Shadow Slave

A few days passed.

The Sanctuary stood empty and silent. The beautiful garden was devoid of its usual liveliness, and the winds howled as they passed through the ring of giant menhirs. Here and there, mundane things left behind by the people that had departed in a hurry lay, forlorn and forgotten. No one was ever going to return for them.

Sunny had never seen the Sanctuary this desolate and hollow… not in the future and not now, in the distant past. The sight of it was sad and eerie.

He had spent these days training tirelessly and learning to control his new body. This latest transformation had not been as fundamental as becoming a demon after living his whole life as a human, so his progress was swift. More than that, mastery of Shadow Dance made Sunny especially attuned to his physicality and change.

In truth, he did not need a whole week to achieve the goal. But practicing with Saint reminded him of the simpler times, and so, helped him prepare himself for the battle ahead mentally.

…On one of the last nights he had to spend in peace, Sunny woke up suddenly, thinking that he had heard a distant scream. Had he really, or was it just a vestige of a dream?

He sat up and glanced into the window, a deep scowl appearing on his face.

'What dream, you fool? Awakened don't dream…'

But who could have screamed in the Sanctuary? There were only two people left here. Sunny himself…

And Noctis.

He hesitated for a moment, and then stood up, summoning the Puppeteer's Shroud. After thinking for a bit, he also summoned the Cruel Sight, wrapped his shadows around himself, and walked outside.

The full moon shone in the night sky, drowning the world in ghostly blue light. Guided by it, Sunny walked across the empty garden and approached the residence of the sorcerer, where the immortal had disappeared to days earlier and never came back out.

The door stood open, and the Sailor Dolls guarded it silently, their wooden faces devoid of any sign of worry.

Passing between them, Sunny entered the residence and studied the familiar chamber. It had changed slightly… the stone floor was even more broken and littered with deep cracks, the piles of shards had grown taller.

However, there were no tremors running through it from time to time anymore, as if whatever it was that had hidden beneath had either died, fallen into a slumber, or gone elsewhere.

Noctis was in the middle of the room, sitting on a pile of rubble with a pained look on his face. The sorcerer looked… unwell.

His skin was deathly pale, with dark circles under his eyes. His lustrous hair had grown dull and was disheveled. Even his elegant garments, which had always been flashy and immaculate, were now wrinkled and in disarray.

What's more, Sunny could have sworn that there… that there was something moving beneath the sorcerer's skin. It appeared for a moment, and then was gone, making him unsure if he had seen it or just imagined the whole thing.

Noticing his presence, Noctis slowly turned his head and smiled weakly.

"Ah… Sunless. You are just in time. How do I look?"

Sunny stared at him for a moment, and then said:

"You look like crap."

The sorcerer blinked a couple of times, then threw a hurt look at him.

idiot!

Noctis gestured at a Sailor Doll that stood motionlessly a few steps

mannequins that he did not pay the doll any attention after registering its presence and position. Now, he took a closer look and

best silks, and wearing a gorgeous

his head, opened his mouth, then closed it,

"...What the hell?"

The sorcerer shrugged.

the other Chain Lords would notice if I suddenly

at Sunny

covered his face with a

will fool anyone? Have you lost your mind? I mean, lost it

him in

forgot

his hands and clapped them

the other standing a few meters away and staring at Sunny with

"How about now?"

Sunny gulped.

"Yeah… it looks fine."

likeness was uncanny… but more than that, Sunny could feel that the real enchantment went much deeper than just looks. He could actually feel a suffocating presence radiating from the mannequin, similar

stunned to see something that looked exactly like a Transcendent soul core burning in its chest. Sunny

were to look at the mannequin, would she have seen an Aspect Name and a

than fine. It is very

to his feet with a grimace. Once again, it seemed as if something moved under

then… one last thing left to

threw one last look at the broken floor of the stone chamber, and then

knew that he would never return

across it. Sunny did not know where Noctis was

they walked, the sorcerer suddenly

thought a lot about what you have told me, Sunless. About

him with surprise, but

for a few moments, and then said in a wistful

used to have a home too, you know? A long time ago. There was a beautiful temple where my siblings and I grew up, being taught by priests and priestesses. It was surrounded by a vast forest where we played and hunted. There was a lake where we caught fish and swam to escape the summer's heat, without

slowly disappeared from his face, and his eyes shone

returned to that place some time ago. Ah, but it was not... it changed. The temple lay in ruins, the forest had been chopped down. The lake had dried up. Everything felt unfamiliar and strange, like a distant dream.

sighed heavily, then suddenly smiled and

I already had this. This sanctuary that I have built with my own two hands, the people that I saved, the land that I tried

looked around, enjoying the sight of

realized that the sorcerer was, perhaps,

His face grew heavy.

a few moments,

belong somewhere, or to something. You

sorcerer hesitated, and then added with a