'...I think I got it now.'
After a while of flying slowly in the darkness, Sunny came to a realization, having shaken off the shock of meeting Solvane.
The dream the tree showed him… wasn't about the Shadow Bond at all.
When he thought about it some more, he realised… the part that made his heart ache most was the look on Nephis' face. She was so… tired. She was hurt, she was in pain, and yet she still pushed on. It would've been impressive if it wasn't so sad.
Nephis was someone consumed by her own hatred and pain to the point where even her Flaw had awakened as a manifestation of it. She was someone who held so much hatred in her heart that it moved her forward perpetually. Sunny didn't want to see that. He… he loved her. Even if that love was different now, it would still break his heart to see her walk along the same path that she once had.
'Isn't it just too tragic? To only fight out of hate?'
Although Sunny would never know now, he was sure that Nephis might have eventually been consumed by her own hatred, or rather — her own flame. She… fought too much. She was too merciless on herself, leaving no room for any failure.
Comparing her to the sweet child he knew now… wasn't she just too far gone?
He took a deep breath.
'Maybe… these regrets will fade, if I can let her live a good life.'
Sunny smiled slightly.
'Yeah. The life neither of us could ever have…'
Sunny tried to imagine it.
But sadly, he couldn't.
He'd never experienced it, after all. His life had been a struggle from the beginning.
'Maybe I should ask Tyris...'
Sunny sighed, looking at the island above him.
He had reached his destination, the Sanctuary of Noctis.
With a flap of its wings, Shrike brought him to the underside of the island. Jumping, Sunny disappeared into the undersides shadow, gliding upwards to the surface. With confirmation that the Chain Lords were at Ivory City, he was no longer worried about randomly stumbling upon Noctis. Appearing on its surface, Sunny saw several hundreds of people milling about.
'Huh?'
Why were there so many people?
This place… should've been empty.
Without Hope's madness, the Chained Isles were still in a somewhat peaceful period, so there shouldn't have been any refugees or anything of the sort here yet, without the war between Solvane's Zealots and Ivory City. The Sanctuary of Noctis should've still been the Temple of the Moon, home to only a single man.
After taking a closer look at the people present, Sunny realised…
'Damnation.'
Many of them were wearing blindfolds, while the ones who weren't very clearly had no eyes. The people here were refugees from the now destroyed Night Temple, having fled in advance with a warning from their High Priestess. With their Lady dead, there were bound to be more people approaching from the Northern Reach too.
Still in the shadows, Sunny summoned Weaver's Mask.
'This… should still be fine.'
It would be a bit harder to sneak around, but the strongest people present were only Ascended. Most of them were non-combatants too, so they posed no threat. Or at least, Sunny hoped so.
'It'll only be a little harder to sneak around now.'
Gliding around the island, Sunny saw that the Sanctuary of Noctis didn't even exist yet, rather only Noctis quarters and a shrine were present. It seemed that some animals had once lived here, but had fled from the arrival of the large group of humans. The group of humans in question were currently setting up a temporary shelter for themselves, wooden outlines of houses being made as well as other buildings being formed out of Aspects.
Creeping closer, Sunny could hear some of them speaking.
"I hope the mistress is safe…"
"Don't speak about that, fool, just work. The Lady will be safe, when has she ever failed?"
"You're right…"
Sunny watched from the shadows.
'Sorry, but… your mistress is already dead.'
In fact, they should've known by now; Weren't they oracles? It had already been two weeks since he had killed Aranea, that was plenty of time for at least one of them to receive a vision.
…Perhaps some of them already had, and had remained quiet to preserve hope among them.
It was a little sad to watch. Sunny tried to tell himself that they were just Nightmare inhabitants, but… he couldn't. Even if they were conjured by the Spell, they were just as alive as he was, and their shadows were no different either.
After watching them for a while, Sunny made his way to Noctis' quarters.
'...I should've known it would look like this.'
All sorts of knick knacks and ornaments were strewn about the lavish abode. Two Sailor Dolls — or at least something that resembled them — were sitting together at a table. They seemed to be… playing cards?
'This guy… he really does have some weird hobbies.'
The Sailor Dolls hadn't noticed him, so he paid them no mind.
Noctis' quarters were quite big, it would take him some time to look through everything.
Several silver goblets were placed next to a bed covered in furs, large enough to fit several people. Within the goblets remnant drops of wine still remained, and the crumbs of bread were lining the floors too. Many coffers with all sorts of coins and treasures were present as well, and all around Noctis' quarters, Sunny only found riches.
That was great and all, but…
'These… these are all useless to me!'
In fact, the thing that drew Sunny's gaze the most here… were the many bottles of extremely fine looking wine.
'This… this guy! Are you serious?!'
Although Noctis' home was the polar opposite of Aidre's, it was still just about as useful as hers had been.
