Sunny remained silent for a long time, looking at Noctis with a grim expression. Finally, he shifted and drew several runes, the onyx claw of his armored gauntlet moving through the ash with swift precision:
“Fortress. Danger. Inside?”
The sorcerer laughed.
“Danger… of course there is danger. But don’t worry. It is nothing that you won’t be able to handle. Uh… I think. Believe, even! Regardless, there’s no one in the entire Kingdom of Hope better suited for this task than you, Sunless. So… hurry up. Time’s a wasting…”
Sunny scowled, unamused by the fact that Noctis avoided the question. Unwilling to let go, he growled and pointed to the runes again.
The sorcerer sighed wistfully.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, Sunless. It’s just that there’s no point. You won’t remember, anyway… but this will benefit us both, trust me. This fortress once belonged to a friend of mine. He was one of Hope’s shackles, just like me, and a shadow, just like you. Do you see now why I think that fate itself has brought us together?”
Sunny held his breath.
‘So, I was right. Noctis is indeed one of the immortals.’
And, more than that, one of the original seven had been a follower of Shadow God. Only five wardens were still alive, and none of them held dominion over the south… so, it was safe to assume that this Shadow Lord was dead. Suddenly, the sorcerer’s comment about this island being someone’s resting place made more sense.
If so… maybe there were some relics that the Transcendent of Shadows left behind in the fortress?
That changed things… a little…
Sunny hesitated for a while, and then gestured to his chest.
Noctis smiled.
“What? Surely, you are not doubting my skill! Rest assured, Sunless, I’ll create a wonderful new heart for you. I’ll even replace the fingers you seem to be missing, as a bonus. Unless not having fingers is your preference, of course…”
Sunny stared at him for a few minutes, then sighed and stood up. Picking up a bunch of grapes, he glanced at the eccentric sorcerer one more time, and then headed south, toward the edge of the island where the abandoned fortress stood.
‘You won’t remember it, anyway… I wonder what the hell did he mean?’
***
As he walked, Sunny noticed several clusters of beautiful white flowers growing here and there among the emerald grass. The closer to the fortress he came, the more of these flowers there were. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the night, their buds were open, filling the air with a faint, but pleasant smell.
A deep scowl appeared on his face.
‘These flowers…’
They looked vaguely familiar. He slowly ate the sweet, succulent grapes and searched his memory for a hint of where he might have seen them. After a while, his expression turned even darker.
There was an island in the eastern reaches of the Chained Isles, not too far from the Sanctuary of Noctis, covered by a vast and beautiful field of such white flowers. Everyone, even the most competent cohorts of Awakened and those from the White Feather clan, avoided this island like a plague.
The ground there was littered with bones of all kinds, hidden beneath the delicate white petals. As soon as a person stepped on the surface of the island, they would feel an irresistible desire to stop, rest, and fall asleep.
…And if they succumbed to that desire, none ever woke up.
Sunny silently cursed.
‘Is that bastard trying to kill me?’
But, for some reason, he had trouble believing that Noctis simply wanted him dead. A Saint had far easier ways to kill an Awakened, let alone someone as tired and weakened as him. There was no need to go to such lengths.
So, what the sorcerer had said must have been true, or at least close to it. He believed that Sunny was uniquely suited for the task and had a good chance of accomplishing it alive.
But why? What was so special about Sunny? What could he do that even a Transcendent could not?
Was it because he was connected to Shadow God, as the previous owner of the fortress had been?
Full of dark thoughts, he crested another hill and saw the familiar silhouette of the boundary stronghold not too far away.
It was in much better condition than it had been in the future. In fact, it almost looked whole… if not for the moss covering its walls, the lack of lights, and the deathly silence that enveloped it, Sunny would have thought that the castle was still inhabited by humans.
The tall walls built of grey stone rose high into the night sky, and the massive gates were closed shut. The ancient fortress was bathed in the pale moonlight, looking somber and foreboding, like a cursed tomb.
Sunny grimaced.
‘…Not ominous at all.’
Still clutching his chest, he made his way down the hill and approached the menacing stronghold. Its walls had not crumbled yet, so the path he had taken to get inside the last time did not exist yet.
Full of grim unease, Sunny thrust his claws into the ancient stone and started climbing. These walls were nothing compared to the great wall of the Dark City… getting to the top was not going to be hard, even for a human.
And currently, he wasn’t even human. He was a demon, be it a dying one.
Soon, he finally reached the top of the wall and crouched on its lip, looking down into the empty courtyard. Here, the signs of abandonment were more pronounced — there were dust and dirt everywhere, with weeds growing through the ancient cobblestones. The fortress was desolate and hollow, devoid of anyone to inhabit and take care of it.
He hesitated with indecision for a bit, and then reluctantly sent two of his shadows away to explore the stronghold. If there was indeed a powerful creature nesting inside, they would surely find it…
Minutes passed in tense anticipation. The shadows glided through the empty corridors and halls of the abandoned stronghold, through its towers and dungeons. However, no matter where they looked, they did not find any sign of life.
What they did find, however, were corpses.
Here and there, human skeletons lay, still dressed in archaic garments and armor. There was no sign of struggle around them, no tears on their clothes, and no apparent wounds on their bodies. It just seemed as though the former garrison of the stronghold had lowered themselves to the ground and died for no reason whatsoever.
All of it was just too eerie.
‘Curse it all… curse the damned immortals, and curse this damned place…’
Sunny almost turned around and ran, but then, his chest pulsed with pain, reminding him of the reason for why he had come here.
With a deep sigh, he jumped down from the lip of the wall and walked toward the main structure of the fortress.
‘Time to find me a soft bed…’
Sunny entered the donjon, summoned the shadows back, and walked through the silent halls on his way to the higher levels of the massive tower. Once there, he walked around for a bit, searching for a suitable room, and soon found one that seemed to be both comfortable and well-protected.
Unceremoniously throwing a corpse in a rotten nightgown off the bed, he lay down in its place and tiredly closed his eyes.
Sure, this place was beyond creepy… but he was, in fact, tired to the bone and in desperate need of rest. Some sleep would do him good…
‘What’s the big deal, anyway… I’ve slept in far worse places…’
Before falling into the embrace of oblivion, he summoned Saint from the shadows and gave her a mental command to watch over him. After hesitating for a bit, Sunny did the same with the Soul Serpent.
Only once the two Shadows assumed guard did he allow himself to relax.
In the silence of the abandoned fortress, Sunny could easily hear the strained beating of his heart. However, he was too exhausted to pay it any attention.
Just a few minutes later, he was already sound asleep.
…And just a moment before falling into deep slumber, with his mind already half-gone, he thought that he heard an unexpected sound somewhere close, but also far away.
It was like the ringing of hooves on the cold stone floors…
