctis laughed brightly, then nodded.

"Oh, indeed! Maybe you are right. Gods can be very cruel, sometimes. After all, they are much more ancient and vast than kindness and compassion. Or, maybe, it is not really our lives that keep the Demon bound, but instead our will and desire to keep her imprisoned. Or maybe it is a test of our conviction… that is what the Sun Lord believes, at least. Or maybe… maybe he actually hoped that we would free her. Who knows?"

He smiled, then sighed, and finally added:

"...If mortals like us could know the will of gods, then we'd be gods instead."

After that, a somber silence settled over the deck of the flying ship.

Sunny stared at the delicious food in front of him, realizing that he had lost all his appetite.

Hope… the Demon of Desire…

How terrifying she was.

Slowly, several things that had seemed random and meaningless fell into place.

The jubilant crowd in the bloodsoaked Red Colosseum, the perverse conviction of beautiful Solvane, the harrowing torture of the Sun Prince, the madness that burned in the eyes of the black steed… all of it was the result of her harrowing power.

all. And with that power, she had reached through the tiny cracks in her prison, and drove a whole realm utterly insane, turning it into a ghastly, hideous, demented hell. Every aspiration, every desire, every dream, every hope were twisted, set aflame, and turned

was immune to her power. Neither mundane humans nor Awakened... not even Saints. Those who were closed and those who were

was her own hope? What was the Demon of Desire yearning

Well, that was easy…

wanted to

like Sunny wanted

curse was working all too well. Solvane was seeking out death, the two Transcendents of the Ivory City seemed to be on the verge of fratricide, and Noctis was planning to kill them

Lord, but from the little bits of what the sorcerer had said, she was not in her right

start of the Nightmare.

one day, perhaps soon, the Ivory City would be burned to the ground, and Hope's prison would then break off its seven chains and rise above the

the Crushing

feeling grasped his two

'Oh, no…'

harrowing realization. His eyes widened, and he glanced

Kai, and Mordret — had to resolve to conquer the Nightmare. They had to

five of them were pitted against the five

groan escaped from

to the Spell always being fair? How the hell can this

mind. Those words Aidre had said before accepting Solvane's challenge… the gratitude she expressed… had Solvane really eradicated the blessed of Heart God to punish Aidre

a fate worse than death —

she had indeed been the bravest of them

on how one looked at

didn't really

a somber thought, which came out in

that he still couldn't