'Hm… It's a little creepier than I remember.'
He had never visited the Night Temple in this era, but seeing the heavy storm around him with the flashes of lightning in the distance… It sent a small shiver down his spine.
Hidden in the shadows, Sunny slowly made his way towards the cathedral, giving the distant Hollow Mountains only a short glance.
Making his presence as faint as possible, Sunny crept inside.
'...Huh?'
The upside down cathedral was bathed in shadows, no candles nor lanterns were present anywhere. All around the cathedral, Sunny saw strange sights. Dust lining the floors and walls, windows that remained open, random items left lying around on desks….
The place was abandoned.
Looking at the dirty footprints on the ground, it looked like everyone had left in a hurry too.
In the form of a swift shadow, Sunny swept the place, looking for any signs of people.
'Damnation… So they saw me coming.'
Despite the fact he was using Weaver's Mask, the oracles of Night Temple had still known he was coming.
Sunny sighed sadly.
'This… is gonna be a damn hard Nightmare, isn't it?'
Making his way into the main hall, Sunny gave the statue of the Storm God a short glance.
'No divinity?'
For whatever reason, the stone bolt in the hands of the Storm God was just that, a regular stone lightning bolt. Sure, it was expertly carved as if done by a mad sculptor obsessed with perfection, but that was about it. No sorcery, no divinity, nothing.
Then that begged the question, what was divinity infused into it? Did the Storm God do it on a divine whim? Was it the work of the One in the North?
'So many damn questions…'
Finding nothing of note, Sunny turned to leave.
…But then a moment later, he felt something move within the range of his Shadow Sense. It was a small, miniscule movement that he had only noticed because he was on high alert, but he had noticed it nonetheless. The movement was akin to someone shifting in their chair, or tilting their head, but in the eerie stillness of the Night Temple they may as well have been breakdancing.
'Who?'
Was someone left behind?
Through his Shadow Sense, he could feel that the movement had come from the lowest point of the cathedral, a room just above the bell tower.
Gliding towards the source of the movement, Sunny made his presence as faint as possible, if he were in the form of a human, he would've been holding his breath.
Nearing the room, he saw that it was completely sealed aside from the small gap underneath the door. If the cathedral was any less well-maintained, he would've slipped in through a crack on the wall.
Sunny silently slid beneath the door.
"I've been waiting for you."
'What?!'
He nearly leapt out of the shadows in shock.
How did they…
'No no… stay calm.'
Sunny managed to keep his cool.
The question… had not triggered his Flaw. It had not been aimed at him.
In fact… Sunny didn't think the question was aimed at anyone at all.
He remained silent for a while, staying completely still.
And sure enough, after several minutes…
"I've been waiting for you."
The voice spoke again.
'I knew it. Did they seriously think that was gonna work?'
The source of the voice knew he was coming, but not when, so it simply spoke periodically hoping he would reveal himself. It was similar to what he had done with Mordret in the past.
Sliding beneath the door, Sunny looked at the source of the voice through his peripheral vision, making sure he was as unnoticeable as possible.
The source of the voice… was a Saint.
A beautiful woman with long dark blue hair that nearly reached her knees sat with her arms placed on the desk before her. She wore a grey silken robe and long black gloves that seemed to glimmer with starlight reaching her elbows. It was the Chain Lord blessed by the Night, the One in the North.
'Huh, come to think of it, I never did learn her name, did I?'
He'd only ever referred to her as the One in the North. The thought saddened him slightly.
Sunny silently approached her, readying the ivory knife.
As he crept closer and closer, the shadows in the room darkened slightly. Thunder roared in the distance.
'...'
A figure silently emerged from behind the Transcendent, an ivory knife held overhead.
The Saint appeared to be none the wiser, only repeating what she had been saying to nobody in particular for several days now.
"I've been ex-"
Lightning struck.
Sunny lowered his arm.
"How many more times are you going to say that?"
"Ah!"
The Saint yelped, jumping from her chair and destroying the table before in the process.
