Chapter 351: Journey
The next morning, Sunny woke up in a strange mood. Knowing that they were nearing the end of the Nightmare — and, perhaps, their own — he had expected himself to be consumed by somber trepidation. But, surprisingly, Sunny felt fine. It was as though the scope of the approaching battle was simply too large to be evaluated, and so, his mind had not bothered with it at all.
The Sanctuary seemed... different, somehow.
The ring of giant menhirs was the same, and so was the beautiful garden. However, the people living in the ancient shrine had changed. They were hurried and full of fear, moving with panicked speed and feverish determination.
Sunny noticed a few familiar faces. The old woman he had seen on his first day here was standing alone, a lost look on her face. The young woman was carrying the frightened child in her hands and a heavy pack on her back. The kind man with a neatly trimmed beard was gritting his teeth, his hand resting on the worn hilt of his sword.
He sighed and looked away.
An immortal Transcendent had started this war to free a Daemon from a prison built by a God... but these little people were the ones that were going to suffer the most as the result. In fact, they had been the ones to suffer the most throughout all of this, from the destruction of the Kingdom of Hope to the madness she had cursed this land with, to now.
He had been one of the little people himself, once...
Now, he was a Devil destroying their lives.
Sunny remained motionless for a few moments, then looked up at the sound of steps approaching him. He saw March and Dan Heng, both wearing their armors and packs, as though ready to go on a long hunt.
He raised his eyebrows.
"...Going somewhere?"
The little girl glanced at the beautiful priestess, and then shrugged. Dan Heng, meanwhile, sighed.
"Yes... somebody has to make sure that nothing happens to these people. The Sanctuary isn’t safe anymore, so they need to be relocated."
Sunny tilted his head. He almost forgot that the Astral Express was supposed a little band of heroes... well, not really. His memory was too precise to forget that.
"Huh... where would you even go? Nowhere is safe, I think."
Dan Heng answered:
"The west belongs to the warring cults of War and Sun, the south is abandoned and overtaken by Nightmare Creatures, the north... well, I don’t need to explain. So, we are going to guide them to one of the Great Chains and help them cross to the other side. And leave the Kingdom of Hope behind, forever."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then said thoughtfully:
"...Actually, we are not even sure if the Nightmare goes that far. Maybe there’s nothing out there, beyond the Chained Island. And yes, we know that these people are not even real. Still... we thought that we’d at least try. We even borrowed one of Noctis’s ships."
Sunny looked between the two of them, then shrugged.
"If that’s what you two want to do. I’m guessing Veliona isn’t coming? Any idea where she is?"
"No."
"Beats me."
Sunny sighed.
"Figured."
He bet that she must have been killing a bunch of Nightmare Creatures.
March lightly punched his side — well, the side of his thigh, considering how tall he was — and then, the two walked away without saying anything else. There was no need to say goodbye.
With them gone, Sunny suddenly felt a bit... lost.
Shaking his head, he threw stupid thoughts out of his head and walked to the center of the garden, intending to spend the rest of the day practicing with the Cruel Sight.
Finding a secluded spot near the clear lake, Sunny went through the intense set of steps and exercises that he had developed to condition his body for the Shadow Dance. Of course, that had been in his human body. The shadowspawn, meanwhile, was a very different beast... or rather, Devil.
Despite its size, the gaunt body of the Devil was incredibly nimble and swift. It was also capable of bursts of monstrous, explosive strength that would leave many people stunned. In addition, it was itself a weapon — with his talons, claws, fangs, and horns, Sunny was capable of delivering a lot of damage even unarmed.
He could even kill things with the spike at the end of his tail.
After that initial practice session, he summoned Saint and started the real training.
As they sparred, Sunny observed the departure of the inhabitants of the Sanctuary. They left in a column, with March at the front while some of the Awakened warriors among them stood at the back. Some were carrying their meager belongings, while some were empty-handed. Some cried, while some remained silent and stoic.
Some even smiled.
Above them, the flying ship moved, carrying those who could not walk. Sunny could not see, but knew that Dan Heng was controlling it. For a moment, he was curious about how she was able to communicate with the Sailor Dolls... however, that short distraction cost him dearly when Saint delivered a painful blow to his abdomen, and so, Sunny decided to concentrate on himself.
Turning his full attention back to the training fight, he thought:
’What a weird feeling...’
Long hours passed in arduous training. Slowly but surely, he was growing accustomed to the new proportions of his strange and powerful body. His height, his reach, his might... all of it was starting to click, making him feel confident in his own skin once more.
At some point, dead tired, Sunny decided to take a break. Commanding Saint to stand down, he crouched near the lake and drew some water to wash the sweat off his face. Then, he poured some on his head and sighed, looking at the clear surface of the lake.
The graceful figure of Saint reflected on it, and near her, his own. Obsidian skin, bestial features, eyes that seemed like pools of liquid darkness, twisting horns... a sharp contrast to the delicate appearance of his original body.
And then, he froze.
"...Do you usually do this?"
...There was a third reflection on the surface of the lake.
It was a tall and slender young man, with pale skin and raven-black hair. His face was sharp and thin — not exactly handsome, but at the same time charming and strangely beautiful. His striking eyes didn’t seem to possess a color of their own, and instead reflected the world back on itself like two pools of liquid silver.
Currently, they were as blue as the boundless, vast sky.
The young man smiled pleasantly, and then raised a hand in greeting.
A painfully familiar voice suddenly resounded in Sunny’s mind.
"Ah, Sunless... how nice it is to meet you again, after all this time. Just look at you... goodness! I almost failed to recognize you behind that fearsome face..."