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

worry, though… he is

their indifferent faces staring at them with hollow stillness. Noticing Sunny, one of them moved

of them entered and froze,

"What the hell…"

floor, his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He might have seemed like a wise sage in the middle of a deep meditation, if not for dozens of empty amphoras of wine that floated all around him. The terrifying Chain Lord, Blessed of

eye and stared at Sunny, then at Kai. Finally, he landed on the floor and yawned, causing all the amphoras

someone with you? What a hideous creature… wait, did I say that out loud? No, surely not… I am too wise and courteous to make a rude remark like that, of course… nice to meet you,

the amphoras to disappear without a trace. Then, Noctis walked over to a small table, picked

do you owe the

wait, wasn't it supposed to be the other way

then glanced at Kai, who was staring at the immortal sorcerer with an inexorable expression on his burned, disfigured face. Finally, he cleared his throat and

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

couple of times, then took a

exist, despite not knowing how they look, where they are, and what they are called? He

Sunny smiled.

is Nightingale, my dear friend. A man with a voice

spared him a sidelong glance, then bowed slightly and forced out a

to

shuddered and looked right and left,

in jest. Angels

symbol of the moon on his forehead and

found one of your friends. Have the two of

hesitated for a bit,

to find two more friends for

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