"...and Sun God left a miracle within the sword in the stone, saying only one who was worthy would be able to unsheathe it."
Sunny's head bobbed.
'This sounds familiar…'
"And then? Did someone manage to unsheathe it?"
Sunny was in a terrific mood.
'Who knew a daemon would know so many fantastical tales like this?'
Sunny had thought she would only know the important things, like the gods facing off against the Void or Unholy beings, but surprisingly, she knew plenty of strangely mundane stories, like ones out of a fairy tale.
"After a few years, a young man came along and was able to unsheathe it, even after many Awakened from across the world could not. He was a regular human, lacking even a soul core, but when he unsheathed the blade, a Divine Miracle occurred and caused him to immediately achieve Supremacy."
Sunny nearly jumped at her words.
"What?! A Supreme, just like that?"
He did not know that was even possible! Were Divine Miracles really that potent?
'The sorcery of the gods… it certainly earns its name.'
A mundane becoming a Sovereign in one leap, it seemed completely impossible. Even if someone were to manage that naturally, their soul would collapse from the sheer pressure of their awakening.
"Indeed. He then became the king of the nation that had been built around the stone, ruling over it for centuries. I hear he was a great leader, but I am not sure what happened to him later."
"Oh… that's quite alright, Lady Hope. I would've been happy to hear even a single story from you."
Hope laughed slightly.
"Is that so?"
For someone who supposedly did not understand their own emotions, Hope did not seem emotionless at all. Rather, she seemed more… disoriented, like someone who had just woken up. It was quite a curious thing, and Sunny was slowly learning more about her.
He had heard many interesting tales from the Age of Gods, about the terrifying beings of the Void, the creations of Noble Creatures, how early humans lived… The most recent tale was from the Age of Heroes, but was still interesting nonetheless. Sunny felt a little bad, he had told Hope very little about his world, but she had told him so much of what she knew.
'At this point, I don't even care about gathering information just in case I encounter it in a Nightmare… I just want to hear more!'
Sunny felt like he was a child again, listening to his mother read webnovels to him in the darkness of the night. A faint smile crossed his face at the thought.
"What you are feeling right now… that is melancholy?"
"...Yes. Although I would say it's more like… nostalgia? I think that's the word."
Hope nodded.
"Nostalgia… that is when you long for something from the past, yes?"
"That's… yeah, that's right."
"Why do you feel that here?"
Sunny turned away as he felt his ears burning slightly.
"It's… ah… It's because you remind me of my mother."
"I see."
"She… she used to tell me stories, when I was a child, just like this. Even yesterday, when you touched my face… it was something she used to do for me."
Hope's wings rustled slightly.
"Your mother… where is she now?"
Sunny's head lowered.
"She died. Long ago. Back when I was still a child."
"What was she like?"
Hope paused, then added:
"If you do not mind me asking."
Sunny smiled softly.
"She was the world to me, like a ray of sunshine in my life. Back then, it was like she knew everything… but now, I realise she was only a kid, just like me."
"You see yourself as a child?"
Sunny grinned slightly.
"A little? I am quite young… although calling myself a child may be a bit outrageous, the more I think about it."
"You are young? That is quite surprising…"
"Is it? Ah, right, immortal Saint's body and all that."
"Do you not look like that?"
Sunny laughed.
"Me? No, I am far sho-... Ugh… I'm far shorter than this, and my hair is black. I also still had eyes back then. Doesn't matter anyways, once this Nightmare ends this body will vanish."
"What will you do upon returning to your world, Sunless?"
"What will I do? Let's see…"
Sunny thought for a while.
"Kill a couple people, switch Citadels, maybe kidnap a strange child, and… eat something delicious."
He then jolted.
"Oh, right! I haven't eaten!"
Summoning the Covetous Coffer, Sunny took out the wine and meat he had stolen from Noctis' dwelling. Hope and him had been speaking for nearly two days now, and he had not eaten for three.
