Shadow Slave

The next morning, Sunny woke up in a strange mood. Knowing that they were nearing the end of the Nightmare — and, perhaps, their own — he had expected himself to be consumed by somber trepidation. But, surprisingly, Sunny felt fine. It was as though the scope of the approaching battle was simply too large to be evaluated, and so, his mind had not bothered with it at all.

Instead, he had practical problems he needed to solve. Sunny still did not feel completely comfortable in his new body — he barely had any time to get accustomed to its size and weight, after all. The next several days were going to be crucial, in that regard.

His previous garments had been torn when he evolved, and so, Sunny summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud to wrap itself around his towering body. Although not as powerful as his other suits of armor, the Shroud was much more comfortable. It was a bit nostalgic to wear the light armor once again, but also a bit sad to see it relegated to serving as a bonafide training suit.

Remembering how he had planned to slaughter countless dormant Nightmare Creatures while being invulnerable thanks to his new, incredible Awakened armor of the fifth Tier just a few years ago, Sunny smiled wistfully and walked out of his room.

The Sanctuary seemed… different, somehow.

The ring of giant menhirs was the same, and so was the beautiful garden. However, the people living in the ancient shrine had changed. They were hurried and full of fear, moving with panicked speed and feverish determination.

Sunny noticed a few familiar faces. The old woman he had seen on his first day here was standing alone, a lost look on her face. The young woman was carrying the frightened child in her hands and a heavy pack on her back. The kind man with a neatly trimmed beard was gritting his teeth, his hand resting on the worn hilt of his sword.

He sighed and looked away.

An immortal Transcendent had started this war to free a daemon from a prison built by a god… but these little people were the ones that were going to suffer the most as the result. In fact, they had been the ones to suffer the most throughout all of this, from the destruction of the Kingdom of Hope to the madness she had cursed this land with, to now.

He had been one of the little people himself, once...

Now, he was a devil destroying their lives.

Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, then looked up at the sound of steps approaching him. He saw Effie and Kai, both wearing their armors and packs, as though ready to go on a long hunt.

He raised his eyebrows.

"...Going somewhere?"

at the masked cripple, and then shrugged. Kai, meanwhile, smiled… even though Sunny could not see his face, he could tell

tell that the

The archer simply nodded.

"Yes... we are leaving."

a

who wanted to find peace in this land of madness. But now that Noctis started a war and both the Sun Legion

her head, then

you know. These poor fools have nowhere else to go. So, we are going to guide them to one of the Great Chains and help them cross to the other side. And leave the Kingdom of Hope behind,

of her head, then

that far. Maybe there's nothing out there, beyond the Chained Island. And yes, we know that these people are not even real. Still… we thought

surprised. The little girl raised her

need to do stupid things

slowly shook

think that it's stupid at all. It's just… the three of

Effie grinned.

lanky body of yours while babysitting a bunch of refugees? So, don't be lazy and get that stone girlfriend of yours to beat you black and blue while

made a sour face, then

me, I remember. I am going

— well, the top of one of his lower arms that were in reach, anyway — and then, the two walked away without saying anything else. There was no need to say

gone, Sunny suddenly

of the garden, intending to spend the rest of the day practicing

to condition his body for the Shadow Dance. Of course, that had been in his human body. The shadowspawn, meanwhile,

was incredibly nimble and swift. It was also capable of bursts of monstrous, explosive strength that would leave many people stunned. In addition, it was itself a weapon — with his

could even kill things with the

that initial practice session, he summoned Saint and started the

They left in a column, with Kai in the front, and Effie walking behind. Some were carrying their meager belongings, while some were empty-handed. Some cried, while some

Some even smiled.