"You! When did you arrive?!"
Landing in a shower of wooden splinters, the Saint raised a palm before her, blue lightning crackling between her fingertips. Strangely, the lightning didn't seem to produce any light.
"I arrived several days ago."
"That voice..! Shadow?!"
Sunny chuckled.
"Thats right."
As he was currently wearing Weaver's Mask, he had no choice but to lie.
Sunny had decided to forego the surprise attack against the Saint. Partially because he felt bad, killing her from behind like that. He didn't even know the woman, and yet he was killing her so mercilessly? That however… was only part of the reason.
The main reason was the fact that the Saint definitely knew someone was there. The moment he had approached her, essence began gathering within her core. He had no idea what for, but it was clear that the woman knew more than she let on.
She also seemed to have something to say to him, so he decided to hear her out instead. Sure, he could be stupidly walking into a trap, but nothing he had found in the Night Temple indicated that. It seemed more likely that the Transcendent before him had evacuated the place before earnestly waiting for him.
"Why… Why can't I see you? What have you done?"
The woman appeared to be panicking, but Sunny could feel it… she was perfectly calm.
"Of course you can't see me! You're blind, after all! And as for what I've done… I've freed myself! Simple as that."
"Free..? From what?"
Still gripping the ivory knife in his hand, Sunny spoke once more.
"From our oath. Don't you remember what the Lord of Light said to us so many years ago? I am simply following his orders."
Sunny was running his mouth. He had no idea what he was talking about, and only repeated what he remembered from Solvane and Aidre's conversation back during his battle with Nightmare.
"Our… oath?"
The Saint before him seemed to realise something.
"You… don't know what you're talking about, do you? Who are you? Shadow may not have been the smartest, but he definitely wouldn't have said something as dumb as that."
'...Ah. Seems I misunderstood something?'
Despite the woman's harsh words, Sunny could feel it, she was still uncertain.
"I've already told you who I am, and I know exactly what I'm talking about. And… calling me dumb? Come on now… the side effects of what I've done aren't exactly pleasant, and here you are making fun of me? How crass!"
The woman looked down for a moment, muttering to herself.
"Strange… he speaks just like him too…"
Looking up, the woman then said:
"Alright, what was our oath then?"
'...Uh oh. I guess this was a bad idea.'
Scratching his head slightly, Sunny played the fool.
"I don't know? My… My memory has been quite disjointed. I only know I've done something because of the notes I've left myself back at my fortress."
Despite her blindfold and lack of eyes, Sunny could still feel the Saint narrow her eyes.
"Well then, what's my name?"
'...Damn.'
Of all the questions she could've asked, she had asked the one that he definitely should've already known.
"Your name? Isn't it Aidre?"
The room was silent once more. He might have imagined it, but Sunny thought he could smell the scent of rain drifting through the air.
Gripping the ivory knife tightly, he readied himself. Shrike was on standby, and if the One in the North had any storm or lightning-related abilities, he'd be able to deal with her swiftly.
"You… Why don't you just stop with this nonsense? You're obviously not Shadow."
The shadows in the room darkened slightly, a cold chill sweeping through the air.
"You know, I could say the same to you. You obviously know who I am by now."
Sunny wasn't true if the woman before him truly knew what he was, but he could see the subtle signs of a liar. She definitely knew far more than she was letting on. The frustration and confusion she was displaying was likely an act.
The Saint took a heavy step forward.
"Really, should I know you?"
Ethereal blue lights burned dangerously behind the woman's blindfold.
Sunny took a step forward of his own.
"I don't know? Should I know you, old hag?"
Shadows cloaked him like a tide, soft hissing sounds emanating from the darkness.
The woman took a step back, a scandalized expression on her face.
"O-Old hag? Y-you! And how old are you to be saying that, huh? I'm not even a thousand years old yet, I'm still young!!"
'Gods… does she hear herself? A thousand years?!''
Sunny took another step forward.