'It's only been a few days and I'm this hungry? How strange…'
Preparing a delectable meal, a savory aroma wafted across the hall. Sunny was not worried about anyone picking up the smell, because the Ivory Tower was currently sealed off in an attempt to ward off Hope's power. Sunny had only been able to enter because whoever sealed the place had neglected to extend the seal to the balcony on the top floor, a glaring oversight, really.
'Or maybe it's bait. I still need to be careful.'
Turning to Hope, Sunny asked:
"Would you like some, Lady Hope? I'm not quite sure what a daemon' appetite is like.. "
Nether's Tower had plenty of foods and drinks in its workshop, but who knew if that was simply something unique to him? Sunny couldn't be sure.
"I would. I have not eaten anything for nearly a thousand years… I am quite famished."
Sunny smiled.
"And the wine?"
"Of course."
Sunny handed Hope the goblet he had filled for himself, only for her to down the entire cup almost immediately.
'Oh my…'
She held out the cup, clearly requesting a refill.
Sunny refilled it, and she drank the entire thing immediately once more.
'Daemons don't get drunk, right?'
Even if she was sealed, she was most likely a Divine Titan, a mundane bottle of wine wouldn't amount to much, right?
Hope held out the goblet once more, which Sunny took, earning a confused look from her. Instead of refilling her cup, Sunny just handed her the entire bottle, which she downed just as quickly.
"Would… would you like another bottle? I have plenty."
"Yes. I would like some food as well. Give it here."
Handing Hope some roasted lamb, Sunny listened in dark awe at the sound of her chewing.
'Damn this lack of sight!'
He really wanted to see what her teeth looked like… if she had any. Learning the anatomy of a daemon was a chance he might never get again! He had been studying her shadow for a while now, hesitating slightly to dive too deep into the Shadow Dance, as if he ever tried shadowing a daemon, well… his sense of self would likely never return.
'Still, it's worth a shot.'
Although he could clearly feel her arms, head, and wings, her torso and legs seemed to be completely covered by a thick robe that looked quite uncomfortable.
Oblivious to his thoughts, Hope continued to voraciously devour the food given to her.
'...I might run out of food.'
Despite the fact he had pilfered a sizable amount of food from Noctis, it was disappearing at a rapid speed, to the point where he might have to use his own supply of food he'd brought from the waking world depending on how long he spent here.
'I wonder what her reaction to synthpaste would be?'
Perhaps Hope had unique tastebuds and would find the wretched "food" delicious.
'Better not risk it.'
Sunny kept his mouth shut, handing her another bottle of wine as more meat and bones vanished into her maw.
Remaining silent, he watched for a while, his shadow sense picking up every detail it could. Eventually, Hope began slowing down, before stopping entirely.
"Are you not going to eat?"
Sunny smiled, raising his hands.
"I'll eat once you're finished."
"I am finished. You may eat."
"You are a terrible liar, Lady Hope. Please, eat all you want. Haven't you been starving for a thousand years? I've only been hungry for a day, so please."
Hope was quiet for a moment, but Sunny could've sworn he felt her wings droop ever-so-slightly.
"This food… did you bring it from your world?"
Sunny laughed, leaning back.
"This food? Gods no… I stole it of course! From a particularly rude sorcerer, at that. But if you're wondering, I do have food from my world. Would you like to try some?"
"Yes. What are they?"
Rummaging through the Covetous Coffer, Sunny felt for some delicacies he thought Hope might enjoy.
"What is this?"
"It's chocolate, Lady Hope."
Sunny felt Hope's shadow move, and the entire bar vanished a moment later. He had anticipated something like that happening, so he had already removed the wrapper before giving it to her.
"It is good."
Sunny smiled.
"That's a dessert back on Earth. Oh, that's our world's name, if you didn't know, although I do believe some people called it Terra as well. I would've brought more types, but… they aren't exactly easy to store."
