Sunny's shadows silently slid beneath the door of the small hut. He didn't know what he expected to find, but he was certainly curious of what was within. He felt a little bad, sneaking into the home of Amil's mother, but he still did it nonetheless. It wasn't like he was going to steal anything. It was simply pure academic interest.
'Even if I try to steal something, the tree might stop me…'
He did not know just how connected the Chain Lord and the tree were, but there had to be some sort of connection between them. Aidre had tended to it for centuries, after all. The tree would not want to see any harm come to her.
Strangely enough, there was no lock on the door. In fact, there was no door at all. It was as if anyone was free to enter Aidre's home.
Peeking his head in, Sunny saw…
A simple bed stuffed with cotton covered by a soft wool blanket, next to it on the ground seemed to be another, smaller bed. There was a desk with an assortment of plants and berries on it, as well as a cauldron of crystal clear water and a large wooden stick. On the walls, small plants housed in clay pots sat on shelves, and bits of moss creeped in through the roof.
'Huh. I uh… don't know what I thought would be here.'
Was this even her home? There was nothing here…
The Lady of the Grove truly lived a simple life. If her home was any reflection of who she was, then Sunny had no doubt she spent most of her days simply tending to the Grove, free of all distractions.
It was a peaceful life.
…And perhaps it was because of that peace that she had died. Her peaceful life caused her to grow complacent in her strength and power, causing them to stagnate. Because even in the heart of her territory, she had still lost to Solvane.
As empty as the room looked, Sunny still couldn't hold back his curiosity. Stepping through the shadows, he appeared within the humble home.
'Hm… smells… nice?'
A comforting scent wafted through the air. It smelled like… Sunny couldn't quite put a finger on it. It did not smell like a person, but it reminded him of how his bed smelled.
Just then, a small bundle moved beside Aidre's bed.
'Hm?'
Something… something was in here.
A tiny critter popped its head out from beneath the blanket.
'Wha…'
Sunny stared for a moment in stunned silence.
He'd never seen anything like it, but it resembled a nightmare creature he'd seen before. It was like the rotting leopard from Aletheia's Island, only if it were tiny and… and adorable.
'C-Cute.'
The little thing glanced at him for a moment, looking at him curiously before turning away to yawn.
'Wait… is that?'
The creature had amber eyes, short and soft black fur, and a long tail that swung around without a care in the world.
Using all the knowledge he'd gathered over the years, he could only think of one creature that matched its description.
In the waking world, it had been an animal that had lived alongside humans for thousands upon thousands of years, an eternal companion and sometimes even a symbol of worship. It was used for pest control, for companionship, for therapy… It was an animal ingrained within many, many cultures.
It was a cat. Felis Catus. The domestic house cat.
'A-Ah… I wanna steal it…'
No no… he couldn't possibly steal a living being, right? That would be like kidnapping the cool-looking stag he just saw. He couldn't!
So why was he still walking towards it?
Sunny reached his hand out, taking a small step towards it, and when the cat did not even flinch at his approach, he began moving closer.
The cat's ears twitched upon hearing the wooden floor creak from his steps, but it did not leave.
Sitting down next to it, Sunny observed it carefully as the critter began licking itself, cleaning its forearm with its tongue.
'How sublime…'
He carefully reached out a hand, appearing as non-threatening as possible. The cat paused for a moment, looking at his hand. Sunny froze, his palm hovering just slightly above its head.
'It's not running… Does that mean-?'
Before he could decide anything, the critter pressed its head into his palm, a soft mew coming from its mouth. The action had surprised him so much that the Marble Shell had unintentionally activated, his skin becoming stone-like.
'No-!'
That did not seem to be a problem for the cat however, as it seemed to like the rough sensation, rubbing its head along his palm and forearm, purring slightly.
Sunny stared in stunned silence.
'Oh… Oh my goodness!'
He could see now why they had been worshipped several millennia ago. These tiny creatures were simply wonderful!
'I must study you for science!'
Cats, like dogs, likely still existed in the waking world, but there were so few of them that they were usually only ever seen or kept by the super elite.
