Eventually, Sunny decided to break the silence.
"Your son seems like a decent man."
Aidre did not turn to look at him.
"Thank you."
Then, her shoulders tensed.
"Wait. Did you kill him?"
Sunny blinked, turning his head to her abruptly.
"What? No!"
Aidre sighed in relief.
"Good, good… then, what did you two do?"
Sunny relaxed, leaning against the tree.
"I was just curious about the grove, and he showed me the big tree in the center."
Aidre paused for a moment.
"How was it?"
Sunny smiled slightly at the memory.
"It was magnificent."
Aidre nodded proudly.
"It is…"
Then, she seemed to remember something.
"Can I ask you something?"
Sunny nodded.
"Sure."
Aidre's shoulders dropped slightly.
"Why do all this?"
Sunny did not need to ask to know what she was asking.
"Why else? It's to free Hope."
Aidre shook her head.
"No. Why go in such a roundabout way? Aren't you a Divine Shadow?"
Sunny tilted his head slightly.
"So?"
Aidre stopped healing herself for a moment, looking at him.
"I don't know… couldn't you just ask your god to free her? I thought all Shadows adored their god? Why would you need to come here and do all this personally? And how is a Divine Shadow a mere Ascended even? And how did you even kill-"
"One question at a time, please."
Aidre stopped, taking a deep breath.
"Okay… can you answer the ones I said just now first?"
Sunny nodded.
"I can."
Thinking for a moment, he answered:
"Shadow and I are not close at all, so no, I could not ask him. No I do not adore him, although I do admire him a little. And as for why I need to come here personally? It's a trial of sorts. That's also why I'm a 'mere' Ascended."
Aidre breathed deeply, taking in his words.
"A trial… I knew it."
Sunny tiled his head.
'What does she know?'
"You… you are actually a follower of Weaver, aren't you?"
Sunny froze.
"Uh… no?"
Aidre turned to him. Sunny could not see her face, but she must have been shocked.
"What? Then… then why do you have that mask?"
"Ah, that."
Sunny tapped his forehead.
"I just found it laying on the ground."
Aidre stared at him dumboundedly.
"Th-"
"Ah, but I was sent here by Weaver. Sort of. It's thanks to their work that I was able to kill Shadow without a knife. As for why I possessed his body? I guess it's because my spirit body and physical body haven't fused properly yet? I needed a new vessel to enter this place."
Aidre once again stared at him dumbfoundedly.
"You couldn't have just entered normally?"
Sunny shook his head.
"No. This place is more isolated than you think, you know? There's also those damn mountains."
He may as well have been lying through his teeth, but he was still getting his point across.
Aidre looked down in thought.
"Then… where have you been hiding all this time? Just out of curiosity…"
Sunny coughed.
"I wouldn't call it hiding. I'd call it… biding my time. And as for where I've been? Well I've been spending some quality time with Lady Hope of course!"
Aidre froze for a moment before standing up.
"...What?"
Sunny nodded.
"Yeah. She's kinder than I thought she'd be."
"She… she spoke to you?"
Aidre's hands quivered slightly.
"Yeah? Why wouldn't she- ohhhh. Right. There was a shackle around her neck before."
Aidre nodded.
"I wanted to learn from her… she wouldn't even look at me."
Sunny shrugged.
"Well, it was you seven who imprisoned her. Not really, but you know what I mean."
Aidre looked at the ground before sitting back down.
She took a deep breath, glancing at the sky as another roar of pure rage echoed across the entire city.
"What is she like?"
"..."
Sunny shifted slightly, propping one leg up and leaning his back against the bark.
"She seems… lost."
"Lost?"
Aidre perked up at his words, clearly curious.
"Yeah. When I speak with her, sometimes it feels like I'm speaking to a person walking through a haze, or someone experiencing a dream."
Aidre nodded, mystified.
"I see… Well, nobody knows how a daemon's mind works. What did you speak about with her?"
Sunny laughed.
"Oh, you know… I told her about where I was from, she told me about the Age of the Gods… stuff like that."
Aidre leaned in.
"Anything else?"
Sunny thought for a moment.
"She also taught me language."
"Really..?"
Aidre seemed disappointed at the fact she wasn't there herself.
"Why did she agree to teach you? Then again, I do suppose she owes you if you're going to free her…"
Sunny shook her head.
"Bah! I doubt she cares about that. It was more like she was annoyed at how bad I was at reading runes, so she made me learn it."
Aidre stared at him.
"Oh…"
A storm had whipped up above the Ivory City, composed of black winds and flames.
"What else did you two do? Being taught by a daemon, ah… I just wish it could've been me."
