The flying ship was moving through the deep darkness of the Sky Below, escorted by fourteen stone fiends. With the ocean of flames burning below and vast nothingness above, it seemed as though they were sailing through purgatory.
Noctis stood at the steering oars, slouched, with a pale face and dark circles under his eyes. He did not seem to be doing too well, but his hand was steady as it controlled the ship.
On the upper deck, the Sailor Dolls were preparing for battle. They were moving wooden ballistae into position and loading heavy bolts into them, with an especially fearsome siege engine placed at the bow. The bolts themselves were not that simple, too. Their surfaces were carved with runes, which shimmered with stored Soul Essence and brimmed with power.
The mannequins themselves were armed, as well, their elegant liveries replaced with chainmail. They carried heavy bows, sabers, and hatchets — both to kill the enemies and defend the ship from boarding hooks. There were plenty of quivers full of arrows around, as well as barrels of water to douse the flames should the sails catch on fire.
The sails, meanwhile, were turned at a strange angle to catch the hot air rising from below, surrounding the vessel from the sides like wings.
The ship was flying swiftly, but in the emptiness of the Sky Below, it was hard to measure how much distance they were covering. Sunny could only tell that their speed was tremendous because of the powerful torrent of Essence flowing through the ancient wood, and the howling of the wind that was being cut by the armored ram of the ship.
At this rate, they were going to reach the Ivory City soon.
Dan Heng had summoned her usual garment Memory of black, white, and green, resized to fit her… current body. Her horns shone like golden branches while spear rested over her shoulder.
March was standing nearby, carrying her bow with a carefree expression on her face. The little girl wore a layer of leather armor over her dress, serving as additional protection to add on to her Transcendent garment.
Veliona's slung her head over the end of the ship, staring down at the sea of flames. Every once and a while, Sunny had to pull her back to make sure she didn't fall…
Unfortunately, she didn't have an armor Memory of her own — all of them went to Seele, wherever she was. So, Sunny let her borrow the Puppeteer's Shroud for a while. The silk armor wrapped around her like a cocoon.
As for himself, he had wanted to use the Mantle of the Underworld for it's utility, which was far superior to the Undying Chain. Unfortunately, he didn't want to give everyone another look at his armor, potentially allowing them to connect the dots between Mongrel and himself.
So, he settled for the impregnable defense of the Undying Chain. In his four hands, he held the Cruel Sight, Evelyn, and Morgan's Warbow. Under his gauntlet, the Ghastly Hunger was waiting to unleash the two Aspect Abilities it held — Shadow Manipulation and Frictionless, the latter removing all friction from a target after hitting it.
Three Shadows rested in his soul, ready to be sent forth to destroy and slaughter.
He was ready…
Well, as ready as he could be.
Just as Sunny thought it, Noctis suddenly moved, and then looked up, a wild smile slowly appearing on his lips. His voice sounded hoarse, but clear:
"...Ah. They finally sensed us."
The sorcerer grinned, and then moved one of the oars, sending the ship flying up. His eyes glinted with distant moonlight.
"No point in hiding anymore. We are close enough, anyway… oh, what a night to be alive, my friends!"
His laughter rolled across the deck as the ancient vessel climbed higher and higher, swiftly approaching the dark side of the Chained Island.
Sunny stared up, knowing that just in a few minutes, the end of this Nightmare was going to begin.
He could already see the dark underbelly of the Kingdom of Hope above them… and hear the distant whisper of war drums.
Caught by surprise, the two armies were hurriedly preparing to meet them.
Sunny sighed.
'Where the hell is Sparkle…?'