'Huh, but then again… aren't I a part of that?'
If he really wanted to…
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud meow.
Looking down, he realised the cat was pressing its head into his hand even harder, annoyed that the Shell had softened now that he had let his guard down.
"O-Oh, sorry…"
Sending a bit of essence to his hand, he made his skin stone-like again and began petting the cat.
Appreciating his actions, the creature rolled over, freeing itself from the blanket and letting him scratch its chin.
Sunny sat there for a long while as the sun slowly rose from beyond the horizon.
Eventually with a heavy heart, he withdrew his hand.
The cat didn't seem to care, meowing as it rolled over and closed its eyes, intent on going back to sleep.
Outside, Amil had begun stirring. He would wake up soon. It was time for him to leave.
Standing and sighing heavily, he waved goodbye to the small creature and disappeared into the shadows.
Appearing atop a large root above Amil's sleeping place, he sat down. Sitting and staring at the sunrise, it seemed as if Sunny had been there the whole time.
Amil rubbed his eyes absentmindedly before yawning. Standing up, the man stretched as he faced the sunrise.
"Hey."
"Gah-! Oh… It's you, Sunless."
Brushing himself off, the man bent down and picked up the basket.
"Did you rest well? Here, you must be hungry."
Dropping down from the root, Sunny took some of the fruit with a grateful smile.
"Some of the best rest I've ever had. And thank you."
"Please, it was nothing."
Taking a fruit that looked the least suspicious, Sunny took a large bite of it.
'..!'
It was one of the tastiest fruits he had ever had. Its taste was reminiscent of the fruits he had once picked from the Chain Breaker in the Tomb of Ariel, only if the fruit was far more ripe and juicy.
"...It's good."
Amil laughed proudly.
"Of course it is! All the fruits of this sacred grove are the best ones in all the lands!"
Sunny continued eating, the fruits in the basket disappearing quickly. The two men sat in silence for a while, watching the sun rise.
Sighing contentedly, Sunny handed the basket back to Amil, several fruits still remaining within.
"What now?"
"Well… did you feel your sorrows wash away?"
Sunny shifted slightly.
"No."
Amil laughed, as if he had expected his answer.
"Haha! Don't worry about that, as you might realise by now, the part where you wash away your sorrows is more figurative than literal. A lot of the time it does actually work, simply due to the people who use it expect it to work."
"I see."
Amil stood up, brushing himself off.
"Come with me! I'll show you the real reason people visit this place… Besides for the beauty of it, of course."
Sunny said nothing before standing up to follow him.
'The real reason?'
He did not know much about this place. He only knew that the Grove had survived since before Hope's imprisonment, and that it was most likely a Sacred Being once.
He sort of wanted to ask, but… he decided to wait, not wanting to spoil himself.
The two walked along the mighty stump of the willow before arriving on a certain side of it. Here, there seemed to be a small bit of bark stripped off, exposing the insides of the tree.
Approaching it, Amil pulled out a strange device and small vial. Rearing his arm back, Amil stabbed the device into the tree before twisting it.
'Is he… collecting sap?'
Holding the small vial beneath the device, they waited for a while as tiny drops of golden sap dripped into the vial. Shifting his vision, Sunny could see strange energy contained within the liquid.
'It doesn't feel harmful, at least.'
Sunny blinked.
'Is he… going to make me drink it? Is sap from this tree even edible?'
He had no idea. But, he believed in Amil enough.
After spending an awkwardly long amount of time waiting, the vial was filled. Yanking the device out of the tree, Amil turned to him.
"Here! Sap from the mother tree."
'Mother tree? I don't see any fruit on it…'
Sunny looked at him somewhat awkwardly.
"What… am I supposed to do with this?"
Taking the vial, he held it to the light for inspection.
"Why you're supposed to drink it, of course!"
Sunny looked at it dubiously.
"Is this even edible?"
"Please! That is quite insulting, Sunless. The mother tree brings no harm to her patrons. Drinking the sap will help you confront your deepest regrets!"
"Deepest… regrets?"
Amil raised his chin slightly.