Hearing his words, Hope turned her head towards the Covetous Coffer.
"That critter you use to store your food, what is it?"
'Critter..?'
Smacking the side of the Coffer to make it walk forward, Sunny noted the fact its teeth were chattering.
"This is the Covetous Coffer. A Memory from the Spell. I received it after killing a corrupted named Mordant Mimic."
Hope's arm reached out, causing the Coffer to jump in fright. It stilled a moment later at Sunny's command. Her lanky arm picked up the entire Coffer as if it were made of cardboard, bringing it close to her face as she observed it closely.
"What a curious thing…"
Chains rattled slightly as Hope brought her other hand to the Coffer, a long nail poking its side, the Coffer letting out a silent wail of terror.
'Sorry buddy… I'll make it up to you.'
Sunny had not given up making the Coffer into a Shadow just yet, but his progress was temporarily stalled as he could not weave without his eyesight. For now though, Sunny watched curiously through his shadow sense as Hope's finger passed straight through the Coffers steel body, causing it to squirm.
"May I ask what you are doing, Lady Hope?"
Hope did not respond. Sunny assumed she was focusing intently on something.
"This sorcerey…"
Sunny perked up.
"It feels familiar…"
"That is because it is a creation of Weaver, my lady. At least, that's what I believe. I really don't know what else it could be though."
"Weaver… What do you call this sorcery?"
Sunny scratched the back of his head.
"I just called it… weaves. Or rather, spellweaves."
Hope nodded.
"Weaves… an appropriate name."
"Would you like to study the others too, Lady Hope? I have ones far more complex than that one."
"I would. Let me see the Mask and Lantern."
Sunny nodded.
"Of course."
The Shadow Lantern had already been hanging at his waist, so Sunny simply removed it and handed it to her. Hope took the lantern, dangling the silk corn on a nail in front of her face. After studying it in silence for a few hours, Hope turned to him.
"Have you ever used it?"
"I have. It's been a great help to me."
"You have entered the Shadow Realm and returned alive? That is impressive."
"...What?"
Sunny blinked.
"Entered the Shadow Realm? I've never done that."
"You said you have used it before."
"Yes, I-... you can use it like tha-? Ohhhhh."
Sunny palmed his face.
"Gates of Shadow. Right, of course. I… might be a little stupid."
Sunny could've sworn he heard Hope snicker slightly.
"So I can use this to enter the Realm of Death? How surprising…"
Having been handed back the Lantern, Sunny gripped it tightly.
'...Too risky.'
His curiosity demanded that he enter immediately just to see what it was like, but upon feeling the infinitely immense amount of shadows inside, he decided otherwise, dismissing the Lantern a moment later. Now, he summoned Weaver's Mask, handing it to Hope with a slight smile.
"Now this I've used. Nearly killed me when I did."
"Why?"
"One of its enchantments allows the user to peer into fate. I activated while not knowing that, and it damn near blew my head off."
"Fate…"
Taking the mask, Hope brought it to her face, studying it with far more intensity than Sunny had felt previously, to the point where it felt like Hope had forgotten Sunny was even there.
Feeling ignored, Sunny retreated into his own thoughts.
'So I can use the Shadow Lantern to enter the Shadow Realm?'
It was a good thing to know, but it wasn't very useful to him currently… it seemed far too dangerous, and even if he entered, he had no way of leaving.
'Maybe I can let someone else hold it, and tell them to bring me out after an hour?'
The idea was sound, but he didn't really have anyone trustworthy enough to handle such a task.
'Well, there is Jet. Or Aria.'
Jet he could probably trust, but Aria might pull something… not a treacherous act, per say, but just something to mess with him. But there was also the problem that they were far too weak. What if something followed him out of the Lantern? He may very well get them killed.
'I'll wait until I'm a Transcendent, at least.'
There wasn't much for him there anyways. Perhaps there were some divine relics left behind by Shadow God, but it wasn't exactly worth the risk for him currently. There was also killing the shadows that entered it for fragments, but he didn't need that at all, with him being a Titan already.
