Shadow Slave

Noctis stood in the darkness of the cargo hold, looking at Sunny with a dangerous, cold smile. One of his eyes glinted with pale moonlight, the other, still suffused with blood, with a mad red glow.

The air around them became cold, the darkness grew deeper.

Sunny trembled a little, then glanced at the broken wooden knife in his hand. Now that the tool created by the Lord of Light had served its purpose, it was empty and mundane, the ocean of radiant energy and the string of fate long gone from within it.

He dropped the remains of the knife on the floor, glanced at the sorcerer with a dour expression, and said nonchalantly:

"I killed her. Why?"

Noctis stared at him for a few moments, then took a deep breath.

"...I've been planning and waiting for this moment for a very long time, you know. Hundreds of years, really. And you… you just went and ruined it all. Ah, Sunless, we are friends, but I'll be honest… I am a little bit cross right now…"

Something shifted in the darkness, and the walls of the cargo hold groaned. The sorcerer continued to stare at him, his red eye glowing brighter and brighter. Sunny himself winced, feeling the sorcerer's presence crash into him like a wave.

Then, he pretended to look unimpressed, took a step forward, and shrugged.

"Well, get over yourself."

Noctis blinked.

Then, he tilted his head a little.

Then, he stopped smiling.

"Get… over myself?"

It did not seem like he liked that answer at all.

Sunny nodded.

"Yeah. Snap out of it and get over yourself."

He pointed at the body of Solvane and frowned.

"First of all, do me a favor and remember why we started all this mess in the first place. It was to kill the Chain Lords and free Hope. Oh, look! A dead Chain Lord. Isn't it wonderful?"

He smiled, revealing his sharp fangs. However, Noctis remained unmoved, still staring at him with a frightening coldness.

Sunny took another step forward and pointed a finger at his chest.

aren't you too full

judged that if there was a moment when the Transcendent would simply kill him with

Nocts gritted his teeth.

"What's wrong with that?"

Sunny crossed his arms.

her. She swore to carry that debt of gratitude to

corner of the

lying. Why

Sunny shook his head.

never lie. Lady Aidre was the first of the eternal shackles to question your duty, wasn't she? She came to the

He sighed.

perfect. The Chain Lords wouldn't have been driven to desperation and madness. And we wouldn't be

the throes of crushing regret about gifting Solvane an easy

admit… in a sense, Solvane is the true architect of this rebellion. She made Lady Aidre's desire come true.

motionless for a while,

in his eyes seemed to

shifted slightly and glanced at

His voice sounded grim:

you

Sunny froze.

'Crap! It didn't work!'

and shuddered, staring at the

Noctis, wait! What I meant

shook

have you stopped to think what

Sunny raised his eyebrows.

a

the body of the

host anymore, you foolish

***

hand appeared from the darkness. A young girl in battered

and lacerations, the bronze armor shredded so thoroughly that it was falling apart, slowly turning into dimming sparks of light. She was

But she was alive.

stared at the stars, too tired to move. Feeling pain course through her badly burnt

have

appeared on

broken as he fell. His chest was split open, and deep within it,

Prince was

two Chain Lords