"Me? I'm five years old! Just last week I was still running around the fields with mother and our horses. Ah, how I miss those days…"
'What the hell am I saying…'
Sunny then froze.
'Is… this Hope's Poison? No! Is she using her aspect to make me spout nonsense?! Is that what's happening?!'
Despite his thoughts, Sunny could not feel any sort of insidious powers creeping into his mind.
'Am I… getting nervous talking to a pretty lady?! Is that why I'm saying so much crap?'
Sunny tried his best to calm his beating heart, his mask betraying no emotion.
'Calm down Sunless… She's old enough to be your great great great great… Ah! I don't know!'
"F-Five years old? Are you perhaps mentally impaired in some way?"
"Impaired? Didn't I not just tell you my memory is all jumbled?"
The Saint lowered her palm, now confused.
"Are… are you really Shadow?"
"I am! What can I say to prove it?"
The woman raised her palm once more.
"You want to prove it? Take off your mask."
'Hm.'
Lightning struck as the shadows around Sunny darkened.
'So that's what you're after.'
"My mask? Why?"
"I need to see your face to confirm your identity."
"Oh, but aren't you blind? How did you even know I was wearing a mask?"
The storm outside began to intensify, the thunders that were previously roaring in the distance now seemed to be only a short distance away.
"You should at least know I'm an oracle. I see far more than what your measly eyes can."
"Eyes? I don't even have eyes! Aren't you a little presumptuous for an oracle?"
Sunny… no longer knew where he was going with this. He had entered the Night Temple prepared to either kill or talk to the woman before him, but now…
'Do I just attack now? She might be stalling until Solvane gets here…'
Sunny's heart thudded at the thought.
'Is she really stalling?'
He realised he'd been standing in front of her doing nothing for far too long now.
Lightning struck just outside, the light from it illuminated the room. Within the room, Sunny saw… nothing. The woman didn't seem to be stalling for anything in particular.
"Are you stalling for something?"
"Me?! I should be asking you that!"
The woman seemed offended at his words.
Sunny scratched his head slightly.
"Whats your name?"
"Aranea."
'Huh. Aranea…'
Aranea had answered curtly and without any malice.
'Does she… really just want to talk? Well, we can talk, but I'm not taking off my greatest weapon against her.'
The woman leered at him.
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to talk."
"About?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
Sunny took a step back, raising his hands.
"Well then, what did you want to say?"
"How did you do it?"
Sunny blinked.
"Do what?"
"Kill Shadow! Without the knife! I have to know! I really don't like not knowing things, you see…"
'Huh.'
Aranea… she just hated not knowing how Shadow died? To leave herself so open like this… was she saying that she wanted to know even if it killed her?
Were all the Chain Lords this eccentric?
'...What am I even thinking?'
Of course they were! Sunny didn't know much about the rest, but if they were anything like Noctis and Solvane, they were all bound to be insane in their own ways.
With a flash of lightning outside, Sunny took a good look at the woman before him.
…She did sort of seem like the type who'd risk her life just to sate her curiosity. She was dressed like some strange wizard even.
"Killing Shadow? I have no clue! I was minding my own business and then I randomly woke up in his body! I knew I killed him though, so sorry, I guess I killed one of your fellow Chain Lords."
"You… you don't know?"
"Thats right! And also, how did you know I was coming? My anti-divination efforts should've been perfect…"
Aranea laughed.
"Oh it worked alright. That's how I knew something was coming. I can see the future just as clearly as you see the present, you know… And all of a sudden, I don't see anything. Pretty obvious, don't you think?"
"...I can't think at all."
There wasn't much he could do about that. He didn't exactly have any mid tier anti-divination memories, he only had the best of the best.
'Ah, suffering from success yet again…'
"How did you even possess Shadow? Are you… from the mist?"
Sunny shifted slightly at the sound of thunder roaring.
'The mist…'
No doubt, she was talking about the Hollow Mountains. The Night Temple was stationed very close to it, and Aranea must have had some experience dealing with them.
"I'm actually from the Shadow Realm."