Sunny looked at her strangely for a moment.
There was nothing inherently strange about what she said, but it kind of sounded… perverted?
Still, he wouldn't question it.
"We also shared meals together."
Aidre paused for a moment.
"Daemons need to eat?"
Sunny shrugged.
"Maybe? She said she was hungry so I gave her food."
"Interesting…"
Aidre looked up at him again.
"What does she look like now? Have her burns healed?"
Sunny shook her head.
"No, her burns are still there. And as for how she looks… no idea."
Aidre stared at him questioningly.
"You don't know?"
Sunny pointed at his face.
Aidre seemed to remember something as he said that.
"Oh."
She didn't press him any further.
Sunny however, jumped from his branch, landing next to her.
"Actually, do you mind healing them?"
His act just now of sitting on the branch was actually a test of whether or not Aidre would attack him. He had left himself completely open, and was not even wearing his armour anymore. If he truly wanted to be safe, he would've kept himself away from any plantlife, as clearly Aidre's Aspect flourished when she was around those. Yet despite Sunny leaving himself unguarded, Aidre had not done anything, even though she had already finished healing herself.
"Oh… of course."
Aidre reached forward and Sunny felt her cool hand rest upon the side of his face.
Within his skull, Sunny could feel his severed optic nerves surge to life, squirming awkwardly as they began to heal themselves. Reaching forward like roots, the ends of the nerves began swelling, forming the outer shell of the eyes. Then, in a slow and surprisingly painless process, his eyes began to regrow. The wood-like substance they grew back as felt strange and scratchy inside his socket, but once it finished healing, the discomfort vanished.
"Don't strain them too hard or they'll fall out."
Sunny shuddered at her words.
"Okay…"
Her hand left his face, and Sunny slowly opened his eyes, meeting Aidre's hazel ones.
He took in a deep breath, brushing his hands against his face.
'I can see again…'
He had lived an entire month without his eyesight, and now that it was back, he almost felt like crying.
'Ah, I missed you…'
He could survive reasonably well thanks to his shadow sense, but it had truly been a massive pain living without his eyes. It was good to have them back.
"Thank you."
Aidre nodded, turning away.
"It's nothing."
Leaping upwards, Sunny went back to sit on his branch.
Despite the massive risk it was to let a Saint get that close to him, Sunny still decided to take it. He was ready to retreat at any time anyways.
And the reason he wanted his eyesight so bad was… well, it was a little embarrassing. It was not because he'd need it to fight Sevras, but because before the Nightmare ended, he wanted to see Hope at least once. Not out of some desire to see her beauty or anything, but because he just wanted to see her as her for once. After everything was over, he'd never get another chance, only ever see her again as a shadow standing silently within his Soul Sea.
…That was unless the Spell decided to turn her into an Echo, but Sunny didn't count his chances high.
Sunny looked up at the night sky, ignoring Serpent and Sevras' battle.
He had not seen the night sky for a while now, and he had not even realised how much he missed it. He could still sort of see within his dreams, but he never really saw concrete locations or things. In fact, most of the time he just drifted in a sea of darkness, accompanied by the sound of running water.
"Can I ask you something in return, Lady Aidre?"
Aidre glanced at him curiously, and he could finally meet her gaze properly.
"What is it?"
"What's Heart God like?"
Aidre grimaced at his words, turning away.
"How would I know?"
"Aren't you his blessed?"
Aidre glanced at him.
"Aren't you a Divine Shadow? Can you tell me about Shadow God?"
"...No, not really."
Aidre turned away.
"There you have it. Heart is even more mysterious than the mystery man himself, so I don't know much. What I do know is that they like to plant trees."
Then, she lowered her head slightly.
"And that you should never trust the followers of Heart."
Sunny looked at her suspiciously.
"Why not? Aren't you one?"
Aidre turned back to him, a self-deprecating smile on her face.
"Did I not just betray a lifelong companion, stabbing them in the back?"
"...Right."
Sunny did not push any further, as it was clearly a sore topic. Her words had only cemented a suspicion in his mind.
'I shouldn't involve myself with Asterion in any way, no matter what.'
Perhaps he should also abandon his plans with Mordret…
'No… that one shouldn't be too bad.'
From what he knew, Asterion had all but abandoned Mordret once he Awakened. Sunny suspected that he had only kept them all those years for the sake of doing something with his blood, the War Lineage, whatever its name may be.
He may have to delay his plans with Mordret though, as he did not want to risk running into that abomination in the Chained Isles.
'Better wait a couple months first… or years.'
As long as he encountered Mordret before he was imprisoned by Anvil, it likely wasn't too late.
