Shadow Slave

Sunny hesitated for a few moments, then looked at Kai and said with determination.

"Let's go."

Kai nodded and followed the four-armed demon, pushing forward his bandaged body with visible effort. Seeing his friend's suffering, Sunny gritted his teeth.

The archer, meanwhile, glanced at him with a grim expression, and then said in his new, unfamiliar and ugly voice:

"Sunny… I have one question. Can you answer it?"

Sunny slowed down and turned to him, a deep scowl contorting the bestial lines of his face.

"Of course. What is it?"

Kai remained silent for a bit, then asked cautiously:

"Uh… where, exactly, are we going?"

Sunny blinked a couple of times, then tilted his head a little.

"Oh, right. Where else? We are going to talk to Noctis!"

With that, he turned around and continued walking toward the immortal sorcerer's residence.

The archer hurried to catch up, then said in a stifled tone:

"Ah… that Noctis? The immortal Transcendent? Blessed of the Moon, Crimson Beast of Twilight, Chain Lord of the Kingdom of Hope, and all that?"

at

he is indeed terrifying,

Dolls were standing guard outside, their indifferent faces staring at them with hollow stillness. Noticing Sunny, one of them moved aside and knocked on the door, which then opened all by

of them entered and froze, unsure how to

"What the hell…"

middle of a deep meditation, if not for dozens of empty amphoras of wine that floated all around him. The terrifying Chain Lord, Blessed

and yawned, causing all the amphoras to fall down and

creature… wait, did I say that out loud? No, surely not… I

smile, then waved a hand, causing the whole residence to shudder and the shards of the amphoras to disappear without a trace. Then,

what do you

we owe… wait, wasn't it supposed to

glanced at Kai, who was staring at the immortal sorcerer with an inexorable expression on

some good news. Do you remember the friends I told you about? Well, this is one of them. And…

Kai, blinked a couple of times,

of the friends that you were supposed to find after visiting an island that doesn't exist, despite not knowing how they look, where they are, and what they are called? He just happened to be here, in my Sanctuary? How…

Sunny smiled.

with a voice of an angel, and

a sidelong glance, then bowed slightly

is… nice to

and looked right and left,

do not ever mention those creatures again, even in jest. Angels are not something to be called upon, whether

symbol of the moon

of your friends. Have the

a bit, then answered

have not. We still need to

of having a choice was looking more and more distant by the day. But he needed the sorcerer's help and his knowledge to find and retrieve Effie from the mysterious Temple