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?"

Kai, meanwhile, smiled… even though Sunny could

could also tell that the smile was tinted with

The archer simply nodded.

"Yes... we are leaving."

a

We will be back before the week is over. You see... the Sanctuary, it was a shelter for those who wanted to find peace in this land of madness. But now that Noctis started a war and both

her head,

fools have nowhere else to go. So, we are going to guide them to

back of

know that these people are not even real. Still… we thought that we'd at least try. Cassie even went and convinced Noctis to lend her the

at her, surprised. The little girl

I know that it's stupid. People need to do stupid things sometimes, you

slowly shook

stupid at all. It's just… the three of you are

Effie grinned.

of yours while babysitting a bunch of refugees? So, don't be lazy and get

a sour

me, I remember. I am going to train

shoulder for a moment — well, the top of one of his lower arms that were in reach, anyway — and then, the two walked away without

Sunny suddenly felt a bit…

to the center of the garden, intending to spend the rest of the day practicing with the Cruel

developed to condition his

was also capable of bursts of monstrous, explosive strength that would leave many people stunned. In addition, it was itself a weapon — with his talons, claws, fangs, and horns, Sunny was capable of delivering a lot of damage

even kill things with the spike at the end of his

initial practice session, he summoned Saint and started the real

in the front, and Effie walking behind. Some were carrying their meager belongings,

Some even smiled.