Shadow Slave

After a full and delightful meal, the two of them sat in silence for a while, enjoying their drinks. Noctis was consuming a truly unwise amount of wine with an absentminded smile on his face, while Sunny stuck to tea. The beautiful porcelain cup looked tiny and fragile in his massive clawed hand, sunlight reflecting from the ember surface of the fragrant drink.

In this rare moment of peace, he suddenly found himself overwhelmed by apathy and melancholy. Sunny was used to often feeling his heart beating with anger, fear, and resentment, but this strange lethargy was new and unwelcome. He didn't like it at all.

Searching for a way to entertain himself and chase it away, he suddenly glanced at the immortal sorcerer with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Sunny lingered for a few moments, and then picked up the emerald amulet.

"Lord Noctis… you have been a very gracious host to me. You have given me shelter, showered me with gifts, and provided me with many delicious foods. Let me share the traditional food of my people with you, as well. That will make me feel better."

The immortal Transcendent raised an eyebrow and looked at him with doubt. Then, a curious grin appeared on his face.

"Oh! Exotic food… how wonderful. Do you need any ingredients to cook it?"

Sunny calmly shook his head, then summoned the Covetous Coffer. The toothy box weaved itself from sparks of light and appeared on the table. Then, it saw the sorcerer, trembled, and scurried over to hide behind one of Sunny's hands.

Noctis watched the Coffer appear with sincere amusement.

"Huh… that little creature of yours reminds me of someone. What a cutie!"

Sunny reached into the box and produced a tube of synthpaste, then handed it to the immortal with a polite smile. Noctis took the tube, stared at it in confusion for a while, then brought it closer to his face and sniffed it.

"Such a… peculiar… uh… container? It doesn't smell like anything."

Sunny nodded solemnly and made a twisting motion with his hand.

"You twist the cap off, pierce the membrane, and then squirt the contents into your mouth. Be warned, though… some people have said that its flavor is simply unmatched... unparalleled, even... and that there is no other food like this in the entire world. Many shed tears just from tasting it!"

The sorcerer blinked a couple of times after hearing words like "membrane" and "squirt", then twisted the cap off the tube and removed the foil membrane. Finally, he raised the tube with enthusiasm, opened his mouth wide, and sent a stream of viscous, colorless sludge into it.

Noctis closed his mouth, chewed a couple of times, then froze. Slowly, his face changed, becoming pale and almost panicked. He glanced at Sunny with wide eyes, shuddered, then slowly chewed some more, and swallowed with visible effort.

Sunny continued to stare at him.

"Remarkable, isn't it?"

Transcendent shivered, then forced out a

dish worthy of being eaten by those following the God of Death! Thank you v—very

Sunny grinned.

shy then. Eat

dropped the tube on the

very full.

his glass, then gulped

sipped his tea

'Serves you right, bastard…'

horror, and then furtively moved it further away from himself. Finally, he looked at Sunny and lingered

Then, the immortal asked:

Now that we had a splendid... an unforgettable... breakfast, are you

***

hesitated for a bit, then answered with a measured

need to know a

with disappointment, then reluctantly

me. But I understand… creatures of Shadow are known

inhaled, thinking. There were many things he wanted to learn… but the most important of them was rather simple. It carried the most weight for his plans and his future… was Noctis really capable of defeating the

whole persona and attitude made him look rather harmless. Sunny knew, of course, that it was just a mask, and that there was vast and dreadful power hiding beneath it… but would that power be enough to challenge the likes of Solvane or the

to wage a war for centuries, while Noctis only had himself and a few Sailor Dolls. So was his desire to unleash hell upon the shattered kingdom just madness, or did he have a solid reason to be confident that there was at least a

or not to join the sorcerer in this insane endeavor, after all, so knowing the

and then said… or

many knives do you already

a carefree tone. His answer, however, was

you mean? I

porcelain cup suddenly exploded in his

have a single knife?! You have to have the one entrusted to you, at

sorcerer waved a

but it is, sort of… well, things

stunned expression. He was so

Kingdom of Hope if he doesn't even have a single knife?! I have