'Gods… what does she want?'
As he was currently playing the role of the Shadow Lord, he would have to receive this unwelcome guest.
Sunny glanced at the mess he had made upon his arrival, large splinters of wood and cobblestone were still piled up in the crater he had created.
He then silently swept it into the darkest corner he would find with his Shadow Manifestation.
'Hopefully she won't notice the hole in the roof?'
Stepping to the gate of the fortress, Sunny approached Solvane on the stone path she was currently walking.
He had never met the Shadow Lord, but from his battle with Nightmare, he did have somewhat of an impression of him.
…That impression being that of a damn scoundrel who did not enjoy the presence of others, but rather that of Shadows instead. He also did not seem like the polite type either, so Sunny skipped the niceties.
"Solvane."
Solvane flinched at the sight of him, her eyes widening slightly.
"Shadow?"
'Gods… this guy — his name is really just Shadow?'
Still, the sight of Solvane flinching deeply disturbed Sunny. Just what had happened between them?
"Yeah? What do you want?"
"Aren't you… dead?"
Sunny froze.
"No? As you can see, I am clearly alive."
'What?! What is she talking about?!'
Sunny then thought for a moment.
'I… took his place. Displacing his fate? Then… he's technically dead? His chain is broken? How did I not realise?!'
Sunny then realised… he was far more shocked than he should've been. Almost as if his emotions were being intensified.
'Hope's… Poison…'
It was so weak that he had barely noticed it before, but now that he had realised its presence… It was impossible not to notice.
Solvane stood a small distance away from him, tapping her chin as she muttered to herself.
"He's alive? Then was that dumb dragon lying? No… he wouldn't lie… then…"
Solvane grinned.
'Dam-'
Sunny ducked down, barely avoided a swing that would've taken his head off.
"You're not Shadow at all…"
Sunny sunk into the shadows a moment later, stepping away.
Even as an Ascended, Sunny was outmatched against Solvane. His only saving grace had been the fact he'd wrapped his shadows around himself just in case, and the fact he was empowered by Shadow's Domain.
Even then, fighting Solvane was pointless. He didn't have the wooden knife.
And so, he ran.
Emerging from the underside of the island, Sunny flew off on Shrike's back.
***
Solvane stared into the distance, watching a small black speck grow smaller and smaller as it moved away from her.
"Aw…"
She was quite disappointed.
The man who had somehow killed Shadow… was weak! As much as she disliked Sevras, she knew he wasn't the type to lie. She had no doubt that Shadow had died from unseen circumstances while the ember knife was still kept by the Sun Prince.
So how in all of Hope's Kingdom had such a weakling killed Shadow? And it had taken over his body too no less!
"Was it something from the mist?"
That would definitely explain it… But she couldn't really tell from a glance. She had genuinely thought the man before was Shadow for a moment. If not for Sevras' message, she would've been completely fooled.
Staring at the dull strip of iron in the shape of a knife in her hands, she sighed.
"Ah… why'd I attack him? I should've just asked…"
***
Sunny slowly calmed his beating heart.
'Gah! The hell?! How is this fair?!'
He had possessed the body of a Chain Lord, and it had counted as him killing him?!
'That also means I'm not immortal…'
Sunny was only mildly disappointed at the fact. The Spell would never be so kind as to grant him an immortal body. The last time he'd been here, it didn't even give him a body he knew how to use!
With his current body though, he had already long gotten used to it. In fact, he even found it remarkably similar to his own. Despite the large height disparity and dense muscles beneath his skin, the Chain Lord's body was remarkably flexible, meaning he could perform the Shadow Dance just fine with it. And as for the different proportions, that had only taken him a few minutes to grow used to.
'Ah… what do I even do now?'
The Chain Lords would soon know that he had possessed the body of the Shadow Lord, and they would no doubt hunt him for answers. He had no idea if the ember knife still remained, but it was hard to miss one of Hope's Shackles snapping.
Sunny was at a loss.
'Isn't this a little hopeless?'
Six Saints would soon begin hunting him. Although Sunny was definitely powerful, he was still just an Ascended. He was already beginning to regret not bringing Solvane with him.
'Damnation…'
If Shadow's chain had remained intact, he'd be able to remain passive for a while, observing the lands and planning his next move. But now…
Sunny clicked his tongue and summoned a Memory.
A wooden mask resembling a snarling demon with three twisting horns appeared on his face, Weaver's Mask.
The Chain Lords had a blessed of the Storm God, the One in the North. Sunny had never met her personally, but he knew she was a powerful oracle, and right now, without the centuries of exposure to Hope's Poison… she would definitely not have been the apathetic self she had been before. Sunny had to be careful of her.