"Thats right, while the Spring was to help you relax, this is real magic! Come on, just try it."
Sunny stared at the vial.
'...I don't want to.'
He knew what his regrets were. Thinking about them brought him only pain.
…Was it even worth confronting?
'Coward.'
How could he ever move forward acting like this? Was he some sort of child?
Clicking his tongue, Sunny brought the vial to his lips, downing it in one go.
The effect was immediate.
Gasping, he fell backwards, landing on rear.
His vision began warping and changing, and the world around him fell apart.
***
Sunny had a strange dream.
He dreamt that instead of remaining with his cohort and sieging the Verge together, he had foolishly run away to chase his freedom instead. As a result of his decision, something had gone wrong, and he had been thrown over ten years into the past.
His greed had caused him to lose everything.
'Hah, why would I ever do that?'
It was stupid, to think his freedom wouldn't come at a terrible cost.
Having sieged the Verge, he and his cohort had pushed forward, destroying all its forces as they left it up to Nephis to destroy the First Seeker.
And as a result…
[Wake up, Sunless…]
[Your nightmare is over!]
He had become a Transcendent.
Reappearing in the waking world, he found himself within a siege capital, the one he had left his tether at. Looking around, he found that legions of humans had gathered to fiercely protect it, the wave of abominations just outside its gates were being mowed down.
'What about the Great Ones?'
Surely, Great nightmare creatures would begin to roam the world now that several Category Four Gates had opened? Yet strangely, he saw none.
'Have the Great Clans finally descended?'
The entire campaign, they had been withholding their power, but now… he didn't think they had a choice. Many more Transcendents were likely to have been sent here, and as a result the Great Ones weren't able to advance just yet.
'Good… good…'
That meant he still had time to rest and recuperate.
And he also had time to…
Sunny looked around, searching for somebody.
'Please… please tell me you made it.'
The Nightmare had ended, but he had no idea what Nephis' condition was. For all he knew, she could've died to kill Alatheia.
But thankfully, he spotted her.
"Nephis!"
Sunny rushed over to her immediately.
Nephis seemed… quite out of it. Her gaze was vacant, and she seemed tired.
Sunny wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug as he cradled the back of her head.
"It's alright… everything's gonna be alright, ki-..."
Sunny paused.
"Sunny…?"
Nephis seemed to barely register his presence, only holding onto his arm lightly.
Sunny pulled away, checking her for any wounds.
'Did I almost just call her kid?'
How strange…
"Huh…"
Grabbing her shoulders, Sunny looked her up and down.
"When did you get so tall?"
Something was wrong…
And strangely, despite their closeness Sunny felt nothing. Instead, he only felt great worry for her well-being and safety.
'Where's Calida and Thrain, shouldn't she have been with them?'
Sunny froze.
'W-Who? What the hell am I thinking about?'
Something strange was going on.
Sunny pushed his thoughts out of his mind, it didn't matter right now. Nephis seemed to be in pain, so he hugged her properly. She seemed to be truly tired, as a moment later she buried her face into Sunny's shoulder.
Sunny sighed, patting her back.
"...go.."
Nephis murmured something, her voice muffled.
"What?"
"I said… let go of me…"
Sunny frowned, but before he could even think of anything, he let go of her and moved backwards.
'She… she ordered me…'
Taking a deep breath, Nephis straightened her back and met his gaze.
"You…"
His heart ached in pain and frustration, and yet, he was nowhere near as angry as he should've been.
'She must not be thinking straight…'
"How are you feeling?"
"Doesn't… Matter… There's still work to be done."
Nephis began to move towards the legion of soldiers, flame flickering behind her eyes.
"No."
Sunny grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"You need to rest first."
Nephis turned to him, her gaze dispassionate.
"Sunny…"
With a sigh, she said:
"Stay still for a while."
'...'
He froze.
'She…'
Nephis slowly walked away, her movements labored.
'No.'
Sunny stood frozen, his arm still outstretched, grabbing onto nothing.
'No…'
Nephis' figure grew smaller and smaller as she moved away.
'No!'
Sunny's vision faded.
