The Solace Sun — once the hateful depression of a tormented soul, pressing down on many — was now nothing more than a sun, after all. The soul that had powered it had long decayed, along with its damned tower. Its prison.
The bright light shone down on the dark city, now nothing but a dead stronghold. No humans. No dreamers. No nightmare creatures. Only him.
Chrollo had taken up residence in a large cathedral — possibly the very one that once housed the lost from light. Now, it was simply a quiet space of solitude.
"Well, hello there, my friend," he said, voice light with mock amusement. "You must be wondering why I'm here all alone. Shouldn't it be Miss Changing Star? Well, that would've been the case. But I miscalculated. Just a little."
He chuckled.
"Who would've thought a Nen Beast doesn't count as a living soul, huh? The plan was simple — let Sunny and Nephis pass through the gate. Skip the melodrama. She even called out his true name — Lost From Light. Hehe. I can say it now without triggering anything."
He leaned back against the cathedral's cracked spire, looking up at the pale light.
"They fought. Forced Sunny through. I managed to implant Ashfeather to act as the conduit. It worked — kind of. The tower was half-destroyed, but the sun remained. Not the hostile, soul-driven weapon it was. Just… a sun."
He sighed, exasperated.
"Confident in my Hatsu, I told Nephis to go through. And when I tried… nothing. The ruined gate didn't shimmer. No false hope. Just a flat-out rejection. To make it worse, I couldn't even retrieve Ashfeather. My baby boy got stuck, and now that half-crushed spire just sits there. I don't know if there's another way out except maybe crossing the Hollow Mountains. I mean, Nephis escaped the Dream Realm eventually, but how? Haven't a clue."
He turned slightly. "What do you think, Vale?"
Chrollo Lucilfer stood there — a tall, handsome teen, his medium-length hair now brushing his shoulders. His green bandana had been tied lazily around his arm out of sheer boredom, revealing the cross-shaped tattoo etched on his forehead. Beside him stood a slender beauty, alabaster-toned, cloaked in eerie grace. Her eyes were shut, as if resigned to something only she could feel. She stayed silent.
"Well, time…" he muttered, glancing at the descending sun. "Guess it's time to train."
He yawned, stretching. "Maybe I'll try En. Only thing that still seems interesting to learn. Think I can make it like a domain? Shadow Slave had something like that, right? Later in the series?"
He stood up from his spot on the cathedral's domed roof and casually walked to the edge. Then, as if stepping onto an invisible stairway, he took a bold stride forward — only to rotate 90 degrees mid-fall, spiralling downward through the dead air.
Boom.
A thunderous crash echoed through the still city. Chrollo had landed headfirst — or would have — if not for his quick reflexes. He'd shielded himself with his Nen-coated arms, using Ko after strengthening with Ken, concentrating aura in his limbs. Still, his arms hung limp, bones jutting from his triceps.
He gritted his teeth.
With a surge of Ten, his Hatsu — Self-Regeneration — activated. Instinctively, he invoked its aspect ability: Counter. Two self-regenerations clashed inside him, violently stitching muscle, nerve, and bone back together.
"Fucking hurts…" he muttered. "Damn… still better than walking the long way down."
Entering the cathedral's main hall — once used for rites and ceremonies — he passed a statue of a knight who'd once crossed the wrong shadow and hadn't lived to regret it.
Chrollo began his routine like always: the basics. Rotating between Ten, Zetsu, and Ren in endless repetition. Then, after a few minutes, he shifted his stance, lowering his centre of gravity, body angled like a bladed edge. In his hands were his two dagger-memories:
[Fang of the Severed Oath]
[Fangpiercer]
A Kail Arni's stance.
He struck: a low-left swing upwards, followed by one from bottom-right to top-left. Rhythmically, he cut down from right shoulder to waist, then mirrored it. A thrust. Then another. The blades moved like breath. Then he switched — activated Ren, slowly expanding it in a controlled, spherical manner. Once it reached the edge of his limit, he activated Ten, stabilizing the flow.
On his first try — he achieved En.
Despite the accomplishment, Chrollo looked unimpressed. The sphere barely extended two meters in radius.
"Damn. Only like 1.5, maybe 2 meters? Come on. I could've done better…"
He reset. Tried again. Again. Over and over. The sun dipped. The sun rose.
"Time to call it a night, huh?" he muttered. Then, with a teasing grin, "Ai, Vale. Wanna join me in bed?"
A long silence stretched.
His Echo — Vale — stood beside one of the great cathedral pillars, unmoving.
"What? Too stunned?" Chrollo grinned wider. "No need to be so bashful."
To any other dreamer, he'd seem insane. Everyone knew Echoes were just that — hollow remnants. Rewards for slaying a being. Nothing more.
But something was off.
"Shut the fuck up, you mongrel."