Shadow Slave

The battered ship fell from the dim red darkness of the sky and, illuminated by the eerie radiance of the crimson moon, crashed into the towering steel colossus. The armored beak of the ship's ram struck the giant's chest with such tremendous force that there was a blinding flash of light, and then a powerful shockwave rolled across the island, violently throwing Sunny off his feet.

The deafening roar of the impact came as he fell.

Rolling on the ground, Sunny was assaulted by the thundering clash of the blast, the rumbling groan of shattering wood, and the booming shriek of heavy metal being ripped apart.

Stunned and disoriented, he rose to his knees, then swayed a little and looked up.

What he saw made him pale.

The sorcerer's ship lay broken on the ground. The fluid lines of its graceful hull were broken and gaped with terrible breaches, wide cracks running through the ancient wood. Its bow was completely shattered, and the damage in the front part of the vessel was especially severe. The beautiful tree growing around its main mast seemed damaged and... dead.

Cassie was nowhere in sight.

At the very edge of the island, thrown back, Sun Prince knelt. The steel colossus was swaying dangerously, clutching at his face with his one remaining hand. At the spot where the ram of the ship had struck, his chest was caved in and ripped open, rivers of molten metal flowing from the terrible wound.

And in the depths of the wound, turned incandescent by the heat, a cage made in the form of a human figure was revealed.

…The cage was slightly broken, too, and a charred hand could be seen clawing at the edges. Under its fingers, the metal was bending like cloth, slowly being torn away.

Sunny shuddered, and then turned his gaze back to the wreck of the flying ship.

'Cassie… where's Cassie…'

He could not see the blind young woman anywhere in the wreckage.

However… Sunny saw someone else.

A bloodied figure suddenly fell from above, bounced off the ground, and crashed into the hull of the ship, causing more cracks to appear on its surface. Raven black hair, pale skin… it was Noctis.

The sorcerer did not look good.

His whole body was covered in blood, terrible wounds gaping open here and there. His beautiful face was broken and disfigured, the skin split open and white bone visible beneath, with one eye socket empty and full of darkness.

He was still alive, though… of course, he was.

Noctis could not escape from the pain into the merciful embrace of death even if he wanted to.

As Sunny watched, paralyzed for a moment, something flashed through the air, and a graceful figure appeared for a split second in front of the sorcerer, her beautiful chestnut hair dancing in the wind.

In the next moment, a large portion of the hull of the ship exploded as Noctis was pushed through it by a vicious strike. Both Saints disappeared into the darkness of the ancient vessel, which then shuddered, hinting that their dreadful battle continued.

Sunny froze, looking between the swaying colossus and the wreckage of the ancient ship. His mind was empty, and he did not know what to do…

Or rather, he could not decide what took priority.

There was not much time to decide, however.

Gritting his teeth, he looked around, searching for his friends.

Kai seemed to be knocked out by the blast a little, but Effie was already on her feet, staring in the same direction as he.

There was a grim expression on her face.

Sunny groaned, then slowly stood up.

"Effie… any... any ideas?"

She hesitated for a moment, then flashed him a pale smile.

"I guess it's this time…"

He frowned.

"What time?"

The young girl glanced at the wreckage, and then said wistfully:

"You know, that time when, in the movies, someone says to split up!"

Sunny stared at her, not entirely understanding what she meant.

Effie's gaze slowly shifted to the kneeling colossus and, in a steady voice, she said:

"Give me the knife… the Ruby one. I'll deal with the big bastard. You and Kai go and find Cassie, then help the lunatic… in that order. He's not going to die any time soon, anyway..."

He stared at her from above, deep shadows veiling his eyes. Sunny had a lot to say… but in the end, he simply asked:

"Are you sure?"

The young girl laughed.

"Don't I look like I'm sure? Relax, doofus… it's just an immortal Transcendent. We better deal with that thing before it escapes the cage, anyway…"

Sunny gritted his teeth, then summoned the Covetous Coffer and handed Effie the knife that they had gotten from the creature in the lake.

There was no time to say anything else, and no need to. Effie took the knife, gripped his wrist for a moment, and then dashed away without looking back.

Sunny helped Kai stand up and, supporting the disoriented archer, hurried toward the wreckage of the crashed ship. As they ran, an ugly expression appeared on his bestial face.

'Don't you die on me, you freeloader… your sleeping pod is still in my house, dammit! Do you even how much hassle it is to properly dispose of a corpse… if you have any conscience, you will stay alive!'

…Behind him, Effie ran to the edge of the island, summoning the Dusk Shard. As the swirl of sparks surrounded her hand, she jumped up and landed on a toppled pillar that lay parallel to the ground, rising slightly at the far end.

The young girl rushed across the long pillar and then leaped high into the air with all her prodigious strength, flying straight toward the kneeling giant's chest.

As she flew, Effie activated the single enchantment of the heavy shield.

[Forged from a shard of a fallen star, this shield contains the weight of the heavens. Depending on the heart of its wielder, it can be light as a feather or heavy as regret.]

She poured her essence into the Memory, making it feel as heavy as a mountain on her hand.

A moment later, Effie crashed into the colossus with all that weight.

The impact was not nearly as devastating as when Cassie had brought her ship down from the sky.

But since Sun Prince was yet to regain his balance, it was just enough to push his upper body a little bit back.

...And that little bit was enough to send Sun Prince toppling over.

A few seconds later, both of them — the giant immortal and the little girl — disappeared from view, falling over the edge of the island.

Down into the empty darkness of the Sky Below.