***
Sunny awoke with a gasp.
"How was it?"
Sunny didn't hear Amil as he took in several ragged breaths, feeling like he was suffocating.
"Oh Heart… that bad?"
Sunny moved his arm above his face.
'I can… I can move.'
Grabbing his body all over, Sunny remembered.
'Right… I'm in a Nightmare…'
After a minute, he had caught his breath, calming down slightly.
'It's gone… the Shadow Bond is gone… Calm yourself, fool.'
Sunny grabbed his face as sat, leaning against the large roots of the mother tree.
After a few more minutes, he recovered.
He turned to Amil with a resentful gaze.
"That didn't help at all."
'What was the point of that?'
Sure, it had shown him why he had made his choice and all, but… how could he have been sure that would happen? That Nephis would abuse the Bond? It seemed that the tree's power was limited anyways.
'Me? Staying with them instead of choosing my freedom? Ridiculous.'
Even across possibly thousands of loops, he still made the same choice, over and over again.
Even if he was given the same choice right now, he would… he would…
Sunny lowered his head, sighing.
'I don't know anymore.'
Amil coughed awkwardly.
"Well… the tree's sap is great and wondrous, but it is still up to the person themselves to resolve their regrets. The vision you see is simply the first push."
"Ah…"
Sunny stood up abruptly.
"I'm leaving now."
He was thoroughly rattled now, and would prefer some time alone. As nice as this place was, that experience was the farthest thing from pleasant.
"O-Okay…"
Taking a deep breath, Sunny took one last look at Amil.
"Would you… like me to take you back to your home?"
"Oh, no no… It's quite alright. I'd like to spend some time here, actually."
Sighing Sunny turned to leave.
"If you say so…"
And in a lower voice, he said:
"Thank you for your hospitality, I won't forget it."
Amil said nothing, only smiling lightly.
Turning, Sunny walked back towards the path they'd taken to come here before disappearing into foliage.
Amil looked at the ground, sighing to himself.
"...Did I give him too much? Ah… it always worked when mom did it."
Leaning back, he stared at the small hut on the branch of the tree.
'Mother…'
***
'Seriously, what was the damn point of that?!'
Sunny was scratching its head in frustration.
The tree had simply shown him his worst fears coming true, what was the point of that?
'...Was that really the point?'
The fact his annoyance was being amplified by Hope's Poison did not help his thoughts either. He quickly walked through the forest, only somewhat paying attention to the path before him.
'That 'mother tree' is supposed to be a fragment of something that had once been Sacred, surely it isn't stupid.'
If the tree wasn't stupid, then…
'...'
"Ahhh! I don't know!"
Knocking on his skull a couple times, Sunny continued his silent trek through the woods.
He was consumed by his thoughts, his fears, his regrets…
…And that was why he didn't notice someone ahead of him on the path.
Sunny came to a halt, feeling an amused gaze on him. A beautiful laugh resounded throughout the forest.
"I thought you'd be here."
A chill gripped his heart.
"My my, Shadow… Something bothering you? You seem quite rattled."
"...You."
Standing before him was a terrifyingly gorgeous woman. With chestnut hair, grey eyes, and a lovely red tunic that left her legs bare, Solvane had come to the Heart Grove. Next to her was the stag Sunny had seen earlier, with Solvane comfortably resting a hand atop its head.
'That thing really was mad…'
Or perhaps it had simply fallen for Solvane's Flaw. Just looking at her face was almost painful.
"What do you want?"
Given that she hadn't attacked him while he was distracted, it seemed that she was here for something else.
"I just want to talk, of course! I know I was quite rude, the last time we spoke…"
"Uh huh."
Sunny… really wasn't in the mood.
'If only I had the wooden knife… I wouldn't mind killing you a fourth time.'
Before he could say anything else, Solvane threw him something.
Sunny's hand moved at lightning speed, catching the small object. Looking down at it, his eyes widened.
A knife that seemed to be forged from a dull strip of metal rested in his palm. It was the iron knife that contained the Fate of Aidre.
"This… Why?"
