Shadow Slave

Looking at the colossus, Sunny understood why Kai had called him terrifying. Sun Prince stood at nearly ninety meters tall, towering above the island like a mountain of steel. He was cast in the shape of a noble warrior wearing light armor. The surface of the armor was polished and shone blindingly in the sun, while the rest of the giant was dull and grey.

The colossal statues of the seven heroes of the Forgotten Shore, including the walking one Sunny and the cohort had ridden once, were more than twice as tall, but it was hard not to get shocked by the sheer mass and crushing presence of the Transcendent Chain Lord… or rather, of the steel shell he was entombed within.

A sickening feeling of fear grasped Sunny's heart, which he then strangled and banished, looking at the towering Lord with a grim expression.

He had a reason to feel fear, however.

A half-forgotten image of a nightmarish scene flashed before his eyes — a fragment of a nightmare where he stood petrified on a blood-soaked battlefield, watching in horror as a giant steel sole descended from above to turn him, and his fellow soldiers, into puddles of crushed bones and bloody sludge.

And another, a memory of endless, harrowing torture that he had endured at the hands of his brother, of a human-shaped cage and a pit filled with molten metal.

And finally, the last one — the vision of a giant steel corpse swinging forlornly in torn chains, upside down, its chest shattered by some devastating strike.

…So, this was Sun Prince.

Sunny had never met him, and yet, it felt as though they were old acquaintances. For better or worse...

As the giant stared at the flying ship with a motionless face of a statue, Sunny turned to Noctis and scowled.

"...Now what?"

The sorcerer sighed, then moved one of the oars, sending the vessel into a descent. His carefree smile was starting to look a little forced.

"Now, well… we go and talk to him, I guess? Have a civilized discussion..."

Sunny turned back and looked at Sun Prince for a bit, then said somberly:

that it was you who erased his memory of hiding the Ivory Knife, causing him to experience a hundred years of torture, and then end up in this state? And

choked, causing the ship

it louder,

Sunny froze.

"Oh… sorry…"

the vessel, then said with

just granted a… a colleague's request. Back then, we did not even know that Hope was driving us all mad, so how was I supposed to know what will happen? Secondly… I did not

paused, and then added in a

still alive, somewhere inside, but I don't think he is fully… sentient. At least… at least I hope that

the ground in somber silence, stopping just outside the first ring of pillars, and hovered in place. Noctis lingered for a few moments,

his garments, and then inhaled

go and see what he has to say, shall

and followed Noctis. There was a high chance that they were going to witness a brawl

he witnessed two Saints fighting, a whole island had been destroyed and crumbled into the Sky Below. Sunny and Cassie had only

was going to happen today? And was Noctis strong enough to ward off

surely, he had a plan. His madness was of an insidious kind, after all. He would not have risked his safety, and his desire to free

flying ship, landed on the soil of the Iron Hand Island, and walked between the tall pillars. They approached the very

of his steps, the island trembled,

All his Shadows were yet to recover,

strength, and that of

do against

the pillars and stopped outside the outward circle, looking at them from high above. Drowned in his cold shadow, Sunny couldn't help but feel like

with a grave expression, he gritted his

like

her neck to stare at the colossus, glanced at him, hesitated

not an ant, Sunny. You are a cockroach.

couple of