Sunny froze, his tired body tensing up. His vertical pupils narrowed, and breath escaped through his gritted fangs with a hissing sound.
'd.a.m.nation…'
Despite the strange reactions of the eccentric Saint, he wasn't fooled. Out here in the Kingdom of Hope, there was no power greater than that of the immortal wardens that guarded its imprisoned Queen.
And the only weakness the immortals had were the knives that held their fates hostage. The obsidian knife was a weapon that could destroy one of the eternal shackles, and as such, it was a priceless treasure. The very concept of value was too mundane and pedestrian to be applied to it.
And he had just revealed the fact that he possessed one to an infinitely more powerful being.
…To one of the very immortals whose lives the knife could reap.
It didn't matter if the obsidian knife was meant for Noctis himself or one of the other Shackles. If it contained his own fate, then the sorcerer would stop at nothing to gain control of it, so that no one else could. If it contained another's, he would be able to exert influence over one of the wardens, or dispose of them completely.
Noctis would undoubtedly try to take the knife…
...But, inexplicably, the sorcerer did nothing of the sort.
Instead, as Sunny stared at him in confusion, Noctis relaxed and started to hum a joyful melody. Then, he suddenly clapped his hands in excitement.
"Ah, Sunless! How fortunate it is that I've met you."
His smile dimmed a little, and his eyes, for a moment, grew dark and terrifying.
"...Before we met, you see, I was prepared to do something… rather drastic. But now, there is no need. The divination truly worked."???????n?v?l.co?
He remained silent for a few moments, and then seamlessly switched back to his usual carefree persona.
"This wonderful occasion demands a celebration! Yes, we simply must celebrate… while you're still alive… which won't be for long, regretfully… so, better keep it simple…"
Sunny flinched.
'...What?'
Meanwhile, something rustled in the air, and a figure of a very tall man suddenly appeared out of the darkness. Sunny tensed, surprised that the stranger managed to approach them unnoticed. Why had he not sensed the b.a.s.t.a.r.d?!
The figure calmly stepped into the light, revealing itself to… to not be a man at all. Instead, it was a wooden mannequin carved into a semblance of a man, wearing an elegant livery with embroidered sleeves and hem. It had simple features and held a trey with grapes, fresh fruit, and several beautifully painted amphoras of wine.
The mannequin… looked disturbingly familiar. In fact, it bore a close resemblance to a far less feral, ancient, and corrupted version of a Sailor Doll, who had been the Nightmare Creatures populating Shipwreck Island before Sunny and the Fire Keepers eradicated them.
The strange Sailor Doll placed the trey in front of them, stepped back into the darkness, and froze, becoming undistinguishable from a dead piece of wood.
Noctis smiled and reached out for one of the amphoras.
Sunny's thoughts, meanwhile, were in turmoil.
'...What the h.e.l.l does he mean, I won't be alive for long?!'
He opened his mouth, then closed it in frustration and hurriedly traced several runes in the ash:
"What? Why?"
The sorcerer scowled as he tried to read them, then gave him an unapologetic smile:
"Why are we keeping it so simple? Yes… of course, you would be confused. See, usually, I would have thrown a great feast to celebrate the occasion. I am the most gracious person in the Kingdom of Hope, after all! But, sadly, we will have to be satisfied with this shameful…
Sunny furiously shook his head, and then drew several more runes:
"Sunless. Death. Why?"
Noctis stared at him with surprise:
"Well… aren't you dying? That broken heart of yours is giving out. I thought that this was why you came here, to spend your last few days near his resting place."
Sunny blinked a few times, trying to digest what he had just heard.
Was his one remaining heart really failing? It… it did feel like it was on the verge of tearing apart, during his escape from the Black Tar monster. It continued to ache dully still…
And whose resting place was Noctis talking about? No, that was not important right now.
He erased the previous runes and traced two more:
"Heart. Broken?"
Noctis frowned.
"Wait… do you... do you, perhaps, not want to die? I, uh… I didn't say anything before in order to respect your wishes, but if dying peacefully was not your intention, then why are you wasting time drinking wine with me? Sunless... are you crazy?"
Sunny stared at him for a few moments, unamused, his eyes full of resentment. Then, he ground his fangs and wrote:
"No. Don't know. Maybe. Heart. Heal?"
The sorcerer scratched his head.
"...You are a very strange shadow, Sunless. Well… mending a broken heart is not easy. And yours is not only broken, you also seem to have misplaced one. Until you replace the lost heart, there is no point in healing the one that remains. It will just break apart again. But where would a shadow creature like you find a suitable heart in this G.o.dforsaken land?"
He sighed.
"The servants of Shadow are all gone, and so are the servants of Heart. Without them, only the greatest of healers would be able to build a heart worthy of a shadow demon from scratch."
Noctis looked down dejectedly... but then, a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
"...Luckily, I am the most gifted and renowned healer in the Kingdom of Hope! For me, creating a new heart for you won't be much of a problem. But, Sunless… despite the fact that you and I are dear friends, a favor like that is not something to be given lightly. I wouldn't want to put a strain on our friendship, you know? So… you will have to do something for me, too. That would only be polite, don't you think?"
Sunny had a feeling that he was being swindled — after all, he was an accomplished swindler himself. However, that didn't really matter. The part of Noctis's words about the inevitable failure of his one remaining heart, at least, rang true.
Perhaps if Sunny managed to not put any excessive strain on it in the future, things would be fine. But what were the chances of him having a peaceful life in a Nightmare?
…Zero. He desperately needed a functioning heart, and better yet, two of them. Only then would he be back to his full strength and ready to face the challenges that lay ahead.
Sunny sighed and drew several runes, already suspecting what he would hear.
'He wants the d.a.m.ned knife, doesn't he? That b.a.s.t.a.r.d...'
"Sunless. Do. What?"
Noctis looked at him for a few moments, then smiled.
What he said next, however, was not what Sunny expected to hear.
The sorcerer suddenly turned around and gestured south.
"Oh, it's nothing much, really. You see, there's an abandoned fortress on the edge of this island. All I want is for you to climb inside… and remain there until dawn. Actually, it will be best if you can fall asleep. So… a little nap in exchange for a new heart. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? I mean, it's just a few hours of sleep… really, what's the worst that could happen?"
...The gloomy shadow grabbed its head in utter despair.