From the shadows, a sigh resounded.
'I really didn't know what I expected. These guys are immortals, after all.'
Different things possessed different values for people who could live forever. Someone like Noctis wouldn't treasure useful relics and powerful weapons, but rather he'd cherish the things that brought him amusement like scrumptious food and delicious wines.
Sunny continued to search the place, looking for anything of use at all.
…Nothing. There was nothing. The Mordant Mimic wasn't even among his coffers, nor was the chair he had turned into the Shadow Chair.
Out of all the things present, the most useful thing he had found… was a container that seemed to preserve food. There was some sort of sorcery powering it, and Sunny was studying it. Aside from that, Sunny simply pilfered some of the food and alcohol for himself, tossing them into the Covetous Coffer. He didn't know how long he'd be here, but Noctis didn't seem to be using the food, so…
'Whatever… I don't even know what I was hoping to find.'
Perhaps a relic of the Beast God would've been nice! Then again… he hadn't searched the nearby shrine just yet.
'Come on… a place dedicated to worshipping a god has to have something good in it, right?'
Gliding past the Sailor Dolls, Sunny saw that one of them had lost, and the other was silently laughing, sticking out its chest and raising its chin in pride. The other doll, not happy with its defeat, grabbed its fellow doll by the throat before giving it a good punch to the face. A moment later, the two were locked in a fierce scuffle, knocking over several pieces of furniture in the process.
'The hell…'
Sunny tried his best to ignore the sight, leaving the lavish building.
Glancing at the sky, he saw the sun setting.
'Surely there'll be something interesting here at night, right?'
Entering the temple, Sunny saw something incredible.
'Oh… oh! There you are! My love!'
Cruelly knocked over was a beautiful and exquisitely crafted wooden chair. A spilled goblet of wine was left next to it, and the table before it had a net of cracks forming from the middle, as if someone had delivered a heavy blow to it with their fist.
Picking up the chair, Sunny felt it tenderly with his hands.
'Wait…'
The wood felt a little different. It was… of an even higher quality?
'Noctis… you were holding out on me!'
It seemed that Noctis had hidden the truly comfortable chairs from him in his first visit, instead leaving them in his shrine.
Setting down the chair, Sunny tried sitting on it.
'!!!'
It was wonderful. An absolute masterclass. Perhaps Aidre had created it? Only a demigod could create such an incredible piece of work.
'This is truly the work of a master!'
Sunny picked up the chair, taking it away from the viciously broken table and spilled wine.
…So engrossed by the chair, he didn't even notice the small glimmer coming from an altar placed before a statue of the Beast God.
Taking out an Ascended soul shard, Sunny immediately got to work.
***
[You have received a Memory.]
Sunny smiled.
Memories: [Shadow Chair].
It took all his self control to not start laughing out loud. Oracles were sure to have sharp senses, after all. Even weaving here had been quite the risk.
Sunny did not care though, it was totally worth it.
Only now did he take a look around the shrine, searching for anything useful.
A large runic circle was present, with several channels leading underground. Sunny suspected that blood was meant to drain down through, as the ring seemed like the kind that people were sacrificed on. After a while, Sunny realised that this was the place Noctis had once used to house the Wormvine.
'Creepy.'
Sunny did not linger around it for long, choosing to move towards the altar instead.
An obsidian slate was placed before the statue of a woman Sunny only sent a short glance at. The statue of the Beast God… just a simple glance sent shivers down his spine.
'So that's the God of Beauty?'
It was a very appropriate title. Words simply couldn't describe it. The statue was naked besides the long hairs from its head draped all across its body, reaching its knees. Its hands were held outwards, as if receiving moonlight, and its fingernails were terribly long. On its forehead, between its closed eyes, there was a symbol of the moon.
'Noctis' great-grandmother… I definitely see where he got his looks from now.'
As infuriating as that bastard had been, he was without a doubt beautiful.
Staring at the altar, Sunny did his best not to send glances at the statue. And only now that he focused on the altar, did he notice a slight glimmer on it.
'Hm? Something's… there?'
Reaching out his hand Sunny tried to grab the small glint, only for his hand to touch nothing.
Shifting his vision, Sunny looked at the altar.
'Something's definitely there…'
He couldn't quite see, but he could barely make out the contours of something placed on the altar.
'An altar in the shrine of the Beast God… do I have to wait for a full moon?'
Sunny looked up.
He wasn't sure if the Chained Isles' moon matched the cycles of the moon from the waking world, but if it did…
'I guess I can wait a few days.'
The moon was currently half illuminated, a waxing gibbous. Studying the moon was strictly forbidden on Earth, but Sunny still knew that much. So knowing the next phase would be the full moon, Sunny decided to wait for a while.
Busying himself, he searched every corner of the temple as he waited.
'Again… these are useless!'