'Still, Mordret's a sharp one. He'll definitely notice something off about me.'
Sunny sighed. There was much work to be done in the waking world. He'd need to finish his work here quickly.
"Actually, do you mind telling me how to Transcend?"
Aidre turned to him with an eyebrow raised.
"Transcendence? You don't know how?"
Sunny shook his head.
"I know some things, but I don't know the exact method. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind teaching me?"
Aidre stared at him with an unreadable gaze for a moment before turning her head to look at what Sevras was doing. Turning back to him, she said:
"Well, I guess we have time…"
***
"I see, I see… it's not as complex as I thought it'd be."
Aidre nodded sagely.
"That's right. It's more about your state of mind and experience within the world. Are you certain you understand what I showed you?"
"Probably? I'd have to try it fir-"
And just then, their conversation was interrupted by a tortured wail echoing across the night sky.
Sunny abruptly stood up.
"What is he…"
Having finally gotten his sight back, Sunny could see it, clear as day.
Flames that had been aimed at the lesser vultures washed over the city below, scores of civilians and buildings being turned into smouldering embers.
Aidre stood up at the same time.
"Sevras..! He's lost it!"
Both of them turned to each other.
"We need to stop him. This isn't part of the plan…"
Aidre nodded and dashed away as Sunny sank into the shadows.
It took him less than a minute to cross the city, but when Sunny arrived, the destruction was already catastrophic. He could hear muffled sobbing beneath the ruins he had emerged on, and he did not hesitate to remove it, freeing the civilian trapped beneath. Leading them out of the wreckage, he saw severe burns and lacerations all over the person's body, with them having only barely survived.
'Gods…'
He had wanted to push Sevras into madness, but… to this extent?
Sunny closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
Despite the fact that he and Noctis had already done the exact same thing in the distant past, Sunny still felt that it was distasteful. It wasn't the way he wanted to win. He only wanted to wear down Sevras' mind with the constant threat of the fact that his city was in danger, not to push Sevras to the point where he would become a danger to the city itself.
Aidre landed next to him, already reaching for the young man he held in his arms.
Handing him over, Sunny stepped into the shadows.
…Seconds later, a monstrous butterfly emerged from the darkness, flying straight for Sevras.
'I need to settle this quickly.'
Without his true name, there was a very real possibility he would lose himself in the Shadow Dance, but still, he had to do it.
With four shadows wrapped around himself, Sunny beat his wings.
"SEVRAS!"
His voice boomed across the night sky, catching the mad dragon's attention.
"You-!!"
Sevras' madness subsided for a moment at the sight of his enemy. For a second, his clarity returned.
"No… Nooo!"
And a second later, it was gone.
Sevras flew straight towards him, flames erupting from his mouth like a tsunami of magma, uncaring of the fact that the city was right below Sunny.
With a flap of his wings, Sunny nimbly dodged the flames, the scales on his back cracking from the sheer heat emanating from it.
The flames cleansed the city below of all life.
"Stop! What the hell are you doing?"
Sevras seemed to hear his words, but shook them off with a mad roar as if he didn't even want to know what he was doing anymore.
Just as they were about to clash, Sunny tucked in his wings and dove under Sevras, barely dodging a massive bite from the dragon.
Now beneath him, Sunny dug his chitinous legs into Sevras' stomach, his shadows only barely able to hang onto the scales.
Sevras flipped around in the air in an attempt to get him off, but Sunny held on strongly, and a second later Serpent arrived, closing a talon around his neck.
Choked flames erupted from his mouth, this time they lit up the night sky as Serpent twisted his head away from the city.
"You dumbass dragon! Stop this!"
Using Serpent's grip as leverage, Sunny crawled onto Sevras' back, digging his legs into the scales.
Sevras attempted to spin around once more, shaking off Serpent but failing to get Sunny off his back.
Searching the dragon's body, Sunny could not find a single open wound despite their already lengthy fight. There were many deep grooves within his scales, but no exposed flesh. Serpent's attacking power lay within its soul attacks, not physical.
'Ah, if only I still had Shrike…'
At least he had the opportunity to take revenge for them here…
Hanging on as tight as he could, he slowly began crawling towards Sevras' head, aiming for his eyes.
Despite his madness, Sevras could see as clear as day what he was attempting to do, and he immediately began thrashing wildly in an attempt to get him off.
'Fool…'
Had he been in his right state of mind, he would've realised he could've simply dismissed his transformation to free himself.
Just then, Aidre finally arrived at the battle, having finished tending to the civilians below. The hems of her emerald dress transformed, turning into long vines that shot towards Sevras like snakes.
