Shadow Slave

For a few moments, Sunny remained motionless, staring at the beautiful ivory walls of the great pagoda that towered above the world. Although the whole city was being consumed by immolating flame, here at its precipice, everything was calm and quiet.

He couldn't quite believe it.

Solvane, the Saint of War, was dead. The immortal prince encased in the mountain of moving steel was dead. The noble dragon that had dutifully guarded the tower was dead, as well.

They won. The Nightmare… was conquered.

More or less.

From the blood-soaked arena of the Red Colosseum, to the neverending prison of nightmares, to the numinous Temple of the Chalice, to the furious battle for the sky above the Ivory City, to confronting the Prince of Nothing… somehow, he had lived through all of it, and triumphed.

What were the chances of that?

'Just five months... but it felt like a lifetime.'

Of course, there were a few issues left.

Most of the army of the perished Chain Lords was still intact, and on its way to the city. The cohort had dealt a terrible blow to the small part of it, but hundreds upon hundreds of flying ships still remained, carrying thousands upon thousands of soldiers. Now that their commanders were dead, he was not sure what would happen to them, and how they would react.

Noctis was nowhere to be found.

And Hope was still chained, even if not for long now.

With a sigh, Sunny stood up and grimaced as a feeling of sickening weakness overwhelmed him. His soul was terribly damaged… he had never abused it to this degree before, not even during the siege of the Crimson Spire. His body was not doing too great, either. Sunny had given his all to come this far, and now, he was at the end of his rope.

But he was also so close to becoming a Master.

Slowly walking to the edge of the island, he looked into the darkness of the Sky Below for a few moments, summoned the Dark Wing, and then glided down to the last remaining chain holding the Ivory Island in place.

There was not enough essence left in his soul to turn into a swift shadow, and he was too tired to run, so Sunny simply walked forward, using his enchanted cloak to scale the uneven links of the heavenly chain from time to time. It took him a while to traverse the wide chasm of emptiness and climb to the surface of the familiar tranquil island.

The emerald meadow, the calm surface of a clear lake, the peaceful grove of ancient trees… he had been here before, in the distant future. Of course, now, the island did not look exactly the same. There were pools of dragon blood sizzling in the green grass, and wisps of smoke floating in the air, brought over from the burning city by the wind.

He looked at the Ivory Tower and saw the body of a beautiful white dragon wrapped around it, not yet reduced to weathered bones.

Sunny remained motionless for a bit, and then went to find Kai.

The young man was laying on the grass not too far away, unconscious. His armor had melted and disintegrated, and his bark-like skin seemed damaged and scorched. Many of his bones were broken, and his disfigured face was contorted by a grimace of pain.

But he was alive.

friend, Sunny came to the conclusion that Kai's life was not in danger. His wounds,

Sunny summoned the Puppeteer's Shroud, rolled it, and placed the soft fabric under the archer's head as a pillow. Then, he lingered for a few moments, patted Kai on

the

This was it.

The prison of Hope…

studied the gates, something suddenly rustled behind him. Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, and then slowly turned around. His

The sorcerer was battered and beaten, his body covered by terrible burns. His elegant garments had turned into rags, and

He also looked… different.

grey eyes finally disappeared, leaving them sparkling and clear. The sorcerer looked radiant and at ease, emanating a cool and calming aura. His friendly

was how he had been centuries ago, before the duty of being a shackle to Desire turned him twisted and weighed down by the curse of

up, at the ivory expanse of the great pagoda, and then looked at Sunny with a

my disheveled appearance. Looks…

a few moments, then offered him a

that, he faced the sorcerer

is

bit, then lightly shook

there is one small thing left

face, and he looked away, hiding his eyes from the sorcerer.

can break one chain on

Noctis smiled.

that

smile paled and then disappeared, leaving his face

mean that

pillars of smoke rising above the dying city. His gaze was distant

to escape a trap, Sunless? Ah…

while, and then added in a

are meant to be

appeared on his beautiful face once again, and the sorcerer turned to Sunny with

friend… the time has finally come for me to request something

and opened his palm. Sunny remained silent, refusing

give me the

'Goddammit!'

say so much. He wanted to do so much. He

knew that it would have been a wrong and cruel thing to

A betrayal.

and then faced Noctis. A swirl of sparks appeared

you know? And yes, I