Shadow Slave

There had been several arching bridges leading to it, as well, but most of them long collapsed. Only one still stood, arching and monumental, built of pristine white stone.

An old man with a wrinkled face and grey hair was sitting on the steps leading to the bridge, dressed in a white tunic. It was different from the clothes most of the citizens wore, resembling that of a priest. The man had a frail body and pale blue eyes.

The old man\'s face was strangely calm. He observed the burning city with solemn indifference, as if the weight of years made him numb to the cruelties of the mortal realm. Even though his world was ending, the elder remained poised and dignified.

Noticing the approaching devil, the old man tiredly leaned on his cane.

"Stop, creature! This is a sacred land… you are not allowed to go further."

Sunny stopped a few meters away from the stranger and studied him for a few moments. Then, he sighed and said, his voice even:

"Why the charade? Drop it, Mordret."

The old man looked at him with confusion, then suddenly grinned. His whole presence suddenly shifted, becoming much more energetic and unrestrained. He laughed dryly, and then shook his head.

"Ah, what a pity. What gave me away?"

Sunny shrugged.

"I knew that you would show up sooner or later. And there\'s not much of later left."

Mordret, who inhabited the old and frail body, smiled.

"True, true. Thank you very much, Sunless! You have fulfilled my request to keep Noctis alive very well. In fact…"

His face darkened a little.

"...I\'d say that you even performed a little bit too well. Who could have thought that the Beast of Twilight would still win, despite not having the Night Oracle\'s support? That… ah, it makes me feel as though all my ordeals in the north were a bit silly."

The old man sighed, but then smiled again.

"Well, no matter. It can still be salvaged… however, I was very serious. Sorry to say this, but you can\'t go any further, Sunless."

Sunny tilted his head a little, staring at Mordret with a dark expression.

"Oh, yeah? How are you going to kill that damned dragon without my knife? I am sure you know that I visited the Temple of the Chalice…"

The old man gave him a polite nod.

"Oh, I do! That was rather spectacular. But, Sunless… you see, that is exactly why I can\'t allow you to cross that bridge."

Sunny frowned.

"What do you mean? Why?"

Mordret looked at him with surprise.

"Well… because I need Sevras alive, of course! Killing him would ruin months of torturous effort I put into preparing everything. Remaining in this feeble body all that time was not very pleasant, you know… but there are very few people that the Ivory Lord allows to tend to him, and this priest was the best choice."

Sunny gritted his teeth, then uttered with frustration:

"Keep Noctis alive… keep Sevras alive… damn it! What the hell do you actually hope to achieve, Mordret? You are clearly not planning to free Hope… what else can end this Nightmare? What do you want?!"

The old man blinked a couple of times, confusion appearing on his face

"Free… Hope?"

He thought for a moment, then shook his head with a smile.

"Of course, I am not here to free Hope. That is not the reason why I entered this Seed..."

His smile twisted slightly, a disturbing glint igniting in his eyes.

"I am here to kill her."

***

As the words echoed in the silence, Sunny stared at the frail old man with a deep frown. Then, he threw his head back and laughed.

"Kill her… kill Hope?! Have you completely lost your mind, Mordret?"

The banished prince shifted slightly, then said in a neutral tone.

"...Not completely."

Sunny clenched his fists, then shook his head in indignation.

"She is a daemon, you fool! A divine being! A god! How are you, a mere Awakened, going to kill her? How can you hope to even scratch her?!"

Mordret shrugged, then looked at him with a friendly smile.

"Why... have you never wanted to kill a god?"

Sunny stared at him with wide eyes.

"I am of a rather high opinion of myself, but I am not delusional. I know my limits, Mordret… don\'t you?"

The old man sighed.

"It\'s not like killing a god is impossible. They are all dead, after all. However, I understand your concern. I would not have wanted to face the Demon of Desire in battle…"

He lingered for a moment, and then added:

"But she is not exactly able to fight right now, is she? She is bound, sapped of most of her powers. Imprisoned for a thousand years… so, you see, I can\'t let you go breaking more of her chains. Your part is done, Sunless. Leave the rest to me… I will conquer this Nightmare for both of us. Well... and reap the reward, of course."

Sunny bared his fangs.

"She might not be as powerful as she had been before Sun God put her in chains, but she is still a creature of Divine Rank. Your power alone will not be enough to wound her, let alone kill her… you are insane. Hope\'s poison must have gotten to you!"

Mordret smiled.

"Ah, you are correct. I am not powerful enough to kill her alone. That is why I have spent months carefully putting a few useful ideas into the Ivory Lord\'s muddled mind. I needed Noctis to give him a little push, though… kill his brother, destroy his city. You did well to assist him!"

A dangerous gleam appeared in the old man\'s eyes.

"Now that Sevras has nothing left, he will direct his endless ire on Hope. That will be my chance. So, Sunless… I would advise you to stand down. If you truly know your limits, you won\'t stand in my way."

Sunny stared at Mordret for a few moments, his eyes growing darker and darker. A tense silence settled between the two of them.

Then, a swirl of sparks appeared around the devil\'s hand.

The old man looked at it, his gaze growing sharp and cold.

He was waiting to see what weapon Sunny was going to summon…

However, Sunny did not summon a weapon.

Instead, an exquisite wooden chair appeared in his hand.

Glaring at Mordret, Sunny put the chair on the ground, sat on it, and crossed his arms.

"Well… go on, then. What are you waiting for? I wish you luck!"