'What a shame…'
Sunny felt himself nodding off slightly.
'I should sleep soon…'
Sunny decided he would wait for Hope to finish studying the Mask before he went to sleep.
For now though…
'I'll take a look outside.'
Two shadows separated themselves from his feet, climbing to the top of the Ivory Tower before silently leaving. Without his eyes, his shadows could not see either, so he was relying on his shadow sense for now.
'This is… pretty risky. Now that I think about it.'
If he came across Noctis, he'd likely find himself with one less shadow core.
'I need to be careful.'
Seeing as Hope was busy with the Mask, Sunny left the center of the hall, sitting and leaning against a wall in a particularly dark corner instead.
'Hm… this much should be enough, right?'
Restraining the range of his shadow sense so that it was only about a hundred meters around the shadows, Sunny sent them off. Using his available senses, he'd slowly infiltrate the Chain Lords inner circle… at least he hoped.
'I may very well end this Nightmare a Terror…'
It was a good thing he had discovered the use of the Shadow Lantern. He had many more options now.
Sunny grinned.
'I'm not strapped for time anymore either…'
Previously, it was a race against the world, against the Nightmares, against the Sovereigns… but now, he had time. It was perhaps the greatest boon he had received from that fateful day in the Tomb of Ariel.
'Time is truly the most precious resource, I can't waste it!'
Bringing the crazy shadow — which he had left on a different island close by — closer to the entrance of the Ivory City, Sunny extended his shadow sense as far as he could, keeping an eye on the entrance of the city.
'This is just a precaution…'
Sunny couldn't afford to be careless now. He didn't have a Supreme Devil to bail him out of any poor situations anymore.
'Shrike…'
Sunny sighed, lamenting the loss of his Shadow.
'It's my fault.'
He had grown arrogant, and it had cost him. Frustration and anger burned in his soul, temporarily restrained by his immense self-control. His strategy had been thoroughly countered by the Chain Lords, and there was nothing he could do but wait until it was time to settle the score.
'What even happened back there?'
All of a sudden, the connection between him and his Shadow had been severed, not allowing him to send Shrike any commands.
If Sunny had eyes, he would've narrowed them.
He suspected that Noctis had been the one to do it. He was the one who could manipulate souls, and shadows and the soul were closely tied. Noctis must've had a way to temporarily block or sever the tether between him and Shrike, preventing Sunny from dismissing his Shadow before it was too late.
'Probably something he developed as a method of countering Shadow, no doubt…'
Sunny clicked his tongue.
'Damn bastard. I've never even met him, but he's only caused me problems…'
His shoulders slumped as he sighed again.
Leaning his head against his knees, Sunny realised something.
'I'm doing something wrong.'
His conversation with Hope had been a real eye opener for him, and he'd seen the root cause of why he'd lost his Shadow.
'I'm too reliant on the Spell.'
The Nightmare Spell, even with all its boons, could become a crutch if he relied on it too much.
'Shrike was quite weak. Far too weak for a Supreme Devil.'
It had extremely impressive firepower, sure, but it lacked the skills to properly make use of it. That much should've been abundantly clear to him during his fight with Aranea, as Shrike had struggled even more than Serpent in landing a blow against the oracle. Serpent had its own issues too, as the form it took — the one of the Great Spirit Gatherer — was quite weak when it didn't have any collected souls to power it. Shrike though, was a Supreme Devil in top form, and yet its biggest use to Sunny had been delivering massive blasts and ferrying him around from island to island.
Shrike itself wasn't a weak being, nor was it untalented. It had been the bearer of a True Name back when it was alive, and it was a genius even among Devils, only losing to the likes of Sunny.
But there had been a problem.
'What was I thinking…'
Shrike had been a newly evolved Supreme Devil, it barely had any time to grow into its own power before Sunny had sent it to fight millenia old immortal beasts.
