Shadow Slave

Sunny had been really exhausted after the long battle. However, due to the [Blessing of Spirit] and the [Blessing of Flesh] enchantments of the Shroud of Dusk, he only needed a few short hours to recover from the heavy fatigue.

He woke up feeling rested and refreshed... but also strangely forlorn. Sunny had not dreamed in a long while, but tonight, he did. The dream had already disappeared from his memory, but the feeling of sorrow and loss remained, pressing at his heart.

He let out a sigh.

’I actually had a nightmare... wow. As if the waking world is not nightmarish enough, already.’

Sunny was in a subdued and contemplative mood. Before falling asleep, he had been thinking about how to use the enchantment of the Mirror of Truth. Now that he had woken up, however, he found his mind drifting to its description.

No matter how he looked at it, the conversation between Weaver and Ariel was really too strange. Especially the words Weaver had whispered at the end...

’You wanted to be free of the truth, so you didn’t deserve it.’

Why would the Demon of Fate, who was known to weave countless lies, admonish Ariel for discarding the truth?

Unexpectedly, Sunny thought of the Sin of Solace. Not its enchantments, and not even its description, but the name of the cursed sword itself.

Why was solace a sin, exactly?

The description of the Shroud of Graceless Dusk spoke about how the sybils found salvation and solace within the Tomb of Ariel. However, in the end, they too were destroyed. Dusk had been the last of them.

The [Hideous Truth] enchantment of the Sin of Solace, meanwhile, was supposed to grant revelations to those who succumbed to madness. Revelations of truth, which Ariel had described as the most hideous thing in the world and the source of cruel torment.

So... wasn’t Ariel himself the sinner, then? He had committed a sin by seeking solace in forgetting the truth.

Perhaps Weaver, as a masterful liar, knew the value of truth just as well as the Demon of Dread, and felt contempt for those who squandered it. Perhaps there was more to this story.

In any case...

Sunny turned slightly and glanced in the direction where Kai was sleeping restlessly.

He had never really considered his friend’s Flaw a heavy one to carry. What was so terrible about knowing when people lied? However, with that knowledge came the knowledge of truth... Kai, just like Ariel, was cursed to learn many things that he would rather not know.

Would his friend also be forced to seek solace in oblivion one day?

Sunny raised his eyebrow.

’Oblivion, huh?’

That was another thing. There was the Demon of Oblivion, as well, although that one was hard to remember. Of all of the seven daemons, Oblivion was mentioned the least. In fact, Sunny would have never even known of his... hers... their existence if not for Noctis, who had mentioned the Demon of Oblivion once in passing, saying that their name was long forgotten.

Actually, just remembering the fact of Oblivion’s existence was not easy.

Noctis, meanwhile, was the one who had helped the Sun Prince erase some memories. The eccentric sorcerer had been close to Aidre, the blessed of Heart God, who was the god of memory as well... was that why he could remember the Demon of Oblivion?

Shadow God, by coincidence, was the god of solace.

Sunny covered his face with a hand and suppressed a frustrated groan.

’Ah, what a mess.’

What was he thinking about?

’Uh... ah! Oblivion, I was thinking of the Demon of Oblivion.’

Noctis had helped Sun Prince erase a few important memories... but how, exactly, had Ariel retrieved the memories of truth out of his head and hid them in the heart of his tomb? Had he received help from someone, as well?

An easily forgotten sibling, perhaps? It was a bit suspicious that he had not known the source of his tears when speaking with Weaver.

Sunny was not sure, but he felt that there were actually not two, but three daemons somehow connected to the black pyramid - the Demon of Dread, the Demon of Fate, and the mysterious Demon of Oblivion.

His theory about the last one, however, was completely unsubstantiated. Maybe it was simply the result of him just dreaming about something he could not remember.

Sunny remained motionless for a while, then summoned the Endless Spring and drank some water. After that, he silently sent his shadows out.

The emissaries of both Valor and Song were currently in the camp, so he could not pass up the opportunity to try and glean some of their secrets.

As the shadows prowled the army camp, he thought about the [Searching Reflection] enchantment one more time and summoned his runes.

Sunny had not taken a good look at them in a while.

The shimmering symbols ignited in the air in front of him:

Name: Sunless.True Name: Lost from Light.Rank: Ascended.Class: Tyrant.Shadow Cores: [5/7].Shadow Fragments: [503/5000].Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer’s Shroud], [Midnight Shard], [Extraordinary Rock], [Endless Spring], [Dark Wing], [Moonlight Shard], [Weaver’s Mask], [Autumn Leaf], [Cruel Sight], [Covetous Coffer], [Heavenly Burden], [Memory of Fire], [Memory of Ice], [Strike of Thunder], [Morgan’s Warbow], [Shadow Lantern], [Bone Singer], [Shadow Chair], [Overpriced Saddle], [Dying Wish], [Sin of Solace], [Bitter Cusp], [Stifled Scream], [Weaver’s Needle], [Essence Pearl], [Nimble Catch], [Shroud of Graceless Dusk], [Mirror of Truth]...

There were several Memories apart from the [Mirror of Truth] that he had received during the last battle. Sunny studied them for a few moments, then decided that those would be best used as nourishment for Nightmare.

Satisfied, he continued to read the runes.

Echoes: -Shadows: [Onyx Saint], [Soul Serpent], [Nightmare], [Ravenous Fiend]Attributes: [Fated], [Flame of Divinity], [Master of Shadows], [Blood Weave], [Bone Weave], [Marble Shell].Aspect: [Shadow Slave].Aspect Rank: Divine.Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step], [Shadow Manifestation].Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].Flaw: [Clear Conscience].Dream Anchor: Tower of Longing.

Sunny concentrated on his shadows.

Saint was at a respectable... zero shadow fragments out of three hundred. That was because he had concentrated on feeding his other Shadow after she Transcended - Nightmare was still a mere Awakened creature, so he could see a Class evolution much sooner that way.

The black destrier was swiftly approaching that evolution. His runes showed:

Shadow Fragments: [179/300].Nightmares Required: [734/1000].

Sunny thought for a few moments.

’Not bad.’

...Then, he did another thing that he had not done in a while.

He concentrated on his Innate Ability, and summoned Neph’s runes.