There were some interesting relics here and there, but most of them were quite useless to him. Most of them seemed tuned towards blood sacrifices while also being filled with divinity that couldn't be weaved, and the rest were offerings for the gods. And since the gods were dead, Sunny had no use for it. He was a little curious about what would happen if he sacrificed his blood, but then again…
'What if Beast God actually responds? I'll be royally screwed then…'
After all, he had the blood of Weaver. The gods would smite him without a second thought if they ever saw his forbidden lineage. Probably.
Sunny did find something decent though, he just wasn't too sure what it was for.
Within a tastefully decorated ring, there was some divinity contained, not enough to prevent him from turning it into a memory, but enough so that it caught his eye. He wasn't sure what its purpose was, but he was certain it had something to do with Beast God's lineage. It wasn't useful to him, but perhaps he could trade it to Ki Song or one of her daughters for something useful in return.
[You have received a Memory.]
'I can already hear the clinking of coins…'
For now, he'd name it [Stolen From A Sorcerer].
Was the name ridiculous? Absolutely. Did he have anything better to do? Not really. He'd change it to something more mundane later, but for now he simply felt like having a bit of fun.
…In a hidden underground basement he had found, Sunny quietly relaxed in a bed far too large for himself. It was the [Lavish Bed] that he had stolen from Nether's Tower.
'So worth it!'
Today was the first time he had actually tried it, as aside from the waters of Serenity Spring, out of all the times he had slept during this Nightmare, it had all been on Shrike's back. His Shadows back wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but Shrike could shift its body from warm to cool by manipulating its internal heat, it was like a portable AC unit! Sleeping on hard steel might've been a little bad for his back, but he had still brought a sleeping bag from the waking world, so it hadn't been too horrible. He'd definitely slept in worse places in the past.
Right now though…
'I'm in heaven…'
Rolling on the lavish furs and soft cushions, Sunny sighed in relief. The bed was wide enough that it could easily fit several people side-by-side, and it was long enough to fit two Sunnys.
'Seriously… as long as there's enough space to place it, I don't think I'll ever need another bed.'
Sunny shut his eyes, relaxing.
'I wonder why it's so wide? I know some daemons are tall, but… Wait! Was it for his wings? Could he not retract them or something?'
Sunny tried to imagine it. He pictured Nether getting frustrated as his wings clipped a door frame, he tore down the wall to make the door wider. He pictured another scene of the daemon trying to sleep, only for his wings to keep awkwardly drooping off the side of the bed.
'Hah! That would be a sight…'
Then again, his thoughts might've been unrealistic. Daemons were not humans, and Sunny could not imagine how a daemon would think or react to mundane things.
'Maybe I'll know soon…'
Imagining more situations where Nether would have to tear down walls to adjust a building for his proportions, Sunny fell asleep.
***
Sunny's eyes snapped open, a hand gripping his shirt.
"Gah!"
He had a nightmare.
"Damn it!"
Although the memory had quickly faded, he could remember the sight of Nephis crying.
"Damn it…"
Sunny sighed.
Even his lavish bed didn't save him from his dreams.
Rubbing his face, — or at least tried to as his fingers scraped uselessly against black wood — Sunny got up.
The shadows outside were few, so he deduced it was still day time.
Sunny forced a smile.
"Whatever, I don't care!"
Looking at his beloved bed, Sunny grinned.
***
Memory: [Shadow Bed].
He had been incredibly happy with his new bed, and he had decided to give it a better title. It was no mere lavish bed… it was his very own Shadow Bed. Looking at the obsidian black bed frame and grey furs, the name wasn't exactly inaccurate either.
Sunny laughed to himself slightly.
'Since when have I enjoyed stealing furniture this much?'
Although he had asked himself, the answer was obvious. After obtaining the [Shadow Chair], Sunny had heavily regretted not taking more things from Noctis' Sanctuary. He would not make the same mistake again. It had taken him years to realise, but the memories he cherished the most weren't powerful weapons or useful tools, they were the ones that were the ones that brought him comfort and security. Things like [Endless Spring], [Shadow Chair], and [Ananke's Mantle].
Sunny sighed in slight regret.
'Why couldn't they come back with me…'
He had lost so many incredible memories in his time jump. The [Crown of Twilight], the [Shroud of Graceless Dusk]...
Sunny could only hope he obtained them once more someday.
'Wait, scratch that.'
That would mean he'd have to fight a Great Beast and a Corrupted Terror.
'No thanks!'
Sure, he could most certainly fight abominations on that level with the help of his Shadows, but Sunny would prefer not to. At least, not until his personal power had reached a certain level, like a Transcendent level, perhaps. Only if it really came down to it or if he had no choice, he'd fight.
…It was a little backwards to think like that, considering he may very well have to kill five Saints soon, and those people could be even worse than Terrors.