'I… I need to think things through more.'
He needed to remind himself that he wasn't in a rush anymore, and he had time to consolidate his power. His own impatience had led his Shadow to its doom. Solvane would be quite disappointed with him, no doubt. Nephis would be upset she never got a chance to meet Shrike either…
'What am I gonna tell Ki Song? Or even Seishan?'
They both thought he was in possession of an extremely powerful Echo, which was correct, in a sense. How was he supposed to explain to them that his impatience had gotten it destroyed? What would Aria think? Shrike had practically been a symbol of hope for her and the Dreamer Army back then. It had been the one to lead the charge on the Spire, as well as to the Gateway within.
Sunny bitterly rubbed his forehead.
'Fuuuck.'
Now he was down to only two Shadows. Serpent and Solvane. Perhaps he'd receive an Echo from one of the remaining Chain Lords, but he wasn't counting on it. He doubted he'd turn them into Shadows anyways, as that was quite distasteful. He'd only made an exception for Solvane in the real world because he had partially thought her humanity would already be gone.
'What now? It'll be years before I receive another Echo at this point, and who knows if they'll be worth turning into Shadows?'
There was the Covetous Coffer, but that would still take time.
'Maybe I should learn how to make Shadows… without Echoes? I only need a working vessel, right?'
He had a couple candidates in mind.
'What if… I put Saint's shadow into one of those puppets in Nether's Tower… would that even work?'
Sunny snickered slightly at the ridiculous thought.
'Even then, I'm not going back to that damn tower.'
Even if there was only a small chance Asterion would be there waiting for him, Sunny was not going to risk it. He'd move his ass straight to Ravenheart, pride and plans be damned.
'I'll reach Mordret some other way. And I'll have to meet Tyris in the waking world instead…'
As a Master, he could also use Gateways without anchoring himself to Citadels, so there was no issue with him losing ownership of the Ivory Tower either. Unless Asterion felt like claiming it for himself, that is.
'He'll probably leave it untouched as bait for me to come back for it…'
Sunny snorted.
'Am I… being arrogant? Self-absorbed? Would a Sovereign even care that much about catching me, to the point where he'd wait in one spot for months?'
He shook his head.
'Doesn't matter. Not risking it.'
Sunny fell back into thought.
'Maybe that thing beneath the lake? The one Noctis once entrusted the ruby knife to?'
Humming in thought, Sunny shook his head.
'Nope. I still don't even know what that thing is. Maybe it just has really weird powers that can't be applied to combat, and even then, I'm not guaranteed to receive an Echo from it either.'
His fingers rhythmically tapped against his arm.
'Maybe Jet would volunteer?'
Sunny froze.
'W-W-Wh… What the hell am I thinking? No!'
He would not kill his friend to turn her into a Shadow! Absolutely not! Even if she asked him to!
'Where the hell did that thought come from?'
The human mind truly worked in mysterious ways…
Shaking his head, Sunny tried his best to forget his prior thoughts, instead thinking of other things he wouldn't mind having as Shadows.
'There's the Nameless Sun… I still have a score to settle with that many-faced bastard…'
That would have to be an option for the future, as the current Sunny had no hopes of crossing the Hollow Mountains, nor did he have a need to.
'There's the Heart of Darkness too… I'm pretty sure that thing has been laying dormant in Antarctica for decades by this point in time…'
Sunny had long suspected that wretched thing was at least a Corrupted Terror. It would be a great Shadow to have, as without Saint, he was lacking any Shadows that could wield True Darkness, his biggest weakness.
'There's also the fact that there are plenty of powerful and unique nightmare creatures out there I simply don't know about yet… I have a lot of hunting to do from now on.'
Sunny felt himself nodding off slightly.