With his identity already exposed, keeping Weaver's Mask on at all times was his best bet.
'Let's see… What advantages do I have?'
He currently had three knives with him, the glass, obsidian, and ivory knives. Within them, the deaths of Sevras, Noctis, and the One in the North were contained. He had no doubt that the Chain Lords would not be expecting him to somehow have a magical copy of the knives from the future.
'Wait… I do have them, right?'
He hurriedly summoned the Covetous Coffer, making sure he did indeed have the knives with him.
'...Phew!'
He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them.
'Good, I think! This is my only advantage currently!'
After thinking for a while, Sunny decided he'd use the ivory knife first.
He wasn't planning on killing all of the Chain Lords, of course, as he wasn't planning on freeing Hope.
'Well actually, I guess I am planning on freeing her if you think about it…'
Sunny shook his head.
'I'm getting off track.'
By using the ivory knife, he'd get rid of the biggest threat to him currently, the oracle. Sevras was no doubt holed up in Ivory City, so it was practically impossible to get to him. Meanwhile Noctis… Sunny simply didn't want to kill him. Although this Noctis was definitely different to the Noctis he knew, he was still Noctis. His friend. Sunny would absolutely never kill his friends.
His face still darkened at the thought.
There was still a very real possibility that he would be forced to. Of all the Chain Lords, he was definitely one of the most dangerous. Sunny needed to prepare himself mentally.
He sighed wearily as he flew.
He was going to pay the Night Temple a visit.
Hopefully, the oracle would rather speak than fight, Sunny would've preferred not to lock himself in a conflict with the Chain Lords just yet.
***
"How come it's just you lot? Where's the rest?"
In a room of white marble, sunshine was pouring in from an open window.
Seated at the head of a table, Sevras' eye was twitching.
Before him, only three people sat.
Semos, the Sun Prince, his brother, was looking at him with a helpless smile.
Aidre, Lady of the Heart Grove, shrugged with a casual expression.
Noctis, the Crimson Beast of Twilight, Sorcerer of the East, was smiling foolishly as he ignored his words.
Solvane and Aranea were absent. Half of the current Chain Lords had ignored his call.
For people who had just lost someone who had been a companion for centuries, they seemed oddly casual about it.
"Noctis, where's Aranea?"
"Hm? How should I know where that woman is?"
Sevras clicked his tongue.
"That woman..! We don't even know how Shadow died, and she doesn't even bother to show up?!"
Aidre abruptly stood up.
"You really don't know how he died?"
"Of course not! Do you?"
"No! And here I thought you were bringing us here to declare war or something…"
Semos coughed slightly.
"Speaking of war… Where's Solvane? Lady Aidre, do you know?"
"...You know how she is, she wouldn't show up here for anything."
Sevras grit his teeth in annoyance, small flames coming out of his nose. The room began to heat up considerably.
"Relax, dear Sevras! Aranea has most likely received a vision, and everything will be handled swiftly…"
"Everything?! Noctis, do you even know what sort of consequences this will have?!"
Sevras slammed his fists on the table, sending nets of cracks through the tough marble, causing the Chain Lords to stare at him in shock.
The normally noble and calm Sevras seemed to be exceedingly angry today. It was the angriest they had seen him in centuries.
"One of Hope's Chains has been broken, you fools! Can't you feel it?!"
Aidre glanced at him with slight confusion.
"Feel what?"
"Everything! Eve-"
"Brother. Please calm down."
Sevras let out a long breath, steam escaping his nose and ears. Noctis struggled not to laugh at the sight.
"Desire… A part of Hope's power has begun to seep out of the Ivory Tower. It's messing with our emotions."
The room went silent, only the sound of wind and rustling leaves outside could be heard.
"Oh."
Noctis and Aidre glanced at each other.
"Okay, this is indeed very bad. Can we fix it?"
"Of course not! That knife was a divine miracle! How c-"
"Brother."
Sevras yet again let out another long breath, trying his best to calm himself. Noctis no longer found the sight amusing. Instead, it was worrying. Only a single chain had been broken, and yet the fearsome Sevras had found it difficult to control himself.
"We need to find out what killed Shadow. The ember knife had been safely contained right within this building, and yet Shadow still died."
Noctis and Aidre's eyes widened at his words.
"You still had the knife? And he died?"
"I did. In fact, Semos was holding the knife the moment it shattered."
Noctis let out a long breath, realising the severity of the situation. He felt for the ruby knife he kept hidden deep within his robes.
"Then the perpetrator can kill immortals?"
"I don't know! I called you lot here so I could ask Aranea and come up with a plan! But you-"
"Brother."