With a flap of its wings, Serpent sent black winds towards Sevras' wings, causing his thrashing to slow severely. Emerald vines wrapped around them moments later, further restricting his flight. More and more vines assaulted him, shutting his maw, tying his wings, and then pulling him downwards.
Sunny still clung to Sevras' back as he began to fall from the sky.
Muffled roars and embers left Sevras' mouth, but it was of no use. He was caught.
The pair fell from the sky, landing with a loud crash, completely crushing a large group of fleeing civilians.
'Damn it!'
Sevras howled madly, still struggling against the vines and wings. Seeing as its army was no longer needed, Serpent began to call back its lessers, reabsorbing them to replenish its essence.
Sevras struggled wildly against the vines, unable to exert enough strength to break them even with his massive body. If it was the sun was up, it would've been a completely different story, but unfortunately for him, it wasn't.
His struggle slowly grew weaker and weaker as he realised the futility of it, even through his madness.
Just then, Serpent finished reabsorbing its lessers, dismissing its transformation and joining the vines in constricting Sevras.
Meanwhile Sunny slowly stood up, his Shell having been pulverized by the fall.
Looking around, he saw fires covering a large chunk of the city, but most of it was still intact.
'Good… good…'
Large scores of civilians had been slain, but the damage wasn't quite catastrophic. He couldn't see the reactions of the remaining citizens, nor did he want to.
Pulling out the glass knife, Sunny slowly made his way towards Sevras' head.
Standing next to his burning orange eyes, Sunny shuddered slightly. The eye was as big as his entire body, and they were boiling with rage as they locked onto him.
Sunny didn't say anything, only thrusting the knife forward.
But before he could stab the mad dragon, the clarity within its eyes reignited.
'Sh-'
Sunny jumped back as a stifled roar echoed from Sevras' maw, and a second later, the dragon was gone.
Serpent and the vines all fell to the ground, the large mass they were binding suddenly vanishing.
Sevras had dismissed his transformation.
The man stood still for a moment, looking at his own hands with a terrified expression.
Then, he ran.
'No..!'
"Stop him!"
The vines that had gone slack surged with life, but they could not keep up with the nimble form of a human. Serpent acted far more decisively, immediately transforming and dashing towards them.
Try as he might, Sevras was already weakened by his Flaw, as well as weakened by the previous battle.
He was spent.
The hand of Solvane pierced straight through his back.
Having wrapped six shadows around Serpent, it had caught up to him almost immediately.
Serpent removed its arm a moment later, allowing Sevras to fall to the ground, coughing up blood.
Serpent took a step back, looking at its master. Sunny nodded.
Not wanting to waste any time, he shadow stepped towards Sevras, intending on finishing it immediately.
Then, with a tormented scream, flames erupted from all parts of Sevras' body, temporarily chasing away all the shadows around him.
The flames dissipated a moment later, but in the center of them, Sevras was gone.
"What the…"
"Where did he…"
Aidre was beside him, just as surprised as he was. Sevras was not known to have any spatial movement abilities. Had his Aspect grown to new heights to save himself from death?
Still, it did not matter. His wounds were too severe. They simply had to find him and finish him off.
"I'll find him. Can you go heal the civilians?"
"Alright."
Aidre nodded and dashed away. Sunny sunk into the shadows a moment later, recalling Serpent.
As a swift shadow, he glided across the city, his shadow sense spread to its maximum.
The damage to the city was terrible. Sunny's attack had been sudden enough that they had almost no time to evacuate due to the litany of dark vultures flying around the streets, so many civilians had been caught by stray attacks from their lord.
Sunny sighed in the darkness.
A few minutes later, he found Sevras.
'I should've known he was here.'
Laying in a pile of rubble, Sevras was crawling across the ground.
As he got closer, he thought he could hear him mumbling something, his voice desperate and deranged.
"Lord… may… on us… again…"
Sunny emerged from the shadows behind him.
"Sun… extinguished…"
Laying on the ground, Sevras reached out to grab the hand of his brother, only for his arm to fall to the ground weakly. Not too far away, Semos' body was crushed under a pile of rubble, his head no longer visible.
Sunny approached Sevras silently.
'Perhaps for you, this is a mercy…'
The man did not even react as the glass knife was thrust into his back.
His head slowly dropped, and his struggles had long ceased. Even then, his gaze never left his brother's cold corpse.
[You have slain a Transcendent Human, Sevras.]
[...You have received a Memory.]
Wiping the soot off his face, Sunny sighed and leaned down to pick him up.
Walking forward a bit, he placed Sevras beside his brother before shutting the man's still open eyes.
"Your nightmare is over."
Sunny stood there for a while, watching the two of them.