'Gah… Should I just take this damn mask off? This is getting so frustrating…'
He was getting nowhere! Sunny was debating whether he should just rush her right this moment.
"Oh, that makes sense…"
'Ah, to hell with this.'
Manifesting a coin out of shadows, he flipped it into the air, leaving it up to fate.
"Moon or ship?"
Aranea tensed, slightly confused.
"Ship."
The coin landed in the palm of his hand.
The ship faced him.
"Hmph."
'I guess you'll get to see my face after all.'
The rain outside continued to pour. Despite the fact the Night Temple was located on the underside of the island, Sunny could have sworn he heard it right next to him.
As lightning crashed outside, Sunny dismissed Wea-
"..."
'Wait.'
…
Sunny paused.
He had left it… up to fate?
What on earth was he doing?
"...What are you doing?"
His eyes flicked towards Aranea.
'No… she's doing something.'
Lightning flashed for a moment, revealing the woman's confused and quite creeped out expression.
'Eh… probably not. I might just be losing it.'
"Conquering the universe."
"H-Huh? You really have lost it…"
Sunny took a deep breath.
Something was deeply wrong.
'Am I really this stupid? Why can't I… why can't I think of anything to say?'
His mind whirred, desperately searching for an answer.
And just as he did…
He heard the roar of thunder.
Something clicked in his mind.
'It's… It's the storm.'
He wasn't sure what was happening, but it had to be the storm!
'Come to think of it… a storm shrouding the blessed of the Storm God's island? Isn't… isn't that super suspicious?'
Sunny clenched his fist, tensing his muscles…
'Whatever. I'll figure it out later.'
…And shot straight towards the Saint.
"Hm?!"
Aranea dashed back, raising her arms.
…But it was just a moment too late.
With Weaver's Mask clouding her future sight abilities, Sunny plunged the ivory knife straight into her hear-
Clang!
The knife bounced uselessly off her strangely solid chest.
Sunny did not wait for even a moment, immediately trying to stab her in the eye.
"Argh!"
An iron grip was holding his wrist a moment later, his bones creaking from the strain.
Sunny attempted to pull away, but found himself completely locked in place.
"The ivory knife? Where did you get this from?"
'...Shit.'
"A Terror from the Mist stuck it in my neck."
The Saint sighed, her previous confused demeanor vanishing.
"Huh… You're only an Ascended? What was I even doing all of this for?"
She reared an open palm back, aiming to decapitate Sunny in one go.
The shadows around his free arm surged, forming into a terrifyingly lethal dagger. Pulling his arm back, he thrust the Soul Serpent into the Saint's neck.
…Or at least he tried to. Because Aranea clicked her tongue and threw him a moment later.
Bang!
'O-Ow…'
Sunny was now imprinted into a small crater on the ceiling of the room. Not waiting for the Saint's follow-up, he sank into the shadows immediately.
"Hmph."
With a smug laugh, the Saint began… disrobing?
From within the embrace of the shadows, Sunny watched with mild confusion at her actions. Outside, Shrike was already beginning to charge up a supremely powerful attack.
Aranea's silken grey robe dropped to the floor, revealing…
A terrifying set of steel armour beneath. The plates fit her like cloth, each of them painted a midnight black, radiating sizzling heat and the scent of rain. Removing her starry gloves, Aranea brought them to her face, causing them to shift and morph. Smoothing back her extremely long hair, Aranea took a deep breath.
Just then, soft light shone around her head, transforming into a halo of blue lightning.
'This… this is an oracle?'
She felt far more like a warrior! Even if she was missing a weapon…
And just as Sunny thought that, the woman brought her arms forward. With her gloves gone, her deceptively muscular forearms were now fully exposed, displaying a multitude of terrifying scars.
'Wha… what…'
With a flash, Aranea's fingernails extended into claws as sharp as knives. She then folded her arms together and began carving long lines into her own arms with them.
"Huhu…"
With a scathing breath, she lowered her arms. Steam rose from the massive gashes as streams of blood poured from them, pooling on the ground.
