Shadow Slave

Chapter 678

The three of them entered the Sanctuary, crossed the beautiful garden, and entered the sorcerer's residence through a familiar wooden door, Effie still sitting on Sunny's shoulders with a curious expression on her childish face.

The rooms within, however, had changed since the last time Sunny had seen them.

The luxurious furniture was gone, as well as beautiful decorations covering the walls. Instead, all that met them was barren stone, with a few broken Sailor Dolls laying on it, their limbs disassembled and laid out around the bodies like macabre pieces of art.

The floor of the whole central chamber was covered by a circle made out of a myriad of runes, powerful currents of soul essence flowing through it and dissipating into the ancient stones. Noctis was sitting in the center of the circle, his eyes closed. Without the familiar carefree smile, his beautiful face seemed ominous and strangely terrifying.

Hearing their footsteps, the sorcerer slowly exhaled. The crushing flood of essence slowly thinned, and then dissipated, retreating back into his body. He turned his head slightly and opened his eyes, which shone in the darkness for a moment, as though full of pale moonlight.

Then, they slowly turned human again, and Noctis smiled, returning to his usual laidback persona so suddenly that it seemed almost disturbing.

"Ah, Sunless, my friend! You are back! Sit down, have a drink… welcome!"

He stood up and outstretched a hand, as if trying to gesture at a set of comfortable seats. Then, a surprised expression appeared on the Transcendent's face, and he looked around the empty hall with a bit of confusion.

"Oh, right… I've been remodelling…"

Noctis sighed, then clapped his hands together.

"Well, no matter. Dolls! Bring my guests something to drink! They must be parched after their journey!"

His voice echoed around the residence… however, nothing happened.

He hesitated, then glanced at the broken mannequins lying on the floor and awkwardly shifted his feet.

"Ah. How unfortunate."

The sorcerer shook his head, then shrugged and looked at the three of them with a smile:

"Anyway... welcome!"

He tilted his head and stared at Effie, then blinked a couple of times.

"Ah, you have brought a ch—child with you. How curious. It doesn't bite, does it?"

Suny frowned, but before he could speak, Effie blurted with feigned outrage:

"I am not a child! I am twelve! Uh, almost."

at

"...It speaks. How bizarre."

slowly inhaled, then

is

glued to his face. He stared

stumbled upon in my Sanctuary, and the other one

Sunny nodded grimly.

chin, and then

perhaps? If so, let me assure you! I value it a great deal already! There's no need for you to feel insecure

teeth

I did not invent them! Are you sure that you really want

his eyebrows with a sincere look

"Well, of course…"

at him for a

distant future whose souls were sent here by a nearly all-mighty entity known as the Nightmare Spell, after the gods had died and this whole world had been destroyed. Oh, and this place? It is not real! You are not real, too. All of it is just a complicated illusion

Then, he sighed,

need to weave such stupid lies to mock me. If you don't want to tell me,

his lips and

a new friend, you must have

and remained silent for a couple of seconds. Finally, he said

actually… not exactly. We did retrieve Effie and the

looked at him

"But what?"

Sunny coughed.

destroyed the chalice and killed all the

at him in

"...You did what?!"

then strained his vocal cords

right to take the Glass Knife away, but they would have never let Effie go. That was a tenet of their sect. So… the sect had to go,

face turning deathly pale. He swayed a

killed all the Maidens?! How did you manage to

three of them looked at each other with confusion. Then,

the Red Sect, died like two hundred years ago. There were no

sorcerer blinked a couple

So she just went

stared at him, aghast. Did that fool... did he really forget that real people had a habit of dying from time to

was no chance that the immortal would not have known whether or not there were Transcendents living in his territory. Which could only mean one

step forward

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