Sevras' nails scraped across the table in frustration before a long breath of steam left his mouth.
"...All of you stay here for now. Until we know how Shadow was killed, we need to stay together."
Aidre and Noctis shared a glance.
"I'll need some wine first."
"Fine by me."
Sevras' breathed in, his expression returning to a neutral one.
"Good. Noctis, tell Aranea to come here immediately. And as for Solvane… actually, nevermind. Just let her do what she wants. That wench will be fine. Aidre, tell me you have the wooden knife?"
"I do."
Sevras let out a long sigh.
"Good. That's everything, you can… go do whatever you want. Just don't stray too far."
The Chain Lords let out some noises of acknowledgement as they stood up to leave, several white robed attendants coming to show them to their rooms.
Noctis smiled to himself silently.
'I hope you know what you are doing, Aranea.'
***
The sun was setting on Hope's Kingdom.
Dark clouds began to roll in overhead, distant storms beginning to form. Despite the lack of any nearby ocean, rain still occurred over the lands of the Chained Isles. Orange sunlight barely permeated the grey skies as a black streak shot across them.
A raven forged from lusterless steel flew low to the ground, cutting through the winds. On its back, a roguish man dressed as an adventure lay fast asleep, his face covered by a mask.
Rain began to fall on them, causing the man to awaken.
"Urk-!"
The man shot up, drops of water flying off of him.
"No…"
Sunny had a nightmare.
"Damn it… Damn it!"
Slowly catching his breath, he sat up. He tried to rub his eyes, but the mask had blocked it. He could only whisper weakly to himself:
"Damn it…"
As Nightmare had been quietly resting within the Shadow Lord's soul, Sunny had lost the chance to obtain him. Having not slept for several days now, he had gotten some rest as he traversed the Chained Isles. But without Nightmare, his sleep was short-lived.
Grabbing his hair for a moment, Sunny lowered his hands with a sigh.
Holding out a palm, he watched the water droplets collect within them before looking to the sky.
Thunder was rumbling in the distance. A storm was coming.
"...Stop here."
Shrike croaked in acknowledgement before quickly descending to the island below. Sunny had not planned on stopping here, but he did not want to fly through a storm.
Not because he didn't like the rain, but if he was flying on Shrike, he wasn't going to have a good time. With its [Lightning Rod] attribute, Shrike naturally drew in lightning whether it wanted to or not, and with Sunny on its back, he would inevitably get struck by it. And so, he was going to camp for the night and wait out the storm.
Finding a sufficiently large burrow to hide in, Sunny had Shrike block the entrance as he curled up beneath its steel wing, the cold emanating from it allowing him to sleep better.
He quickly fell asleep, his fatigue evident.
But despite that, he could not rest well.
***
Song Seishan walked along the stone path with measured steps.
'Why did mother ask me to do this?'
Out of the blue, she had told her to visit Sunny's home without even giving her a reason. She had simply told her to ask his friend Jet where Sunny was.
'Did something happen to him?'
Seishan checked her appearance, she was currently wearing her civilian disguise, and nothing was out of place. Approaching Sunny's home, she gave it a light knock.
'That girl should be here…'
She had already checked Awakened Jet's file beforehand, and she was certain she'd be home by now. Government agents — especially Awakened ones — had quite busy schedules, for the Awakened ones, even sleeping did not save them from work as they still had to perform their duties inside the Dream Realm. Much of the time, their only respite was a decently long break in the evening.
The door cracked open slightly, an eye peeking through.
A tired voice resounded from behind it.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, are you Awakened Jet?"
The door remained only slightly ajar. Seishan thought she could hear a grumble coming from behind it.
"Who's asking?"
"I am Song Seishan, I'm here to ask about your friend, Awakened Sunless."
She thought she heard something drop behind the door.
The door opened immediately, revealing a tired-looking woman wearing baggy home clothes.
"Uh, greetings! Song Seishan… May I know the uh… purpose of your visit?"
"...Didn't I just say it? I'm here to ask about Sunless."
"Ah, right, sorry. Would you like to come in?"
"Thats alright, I'm just here to ask if he's here."
Jet blinked slightly at her words, confused.
"Sunny? Here? Of course he's here. Why wouldn't he be here? Where else would he be?"
Seishan gave the girl a long look.
'She's… totally suspicious.'
Then again, perhaps she was simply nervous talking to a Legacy.
"Then, can I speak with him?"
"Oh, you can't. He's in the Dream Realm right now."
'Ah, I see.'
Of course, she had expected as much. She was still unsure why mother had asked her to come find out his status though.
"And how long has he been there?"
"Uh… like, a week? Probably a bit longer."
Seishan was silent for a moment.
"A week? Are you not worried?"