Sunny watched the brutal scene, mesmerized.
"I don't know how you managed to resist telling me, but it doesn't matter anymore. Prepare to die, pretender."
'Shit!'
With a breath, lightning illuminated the entire room, throwing Sunny out of the shadows. Activating the Shadow Lantern, a small sphere of shadows surrounded Sunny allowing him to step away. Emerging atop Shrike's back, Sunny jumped off into the Sky Below, ensuring he wouldn't be caught in the oncoming blast.
"Do it!"
"SKREEEEE!"
A colossal pillar of silver lightning shot towards the cathedral at the island above them, aiming for the bell tower.
A swift figure shot out from within, brimming with power.
BOOOOM!
The silver lightning engulfed the cathedral alongside a large part of the island's underside, bathing it in destructive energy. With a forearm, Sunny covered his eyes from the sheer intensity of its light. The ensuing shockwave slammed into him like a hurricane, sending him even deeper into the abyss below.
Feeling electricity buzzing in his ears, Sunny took deep breaths as he slowly moved his arm away from his face.
The Night Temple was nearly obliterated.
In the place where the magnificent cathedral had once stood, a blackened pile of wood and stone remained. Smoldering embers drifted about as large pieces of the cathedral began breaking away, falling into the abyss below.
The figure of Aranea was nowhere to be seen.
'Gods…'
With a flap of its wings, Shrike turned and began descending towards him, sparks of electricity still surrounding its body as wisps of steam rose from its beak.
Sunny sighed.
'I guess I'll need to keep the mask on for the rest of this nightmare. That vile woman…'
Sunny reached out a hand as Shrike neared, allowing him to grab on to one of its talons. Lifting himself up, Sunny made his way onto Shrike's back as it began to descend further to ensure no one could follow them.
"You bastard…"
"Skree?!"
Sunny froze.
"How could you destroy my precious temple, wretch?! Do you know how long that took to build?!"
With her face blackened and slightly melting, along with armour covered in soot, Aranea was standing on Shrike's back as well. Despite the grievous wounds she was sure to have received from the blast, she was already regenerating.
'Damn immortals!'
Sunny took a step back. Shrike's body was large enough so that there was still quite a distance between the two.
"Sorry."
"Oh pretender, that word means nothing. In fact, I think I'll be taking your head now."
The woman lunged forward, all ten fingernails extended into sharp blades. She looked like a feral beast launching themselves towards helpless prey. Ducking his head, Sunny immediately dismissed Shrike, causing both of them to lose their footing.
"Ah!"
Aranea stumbled, her slash missing entirely as Sunny jumped backwards at the last moment.
Making himself as light as possible, Sunny watched the woman descend further and further into the Sky Below.
Sighing with annoyance, shadows surged around him, emerging from the small lantern at his waist.
Now, in the place of Sunny, a monstrous butterfly with six chitinous legs made from shadows appeared. Next to it, a colossal serpent appeared for a moment before transforming into a hideous vulture with feathers of bone, the winds around seemingly coming to life with malevolent will. And with a screech, a raven forged from lusterless steel emerged, brimming with silver lightning.
A deep, hissing voice resounded throughout the abyss.
"Don't let her enter the rain."
Sunny did not know what the storm did, but he was certain he absolutely couldn't allow Aranea to enter it. With the island above, there was still a radius of about a kilometer of dry air around them, but with the howling winds, that circle was quickly shrinking.
Hearing screeches of agreement, Sunny tucked his six chitinous legs in, and shot downwards towards the falling Saint.
Below them, wings of ethereal blood had grown out of Aranea's back which she used to shoot towards them.
"Oh pretender… Where did you get all these servants from?"
The monstrous butterfly flapped its wings.
"Sun God bestowed them upon me."
With her armour brimming with blue electricity and a red haze surrounding her, Aranea reared her arms back, lethal intent radiating from them.
Alongside his two Shadows, Sunny descended upon her.