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?"

glanced at him,

that Noctis. Don't worry, though… he is indeed

A pair of Sailor 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

of them entered and froze,

"What the hell…"

meditation, if not for dozens of empty amphoras of wine that floated all around

and yawned, causing all

Sunless! What a nice surprise, to see you so soon. And… uh… you brought someone with you? What a hideous creature… wait, did I say that out loud? No, surely not… I am too

causing the whole residence to shudder and the shards of the amphoras to disappear without a trace. Then, Noctis walked over to a small table, picked up a fresh apple,

do you

do we owe… wait, wasn't it supposed to be the

immortal sorcerer with an inexorable expression on his burned, disfigured face. Finally, he cleared

remember the friends I told you about? Well, this

couple of times, then took a bite out of the

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

Sunny smiled.

a voice of

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

is… nice to meet you, Lord

sorcerer shuddered and looked right and left, then shook

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

touched the symbol of the

am glad that you have found one of your friends.

for a bit, then answered

We still need to find two

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 of the Chalice… in that particular