Sunny stared at the immortal sorcerer, stunned by those words. The scale and scope of the bloodshed and adversity Noctis was striving for wereā¦ were simply beyond comprehension. And yet, he had confessed this terrible desire with the same carefree, nonchalant, jovial attitudeā¦ as though he was indeed talking about brewing tea instead of waging war on four deathless Saints and their armies.
Sunny remembered the first time he saw Noctisā¦ bloodied, crestfallen, sitting motionlessly in front of the fire with a diamond sickle laying at his feet, its blade marred with crimson.
A grim and somber thought formed in his mind all by itself:
āInsaneā¦ you are insane. All of you areā¦ā
He flinched, then removed his trembling hand from the emerald amulet.
Noctis threw his head back and laughed, as if he heard the funniest joke in the world. The silent sailor dolls stood around him, motionless, staring into emptiness with their crudely carved eyes. The scene that was strange and fantastical a few moments ago suddenly seemed threatening and eerie.
After a while, the sorcerer grew quiet, then glanced at Sunny with a mischievous smile and asked:
āYes, indeed. I could not have said it better myself. All of us are insane. But donātā¦ donāt you get it yet, Sunless? Donāt you understand why?ā
Sunny frowned, then shook his head.
āWhat the hell is he trying to say?ā
How was he supposed to know why everyone in this damned Nightmare seemed completely madā¦
And then, something moved in his mind. A seed of a thoughtā¦ a nascent hint of understanding.
His pupils narrowed slightly.
There was somethingā¦ strange about the Kingdom of Hope. He had first sensed it after escaping the Red Colosseum and facing Solvane, that beautiful and utterly demented fiendā¦ her actions made a perverse, and yet perfect sense. But there was still something wrong about her.
Back then, he had felt a vague suspicion. Something seemed out of place, something didnāt make sense. And after, when he had been thrust into the neverending nightmares, this feeling only grew stronger. He just had no time to think about it.
Everyone here seemed slightlyā¦ or greatlyā¦ off. Every emotion was sharper and cut deeper, every vice or virtue grew out of control until it turned into a destructive obsession. He had experienced it all, lived through all of it in the nightmares over and over again.
Pain, sorrow, tragedyā¦ madness.
Even Sunny himself was affected by this insidious strangeness. His single-minded obsession with learning how to weave, the sudden intensity of his affection toward Elyas, the subsequent crushing heartbreak over the young manās death, the unquenching hatred he had felt for the black steedā¦ all of those things were not exactly out of his character, but slightly more consuming than they should have been.
Remembering the past few months, Sunny shivered.
āWaitā¦ waitā¦ā
Feverishly, he tried to recall all he knew about this Nightmare. The seven knives, the seven immortalsā¦ a thousand years of solemn dutyā¦ the terrible torture one of the rules of the Ivory City had been subjected to by his own brotherā¦ the destruction of the Sacred Groveā¦ the Shadow Lord making a choice to take a cowardās way out before, beforeā¦
Before what?
Suddenly, an expression of shocked understanding appeared on Sunnyās face.
He looked at Noctis for a while, and then cautiously picked up the emerald amulet. A single word formed in his mind:
āHope?ā
The sorcerer smiled, then nodded and looked at the vast expanse of the shattered kingdom below them.
āā¦Indeed. Hope.ā
Noctis took a sip of wine, the smile disappearing from his face. A few moments later, he said indifferently:
āThe Lord of Light bound Hope with seven brilliant shackles, and made those shackles eternal. That was usā¦ me and the rest of the Chain Lords. He entrusted each of us with the fate of another, and a solemn duty to never let the Demon escape. And, for a few centuries, everything was fineā¦ā
His face grew dark and cold. The sorcerer remained silent for a while, and then continued:
āBut slowly, we grew tired. Doubt found its way into our hearts. Eternityā¦ eternity is a heavy burden, Sunless. And under its weight, unnoticed, one of us grew twisted. So, another one made a choice to uproot the corruptionā¦ that was how the first of the Chain Lords died. Aidre, my dear friendā¦ murdered by that wicked slayer, Solvane, her beautiful grove burned to the ground.ā
Noctis remained motionless, but the wooden mannequins surrounding them suddenly clenched their fists, their fingers splintering from the immense pressure. Their crude faces did not move, but Sunny could feel an almost palpable feeling of fury radiating from their figures.
The sorcerer sighed.
āā¦And so, all of our fates were sealed. Yes, six shackles still remained. But Hopeās prison wasnāt perfect anymore. Her will, her insidious influence sipped out, little by little, infecting us allā¦ slowly devouring the whole kingdom, every living being in it, from the smallest insect to the mightiest immortal, igniting our desires, twisting them, changing us into something different. Something terrible, rampant, and vile.ā
He laughed.
āOh! Of course, none of us noticed it for a long, long time. Hundreds of years, even. Maybe only Shadowā¦ and by the time the rest of us understood, at least those who were still sane enough, it was already too late. The whole of the Kingdom of Hope had been driven mad by its former ruler. Had been turned into a vicious hell. We were all taken by Hope.ā
Noctis smiled and sipped his wine, then chuckled.
āSo, yeah, Sunless. All of us here are insaneā¦ I thought you would have known already, judging by the scars covering your body. The Warmongers are all insane, and so is their leader, Solvane. The citizens of the Ivory City are also mad, just as their two rulers are. The One in the North is perhaps the craziest of us all. Wellā¦ except for me, of course! I am the maddest person in all of the Kingdom of Hope, I would have you know.ā
Sunny stared at the gleefully smiling sorcerer, suddenly overwhelmed by terror.
āThat damned Seedā¦ that damned Mordret! Curse the day he told me about how rare and precious it is!ā
The sorcerer chuckled.
āUhā¦ well, I donāt know who Mordret, and what seed you are talking about. However, there is one thing I do know. Actually, itās a question. That questionā¦ it has been tormenting me for centuries, Sunless. Do you know what that question is? What was the seed of my personal madness?ā
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Sunny frowned, then slowly shook his head.
Noctis lingered for a few moments, then looked away and said with a wistful smile:
āThat is a question Aidre asked me, a long time ago. You seeā¦ if the Lord of Light wanted the seven of us to keep Hope imprisoned, foreverā¦ā
His smile widened slightly, then suddenly dimmed.
āā¦Then why did he give each of us a key to her freedom?ā