Jet laughed, scratching her head slightly.
"Worried? Maybe? Awakened usually have pretty hectic schedules, you know? Ah, what am I saying. Of course you know! As long as he's alive and coming back within the next year, it's really not a big deal."
Seishan looked down in thought.
"I see…"
Thanking Jet for her time, Seishan bid her farewell before returning to Ravenheart.
In the Jade Palace's cold halls, she met with a puppet of the Raven Queen.
"Mother, I've done what you've asked."
"Very good. What did she say?"
Seishan looked up at the puppet in slight confusion.
"She? How did you know Sunny wouldn't be there?"
"Sunny, you say? My my, y-"
"Please just answer the question."
The puppet grinned, shrugging.
"Fine, fine. Our little Sunless has recently vanished from my Domain's reach. I was just making sure he was alive."
Seishan's breathing quickened slightly.
"Vanished? Did he… did he betray us?"
The puppet laughed.
"Betray us? For who? Of course not! I suspect that he has entered his Second Nightmare."
Seishan's heart dropped.
"N-Nightmare? Already?"
"Yes, yes. Suspicious, isn't it? A Nightmare? At his age? Preposterous! At his age, I was still trying to figure out which weapon I liked the most! And that kid… I suspect he went in alone as well."
The hall was silent for a moment, both women collecting their thoughts.
After a while, Seishan thought to herself:
'Well, if it's Sunny, then he should be fine…'
Strangely enough, her thoughts echoed Jet's.
"Well, if it's that boy, he should be fine."
Seishan blinked. Even her mother seemed to think so.
"You said that his Echo managed to kill that Titan, right?"
"Yes, mother."
The puppet grinned, sending shivers down Seishan's spine.
"When he gets back, ask him how he got it."
"Ask him? Do you think he's going to tell me?"
Sinister laughter echoed throughout the hall.
"No, no… I have no doubt he doesn't want to tell any of us anything. But! I think I have a guess on what is Flaw is…"
Seishan's heart rate sped up slightly at her mothers words.
'His… Flaw?'
She was curious about his Flaw too. He most likely already guessed what hers was, so she wanted to know his in return. Currently, her only guess was that it was either something conditional and specific, something that wasn't easily noticed if one didn't know what to look for.
"What is it, mother?"
The puppet laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"That! You will have to figure out on your own. My only hint for you is to listen carefully to how he speaks."
'How he speaks…'
Seishan committed the information to memory. Knowing the Flaw of an ally was just as important as knowing the Flaw of an enemy. She would have preferred to simply ask him, but such a thing was quite inappropriate.
"Alright. Is there anything else, mother?"
"There is not."
Seishan bowed politely before leaving.
'That man's Flaw…'
***
Sunny looked at the sky with annoyance.
'It's been a day already damn it! Can you go away or what?'
He had been waiting for the storm to pass for a while now, but it showed no signs of letting up. Sunny was debating whether he should simply cross the islands on foot instead.
'Ah… come to think of it, I didn't even get a chance to inform Ki Song I was entering the Nightmare.'
His original plan had been to send something that seemed like an urgent message to her, to make it seem like he had no choice but to enter a Seed, but Asterion had ruined that plan entirely. Instead, he'd have to answer some very annoying questions once he got back to the waking world.
'Questions, questions. Always with the damn questions!'
Sunny kicked the dirt wall in frustration, sighing angrily.
"Gah! Whatever! I'm walking!"
Dismissing Shrike, he chose to cross the Chained Isles on foot instead.
'If I stay here any longer, Solvane will catch up with me.'
He had no idea whether or not Solvane was chasing him, but he didn't want to find out. Even if she didn't have a way of chasing him, there was a very real possibility that she would predict that Sunny was targeting the oracle first, so he was going to beat her to the Night Temple. After all, Solvane had lived for centuries as a Blessed of War; she was bound to be a master tactician.
It made Sunny a little sad to know the Solvane he had as a Shadow had her mental faculties impaired. Of course, she was still sharp, but her mind seemed to be lacking… something. Perhaps due to the Wormvine, or perhaps due to the millenia of suffering.
'Well, whatever!'
He actually liked his Solvane far more. She was far nicer than the one from this era, and she got along well with Nephis. The Wormvine made her far more bloodthirsty then he would've liked, but it wasn't a huge deal.
Stepping out into the rain, Sunny was drenched almost immediately.
Clicking his tongue, he manifested a simple umbrella.
'Heheh…'
Holding the umbrella of shadows above him made him a little joyful, for whatever reason. Even if it was a waste of essence, Sunny still held it above his head as he ran across the isles.
…And a few days later, he arrived at the Night Temple.