"A token of my sincerity! You've been doing a phenomenal job, killing my fellow Chain Lords, you know. Think of it as a gift from me."
Sunny stared in suspicion.
'Is this woman insane?'
He nearly smacked his own face at the question. Of course she was, in fact, he had never met a woman related to the War God that was sane.
"Now tell me, by any chance do you have the wooden knife?"
Sunny glanced at her, preparing to step away at any moment.
"I don't."
Solvane laughed slightly.
"A shame! Then tell me, are you really Shadow?"
"I'm not."
Solvane nodded, a dangerous grin on her face.
"Then, how did you kill him? I don't believe you had the knife…"
"Weaver."
Although it was a vague answer, Sunny believed the Spell was made by Weaver, and it had been the Spell that had sent him into Shadow's body, killing him. So the root cause of his death was indeed Weaver.
Solvane frowned at his words.
"...Oh."
She seemed to ponder on his words for a moment.
"Then, why did you and that witch fight? You were able to take out Shadow without a fight… So why go through all that effort with her?"
Sunny clicked his tongue.
"She was messing with my mind. And Shadow was a one time thing."
Solvane seemed slightly disappointed by his words.
"Ah… another time then."
"What?"
"Nothing nothing… What are you planning on doing now then?"
A mad grin was present on Solvane's face, murderous intent emanating from her. Sunny would've run immediately if not for the fact it wasn't directed at him.
"...I was going to Noctis' Temple to look for some things."
"Oh? Like what?"
Sunny coughed.
"A chair."
"A ch-… I meant, what are you going to do with the rest of the Chain Lords?"
Sunny gripped the knife in his hands.
"I think you already know."
Solvane's mad grin grew even wider.
"Then, you should probably know that they're all gathered inside that bastard's city right now. What are you going to do?"
Sunny didn't need to ask to know who 'that bastard' was. Solvane didn't seem to get along with any of the Chain Lords, but she seemed to have a strong dislike of Sevras in particular.
"...I'll figure something out."
Solvane laughed at his words.
Her eerily melodious laughter irked Sunny to no end.
"Come, walk with me."
She turned to leave, beckoning for him to follow.
Sunny slowly followed her, maintaining a decent distance between them. He would've preferred to not follow her at all, but angering Solvane didn't seem like the brightest of ideas currently. Even if he knew all her abilities and attributes, it wasn't wise.
They walked through the woods silently for a while, the quiet only disturbed by the sounds of animals following them. All sorts of creatures had begun to trail after them at some point, every single one of them staring at Solvane in particular.
'Is… is it really just because of her Flaw? It seems a bit more intense than I imagined…'
Or perhaps it was because the Grove itself saw her as a hostile entity, sending all of its residents to keep an eye on her.
Sunny had already been walking for a while before coming across Solvane, and they were now nearing the edge of the island.
'Where are we going?'
If she was going to attack, surely she would've done it by now.
'Perhaps she doesn't want to fight inside the Grove? Or maybe she really is here to talk…'
It was hard to believe. A maniac like her only coming to talk?
Or was it? War wasn't just about fighting, after all.
Sunny stopped his steps, having sensed Solvane stop too.
'What now?'
Solvane turned to him with a questioning gaze.
"Why do you want to free Hope?"
Sunny met her gaze.
"For power."
A small grin lined her face at his words.
"Power, huh…"
"What about you?"
Sunny had always been curious as to why Solvane had wanted to die… It couldn't have been a simple reason.
"Me? Who said I want to free Hope?"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"You seem quite fine with the fact you and your fellow Chain Lords may die soon."
Solvane laughed.
"I couldn't care less about Hope. I'm just tired of this task. Life… is supposed to be a struggle, sitting around all day like this… I'm sick of it! How am I supposed to struggle when I can't die?"
Sunny stared at her as if she were mad.
'She… She wanted to die because she was bored.'
Her life as a Chain Lord had been incredibly long. Perhaps it wasn't the time as a Chain Lord that bothered her, but the stagnation of it… Without their Fates, they couldn't die, so there was never anything to fear, and there was never a true struggle…
"So, you regret taking the oath from the Lord of Light?"