Eventually though, he was interrupted by Aidre, who had approached them at some point.
"I always thought it would be Noctis, you know?"
Sunny turned to her.
"What do you mean?"
"To be the one who killed him, I mean. Those two have been at each other's throats since the day we met. They were born opposites, with opposing Aspects, opposing Flaws… it's a curious thing, fate."
Meeting her gaze, Sunny smiled weakly.
"And who did you think was going to kill you?"
Aidre was silent for a moment.
"...Me."
Aidre sighed.
"But I guess that won't come to be."
Reaching into the folds of her dress, she tossed him the iron knife.
Catching it with ease, Sunny looked at her curiously.
Behind them, the sun slowly began to rise, illuminating the world.
"You want me to do it?"
Aidre nodded coolly.
"You said you'd give me the choice, didn't you? This is it."
Sunny stared at her silently.
"...Why?"
Aidre scoffed.
"I was thinking about it, but the moment I looked at the knife I started shaking… pathetic, isn't it? A woman my age, afraid of death."
Aidre laughed, her laughter melodic and pure.
Sunny gripped the knife, looking at her.
"Do you… want anything? Before you die? Or after?"
Aidre shook her head.
"At first, I wanted to meet Hope, but… I might want to live after that, wouldn't I? I don't want to weaken my resolve now. Not when salvation is this close."
Then, she seemed to think of something.
"Ah, actually, bury me under that tree we were sitting at earlier. That seems like a nice spot."
Sunny nodded.
"Will do."
Taking a step forward, Sunny raised the knife.
"Any last words?"
Aidre met his gaze unflinchingly.
"Did Hope ever tell you why she was imprisoned?"
Sunny put a hand on her shoulder.
"Nope. I was the one who told her, actually."
"Really, what was it?"
Sunny shook his head with a sigh.
"Because she is the daughter of the Forgotten God."
Aidre's eyes widened with understanding. Many things seemed to click into place in her mind.
"I see… thank you, and goodbye."
Sunny nodded.
"See you."
Thrusting his hand forward, Sunny stabbed the iron knife into her heart.
Aidre's breathing remained calm as it slowed, and only a second later, she slumped over.
'Wha…'
Sunny nearly let her drop to the ground in surprise.
[You have slain a Transcendent Human, Aidre.]
[...You have received a Memory.]
He had not expected her to die that quickly!
Gripping her slender shoulders with his hands, Sunny moved her body away from his.
'She's really dead…'
A Saint had died that quickly from a simple stab to the heart?
Sunny had been planning on cutting off her head with the Soul Serpent to prevent her from suffering, only for her to keel over almost immediately.
'Is the heart a weakness for the Heart God's blessed or something?'
Or perhaps it was the fact her Will had already wished for death, allowing her body to die without resistance.
Shaking his head, Sunny bent down slightly and lifted up her whole body. The beautiful emerald dress she had been wearing had already begun to wilt, turning brown and grey like autumn leaves.
Taking slow, measured steps, Sunny slowly made his way towards the tree where they had shared a quiet conversation.
Placing her at the base of the tree, he summoned Serpent and made it transform into something suitable for digging.
After a while, he placed Aidre into the grave, filling it in with dirt himself.
Sunny turned to Serpent.
"Make it a bit more lively, won't you?"
Serpent hissed in agreement.
Now that the shadow of Aidre rested in his Soul Sea, Serpent could transform into her as well.
Aidre's dark figure appeared beside him a moment later and raised its hand.
The grass around the displaced dirt surged to life, growing and spreading over the grave.
'A Shadow wielding power over life. Isn't that something?'
Now, Serpent was also capable of healing him, something Sunny desperately needed after the Dark Soul had been destroyed.
After a while, Serpent finished.
The grave was now covered in verdant grass, with a single white flower acting as the headstone.
Perhaps it was stupid to do something like this, as the world was about to disappear anyways, but Sunny wanted to anyway. Aidre had helped him out when he needed it the most, and he'd repay her in any way he could.
Standing up, Sunny took a deep breath.
The sun had risen, and the morning breeze had come.
The fires across the city had all been put out, and the smoke clouding the sky had begun to fade.
'I suppose it's time then.'
Sunny turned towards the Ivory Tower.
Noctis wouldn't be showing up anytime soon, so-
"Ah…"
Sunny froze.
"I'm too late?"
'...Shit.'
The breeze around him stopped.
Sunny slowly turned his head.
Long black hair, bright red robes fluttering in the wind…
The symbol of the crescent moon gleaming weakly on his forehead…
An easygoing grin, hiding barely contained rage…
The Sorcerer of the East had arrived.