Sighing, Sunny sat down and began studying the Covetous Coffer. He had not given up on turning it into an echo just yet, but it was definitely going to take a long time.
The days passed by quickly as he weaved.
Two days since he had arrived at the Temple of the Moon, the full moon arose.
Standing before the altar, Sunny waited.
Although it was night, the moon wasn't aligned with the shrine just yet, so there was still some waiting to do.
Sunny waited silently in the shadows.
And once the moon moved overhead the shrine…
Sunny was thrown out of the shadows as the moonlight seemed to nearly concentrate into a silver pillar of radiance, bathing the room in soft light.
'What the…'
He watched the silver light continue to focus onto the altar, turning smaller and smaller until it was only as wide as one of Noctis' goblets of wine.
'That..!'
And in the center of the moonlight, a beautiful red knife that seemed to be cut from blood sat.
The ruby knife.
'Why… why is it here?'
Sunny did not wait another moment, quickly stepping forward and taking the knife from the altar. The moonlight felt a little strange on the back of his hand, but he ignored it.
Bringing the knife up to his face, he closely examined it.
'It's… it's the real deal.'
It was the actual ruby knife, containing the death of the Sun Prince.
Sunny stared at it with bewilderment.
"...mething in the shrine!"
"Hmph."
Glancing back at the entrance, Sunny vanished into the shadows.
'I don't know why it's here, but… I might as well.'
Strangely enough, he actually had four out of the five knives he needed. The only knife he was now missing was the Wooden Knife, which contained the death of Solvane.
'Thats… really the one I needed the most too.'
Sunny took one look at the several eyeless entering the Temple before leaving. There was nothing left for him here.
Emerging from the shadows of the underside, Sunny flew off on Shrike.
It was time to visit the Ivory City.
***
Four Chain Lords sat within a room bathed in sunlight.
With his arms crossed, Sevras was tapping his finger in annoyance.
"We still have no news on that bastard's whereabouts…"
Noctis and Aidre glanced at each other.
"And? That guy will have to come to us eventually."
Semos sighed as Sevras began tapping his finger faster.
"Noctis, can't you do something? Surely Aranea would've taught you a thing or two about divination…"
Noctis leaned back, enjoying a goblet of wine as he blocked out the sunlight with his hand.
"Did she now? Ah, but how on earth would I find that man? Didn't you see that mask that pretender had on? That's the symbol of… you know."
Sevras gripped his arms tighter, a vein on his head emerging.
"Won't you try at least?! Are we just going to sit here and wait for our downfall?!"
Noctis sighed with an annoyed look on his face.
"What are you getting angry at me for? This is entirely your fault, you know…"
A fist slammed against the table, and the room heated up considerably.
"My fault? My fault?! Wh-"
"Well, it was you and your brother's knives that were mysteriously lost, weren't they? The Ember Knife and the Ivory Knife… who's to say the guy who killed them simply took your knives and left you with replicas?"
Sevras nearly exploded in anger before Semos placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. With an admonishing stare, Semos turned to Noctis.
"Lord Noctis, you saw what happened. You were even with us when the ivory knife was mysteriously destroyed. Clearly, the killer has some way of utilizing our knives without actually having them. Don't you think so?"
Noctis laughed.
"And yet, in the vision we saw that… he had the knife! I also saw that, you know? Shadow's fate must've been that same!"
Aidre stood up.
"All of you, relax. This is the work of Hope's power, we can't let it split us up right when danger lurks all ar-"
"Lord Sevras!"
A man in white robes burst in the room, earning glares from every single person there.
Paling, the man began stammering:
"Y-You… forgive me my lord, but there's someone here that you would want to see!"
Sevras raised an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Who?"
Bowing, the man yelled:
"It's… it's Lady Solvane! She has specifically requested to meet all of you, my lord!"
"Solvane..?"
All of the Chain Lords stood up at the man's words, clear surprise on their faces.
"Solvane? She actually came?"
"That woman? What is it now…"
"...This can't be good."
Looking towards the large window, the Chain Lords jumped out one by one, each of them using their own way to fly towards the entrance of the city.
Approaching the entrance of the city, they saw Solvane standing casually as soldiers in shining silver armour surrounded her.
"Isn't this a cold welcome? And you're the one who told me to come…"
A wide grin appeared on her face at the sight of her fellow Chain Lords.
An ivory dragon landed before her with a mighty thud, its deep, scathing voice bounding across the lands.
"Solvane… Why have you only come now?"
The woman shrugged.
"I've seen the remains of the Northern Reach, and I suppose I wouldn't want to be next?"
All the Chain Lords had varying degrees of annoyance on their faces. Not a single one of them had wanted to see Solvane. Aidre in particular had a strange expression on her face.
Sevras sighed.
"So be it. Come, we have much to discuss."
The five remaining Chain Lords entered the Ivory City.
…And not too far away, a shadow watched closely.