Solvane sighed.
"The oath… I was quite young at the time, and being tasked by a god to cage a daemon sounded like the most interesting thing in the world! I didn't think I'd be sitting around all day like some nanny."
'She really is just bored to death. Are you kidding me?!'
"What was your oath?"
Solvane coughed slightly at his question.
"I don't remember."
'...'
"You don't remember."
Sunny stared at her in awe.
"I told you, I was quite young at the time. I didn't even care what the oath was, I just took it. Pick up your jaw, would you?"
Sunny closed his mouth, realising it had dropped open at some point.
'This is why she's the only one that doesn't get along with any of the Chain Lords? Because she never took any of this crap seriously?'
It seemed that she was the only one who held their duty as a Priestess of War above her duty as a Chain Lord. Or rather, she simply didn't care about being a Chain Lord at all.
Solvane cleared her throat.
"Anyways, with that knife, I expect Aidre to be next. Bring the wooden knife, and let us have a glorious battle to the death, Shadow!"
"...That'll depend on how it goes with Aidre, I suppose."
Solvane nodded, satisfied, before turning to leave.
"Wait. How will I contact you?"
Solvane froze mid-turn.
"Right… you're not actually Shadow. Do you have a way?"
Sunny sighed.
"I do."
The naughty shadow silently left his feet a moment later. It had been a bit reluctant to join the scary woman at first, but after seeing her appearance it had changed its mind completely.
'Just don't stare at her too much, bastard… I don't want to get caught by her Flaw.'
Solvane's Flaw was one that drove anyone that spent too much time with her mad, giving them the irresistible urge to have her.
'Maybe… that's the real reason she wants to die.'
Sunny blinked.
'Come to think of it, it's kind of like Morgan's too…'
Although he wasn't certain about Solvane, he had long guessed that Morgan yearned for love, or at least something like that. But the world had cruelly cursed her with a Flaw that never allowed her to be truly close with anyone… Solvane's Flaw didn't seem so different, in the way that it kept people away from her.
'I bet those two would get along… Or hate each other's guts.'
It was a coin toss, really.
Solvane stared at the shadow that had merged with hers.
"Curious…"
Sunny wasn't certain if Solvane's Flaw would bleed through his shadow into him, but out of precaution he'd check every once in a while, just to make sure he wasn't enthralled by her. It was a good way to track her movements too, as he did not trust her at all.
"You know… of all my fellow Chain Lords, Shadow was the only one I got along with."
Sunny flinched, nearly jumping in surprise.
"What?! Really?!"
Solvane clicked her tongue at his reaction.
"Calm down, scoundrel. It's not that surprising."
'But… but it is! War and Shadow getting along? No way! You guys have been at each other's throats since the dawn of time! Wait... is this why the other Solvane accepted being my Shadow so quickly? She had a fondness for Shadows? You've gotta be…'
Sunny did not say that aloud, wanting his throat to remain intact.
"Shadow and I… we were the only ones who disliked the peace. Strange, isn't it? The blessed of Peace not liking peace? But anyways, after his long life of battling Corruption, relaxing in his Keep all day while his minions did all the work… he grew tired of it. He began going out on adventures again, searching for stronger opponents… But like me, the fact he was immortal took all the thrill out of it. We weren't exactly close, but we've gone on some adventures together. We even—!"
Solvane coughed.
"Actually, nevermind. I spoke too much."
"Okay…"
'What?! Why did she stop? I wanna hear more!'
He was just beginning to enjoy the gossip!
Sunny once more remained silent. Solvane clearly didn't want to speak anymore.
"I'll be making my way to Ivory City. Farewell for now, Shadow."
'That's not even my name… and she didn't even ask. Come to think of it, she didn't even introduce herself?'
Sunny bid farewell to the naughty shadow as Solvane leapt off the side of the island, the rattling of chains signifying her landing.
He sunk into the shadows a moment later. No way in hell was he going to go the same direction as Solvane.
A while later, he emerged on the opposite side of the island, flying off into the abyss on the back of Shrike.