Shadow Slave

Noctis sighed, then placed his empty cup on the table and stood up. He straightened the folds of his silk garment, then shook his head with a slight smile and headed across the stone plain of the menhirs.

Sunny scrambled to catch up to him, full of apprehension. The first thing he said to the sorcerer, however, had nothing to do with the messenger of the Chain Lords.

"A metaphor is a figure of speech… uh... sort of like an analogy?"

Noctis glanced at him with surprise.

"I must say, your composure is commendable, Sunless. However… do you really think that this is very important right now? Come now, we need to meet our visitor before he reaches the Sanctuary."

The sorcerer gestured at the silhouette of the flying ship that hovered some distance away, almost at the same height as them. Sunny summoned the Dark Wing, and then said:

"Uh... no. I don't. Why can't we meet the herald here, though? No, wait… if he did not even reach the Sanctuary yet, why is the island shaking?"

Noctis shrugged and gracefully rose into the air, flying toward the ship. What means he was using to do so, Sunny did not know. All he could do was jump as high as he could, and then glide forward.

The sorcerer glanced at him, and then said somberly:

"If we were to meet the herald here, my beautiful sanctuary might… well... get damaged. That would not do. As to why the island is shaking, I guess we'll see…"

Soon, they landed on the deck. The Sailor Dolls had already raised the sails and were hurrying around, preparing the ship for departure. Cassie, Kai, and Effie were also there, although they seemed to have arrived only moments before Sunny and Noctis.

As Sunny looked at them with a silent question, Effie simply nodded toward Cassie. The mystery of their swift reaction was easily revealed.

The sorcerer went to the stern of the flying ship without wasting any time, and took his position as the kybernetes — the guide who steered the ship as it flew through the air. The ancient vessel had no steering wheel, of course, and instead relied on two steering oars, which were situated at the very rear of it.

There was a runic circle inscribed between the oars. Noctis stepped inside, turned, leaned comfortably on the bending inner surface of the tall aplustre, and placed his hands on the oars with a relaxed expression on his face. A moment later, the circle shimmered with ethereal light.

The flying ship had to be controlled both physically and with soul essence. There were invisible energy pathways spanning the whole length of it, all leading to the roots of the beautiful tree growing around the main mast.

Luckily, it was the tree that produced the tremendous flow of essence required to propel the vessel through the air, and not the kybernetes. Otherwise, Cassie would have never been able to fly it in the future. However, the pilot still needed to control that flow and serve as its nexus, and so, only an Awakened could do it.

…Or a Transcendent.

Noctis sent his own essence into the runic circle, connecting his soul to the ship, and the ancient vessel slowly started to move, gaining speed as the wind filled its sails. Holding the oars with a carefree smile, the sorcerer then glanced at Cassie and said:

"Song of the Fallen, my lady… you wished to observe how I control this beauty? Here is your chance to see a master at work! Truly, there is no helmsman more skilled and distinguished than me in the whole of the Kingdom of Hope. Granted, this flight won't be too long…"

He suddenly grew silent, glanced at the blind girl with a guilty expression on his face, and then awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, uh… I guess "see" was the wrong word to use… hmm…"

Cassie remained silent for a few moments, then said neutrally:

"...I am used to it. Do not worry."

Knowing that the young woman had been interested in the flying ship and its mysteries, Sunny left the two of them alone and walked to the side, staring into the distance with a tense look on his face.

Noctis had failed to explain why the approach of the herald caused the Sanctuary to tremble, but Sunny had an idea. The islands were all connected to each other by the heavenly chains, and so, any strong tremor was bound to spread outward like a wave. The question was… what could have caused a quake strong enough for them to feel from several islands away?

…Perhaps a giant steel colossus could.

He gritted his teeth.

'A messenger of the Chain Lords… was that a joke? Noctis conveniently failed to mention that this herald was going to be one of those Lords himself…'

And what the hell had the sorcerer meant, saying that they had to meet the herald elsewhere, to avoid damaging the Sanctuary? Weren't they simply going to speak? That was what messengers were for, weren't they, to deliver words?

As several islands flowed past beneath the speeding ship, he suddenly caught sight of an especially familiar one. Of course, in this era, it looked different.

The Iron Hand island was still rather large and covered by soft grass, but the ancient stone columns that had been broken in the future still stood tall, forming three concentric circles. From above, they seem like a giant sundial… or moondial, perhaps.

And, of course, there was no colossal iron hand laying in the center of the island, to give it the peculiar name.

…At least not yet.

Sunny suddenly felt cold shivers run down his spine.

He didn't have time to think about it more, however, because, at that moment, something else attracted his attention.

Some distance away, shrouded in the haze of dawn, he could see the neighboring island. Currently, it was in a higher position than them. The island suddenly swayed, and a small human figure jumped from its edge.

Or rather, it just seemed small because of the distance.

Sunny felt Kai grow still and tense by his side.

As the sun shined on its steel surface, the figure flew through the air, covering an unimaginable distance with its leap. It seemed to be moving slowly, but Sunny knew that this was just a mirage caused by the scale of things.

And indeed, the radiant figure grew larger and larger with each moment, turning into a brilliant steel giant as it drew closer.

Easily breaching several kilometers with his jump, the giant landed on the surface of the Iron Hand island, causing the whole of it to lurch sideways and sway. The heavenly chains rattled widely, and a cloud of debris was raised into the air.

Not paying the chaos he had caused any attention, the colossus then slowly straightened, grew motionless, and then slightly turned his head.

…He was looking directly at the flying ship, no expression written on his beautiful steel face, two suns reflecting in the polished surface of his steel eyes.

The Sun Prince had come to deliver a message to Noctis.