'And then… there's the Shadow Realm… there's bound to be all sorts of Shadow Creatures there, right? I wouldn't have to worry about receiving Echoes if that's the case, I could just subjugate them directly…'
Feeling sleepy, Sunny decided to speed up his espionage. After a while, he found some respected priests, or at least that's what he thought they were, considering the intricate robes and large numbers of people glancing at them reverently in the streets.
Leaving his shadows within theirs, Sunny leaned against the wall and put his head down.
'Probably not the safest method of approach, but… whatever, I'll figure something out tomorrow.'
Retracting the shadow sense that extended from his own body into only a small circle around him, Sunny prepared to sleep.
But just before he could…
"Sunless."
Raising his head, Sunny turned towards the source of the voice — Hope.
"Yes?"
"Are you going to sleep?"
"I am, Lady Hope. Is that fine?"
Sunny heard the rattling of chains.
"No."
'N-No?'
"Why is that, Lady Hope?"
He heard the rattling of chains again. Through his shadow sense, he could feel her arm move, beckoning him to come closer.
"You said you would show me your dreams. Come closer, I cannot enter them with you so far away."
"O-Oh…"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sunny got up and made his way towards Hope.
Halfway through the hall, he asked:
"Is this close enough, Lady Hope?"
"No. Come closer."
Swallowing hard, Sunny moved closer, standing just outside the ring of chains she was imprisoned in.
"How about now?"
"No."
Sunny lowered his head slightly.
'No… No?! How close do I need to be?!'
He would've sighed, but he held himself back, taking another step forward.
***
"Is… is being this close truly necessary, Lady Hope?"
"You doubt me?"
"I… yes? No? Maybe?"
Sunny did not know what to think anymore.
It turned out, the range of Hope's power over dreams was far smaller than he thought it would be. He had entered the ring of chains, but Hope had still told him to come closer.
…And that was how found himself laying right in front of her, the back of his head nestled on her lap.
He tried his best not to shiver, feeling her hand rest against the side of his face.
"Were you not going to sleep? Sleep."
"Y-Yes…"
'Are you mad?! How am I supposed to sleep in this kind of situation?!'
Sunny could hear the sound of his heart beating against his chest.
'Ah…'
The worst part of it all was the fact that his turmoil was likely clear as day for Hope to see, which she either didn't care about, or found amusing. Sunny did not know what was worse.
'Just relax… relax… You've slept soundly on the back of a Great Monster while being pursued by a defiled Sovereign before, you can do this…'
Sunny did his best to lull himself to sleep, but was failing miserably. All his training hadn't amounted to much when faced with such an unlikely situation.
Shuddering slightly, Sunny thought to himself:
'Am I… Am I the first human in history to do this?'
The thought did not help him sleep at all.
'No, seriously… I don't think any of the other daemons were particularly close with any kind of mortal beings… Actually, I have no idea what Nether's relationship with the Stone Saints were, but somehow I doubt it would include anything like this.'
Sunny shifted slightly.
'There's Hope herself too… but from what I remember, they treated her like a god rather than a ruler, I doubt any of them had the guts to do anything like this.'
Sunny himself didn't have the guts to do such a thing either. He was only here at the request of the daemon herself.
"Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"I-I am, Lady Hope. This situation is… nevermind. Please just wait a while, I am sure I will fall asleep eventually."
"I will help you."
Sunny froze.
'She will..? How?'
Hope's unshackled wing which had been resting on the ground previously moved.
'W-Woah…'
The wing — which was far larger than Sunny realised — fell over him like a blanket, covering everything below his neck completely. The feathers felt… Sunny couldn't describe the feeling, but they weren't uncomfortable.
And just when Sunny thought Hope was done, a beautiful sound echoed across the hall.
'What…'
The sound was… the most beautiful thing he had heard in his entire life.
His mind cleared, his heartbeat and breathing slowed, and Sunny felt himself relax.
'What is this…'
The sound, he realised… was music. Hope was humming.
'It's so… It's so…'
Sunny felt himself drift away.
He tried his best to remember the melody, but fell asleep moments later.