Shadow Slave

'Mordret… he has taken Welthe.'

Sunny shifted, lowering the Cruel Sight and slightly turning its blade. His heart was full of unease, his mind in the throes of a dark premonition. The banished prince had already been monstrously powerful… how much more deadly would he become in a body of a Master?

A few things were now clear, at least. Out of the two Ascended knights, Welthe had been the more powerful one. Her Aspect possessed Abilities that could debilitate her enemies, all the while enhancing her own physique. That was why she had been the one to sap Mordret of a large portion of his strength and attack him.

And yet, it was strange to see that the Prince of Nothing had struggled to defeat her so much, and for so long. If he couldn't win against one of the Masters, how had he ever planned to face both?

However, if he had decided to take Welthe's body and thus couldn't harm it too much… that would explain his tardiness. Fighting an Ascended elite while not being allowed to wound her was a dreadfully harsh task.

Had Mordret been aiming for Welthe's body from the start, or had he changed his plans on the fly when the opportunity presented itself?

Was his intention to take Sunny as his vessel just a ruse, a misdirection… or was Sunny still in danger?

'No way… he already has a body of a Master. There is no reason to abandon it for the sake of mine. Right?'

"Ah! That is much, much better!"

Mordret straightened, then stretched, looking at his own arms with curiosity. He clenched Welthe's fists, then grimaced slightly and let his hands relax. Finally, the Prince of Nothing turned slightly and looked at Sunny with a smile.

"...Wouldn't you say, Sunless?"

Sunny lingered for a moment, then nodded cautiously.

"I guess. How does this work, exactly? Are you an Ascended now?"

Mordret's smile widened a little.

"So curious. Your inquisitive nature is truly worthy of an Academy researcher."

'Dodging the questions like always, huh?'

Sunny sensed the slender saber laying by the former Master's feet, then concentrated on the corpse of the female sentinel for a moment.

"So… what now? How are we going to escape this place before the Saint arrives?"

The Prince of Nothing bent down, picked up the saber, and sighed.

"Oh, that… don't worry. I do have a plan. It's just… I am not sure that you are going to like it very much, Sunless."

Sunny felt cold shivers running down his spine. Mordret's tone was still friendly, but the implication behind his words did not promise anything good.

'Bastard! He's going to double-cross me, isn't he?!'

Well… it's not like Sunny had not been planning to do the same.

He gritted his teeth, then said somberly:

"...We don't have to do this, you know. It is just like you said… there's no quarrel between us. We can just go our separate ways. Maybe even work together… uh, for a bit. Let's be friends?"

Mordret chuckled.

"Oh! I would like that very much. But, Sunless… if you really want to be my friend… why do you still have your eyes closed?"

He took a slightly awkward step forward, as if not yet entirely used to his new body.

"It's hard to trust someone who refuses to look you in the eye, you know. Why don't you look at me, huh, Sunless?"

Sunny paled, then backed away a little.

"I… I'd rather not. My eyelids hurt."

Mordret grinned.

"That is a pity. But oh well… to tell you the truth, we wouldn't have become real friends, anyway."

Sunny took another step back, then asked tensely:

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

The Prince of Nothing stopped smiling. When he spoke, Welthe's voice sounded cold and insidious, full of endless darkness:

"Do you take me for a fool? Did you really think that I would not smell the stench of Dreamspawn on you? Huh? You better tell me, Sunless… why did Asterion send you to the Chained Isles? Why hunt down my Beast? What is that abomination scheming now?"

Sunny scowled.

'...What?'

He was genuinely confused. If his eyes weren't closed, he would be blinking in surprise right now. Did Mordret really lose his mind?

"I have no idea what the hell you are talking about. What stench? Why would I be sent by Asterion? I've never met anyone by that name, let alone knowing anything about their schemes! Are you hearing yourself, you lunatic?!"

'Wait a minute… the prince… the Dreamspawn… could it be?'

Mordret froze, then tilted his head a little.

"Huh… how curious. You can't lie, so this must be the truth. But if you never met Asterion, why do you reek of Dreamspawn?"

Sunny grimaced, not wishing to answer. However, he had no choice. Surrendering to his Flaw, he uttered through gritted teeth:

"I… may have met another Dreamspawn."

The Prince of Nothing raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Really? Who?"

'Goddammit!'

Sunny clenched his fists, then said darkly:

"...Nephis."

Mordret frowned.

"Nephis… Nephis of the Immortal Flame clan? Wait, she is still alive?"

Sunny nodded, and the banished prince threw his head back, laughing.

"Oh! Oh, my! So there is another Dreamspawn walking the Dream Realm, and she is the daughter of Smile of Heaven and Broken Sword! This must be fate… ah, I wonder if the old bastard knows…"

While Mordret was laughing, Sunny was feeling cold all over. Not because of this sudden outburst, but because of what the Prince of Nothing had said right before.

'You can't lie… so this must be the truth. H—how does he know that I can't lie?'

Since when had Mordret known about his Flaw?

Had he simply figured it out after watching Sunny for a few months? No, that wasn't possible… Sunny had not spent that much time in the Dream Realm after escaping the Sky Below, and especially not communicating with a lot of people outside of selling them real-world items. He had not done anything to compromise himself…

What… what was going on?