737 Self-Reflection

After Solvane and Sun Prince had been defeated and the light of dawn washed over the shattered remains of the Kingdom of Hope, bringing with it the frenzied fury of the Ivory Dragon, Sunny knew that Sevirax would not be the only obstacle in their way.

Throughout all of it, he had never forgotten about Mordret. In truth, he was warier of the banished prince of Valor than he was of the immortal Saints, no matter how powerful and dreadful they were.

The full force of a great clan had failed to contain the Prince of Nothing. So what hope did Sunny have?

Of course, he was not sure that Mordret would end up as their adversary in this Nightmare. They were allies during this hellish trial, after all… at least in theory.

But he could not discount the possibility. The advice Master Jet had given Sunny before he ventured into the Seed stuck with him. Most of the hard-won wisdom she had shared in the past ended up being instrumental to his survival, so he made sure to remember her words.

For that reason, Sunny and Kai agreed on a very simple plan.

One of them took the Obsidian Knife, and the other took the Glass Knife. Depending on which of the immortals fell, one man was going to finish the job, while the other was going to prevent the Prince of Nothing from intervening, in case the need to do so arose.

As the saying went, it was unwise to put all your eggs in one basket…

The type of egg Sunny had the most experience with had belonged to a Great Devil, so he was not quite sure why exactly keeping eggs in a basket was so detrimental. But he did agree with the general idea.

And so, from the moment the frail old man appeared in his view, Sunny had pursued a single goal.

He had to keep the attention of Mordret and all five of his Reflections on himself.

Even though there was a small possibility that he could emerge victorious if the two of them clashed in earnest, Sunny did not consider his chances of defeating the banished prince in battle high… especially not while being exhausted after the furious assault on the flying fleet and devoid of the support of his Shadows.

He had never intended to actually fight the Mordret. All he wanted to do was to stall him.

For that reason, Sunny engaged Mordret in a lengthy conversation, created the false perception that he was still in possession of the Glass Knife by asking a few misleading questions, and provoked his opponent into revealing the five Reflections.

Perhaps the Prince of Nothing was poisoned by Hope enough to lose a small part of his cunning, or perhaps he fell for the trap that awaited most habitual liars and failed to account for how warped his impression of people was. Perhaps he underestimated how proficient Sunny grew in utilizing his Flaw for his own benefit.

In any case, for once, Mordret ended up as the one being manipulated instead of the one pulling the strings. Sunny might have not been stronger than him, but he did manage to outwit the banished prince.

Today, he turned out to be the more devious of the two, even if just barely. He won the fight without lifting a finger, using only a wooden chair and his devilish tongue.

Well… to be precise, he did not even use his tongue. He used a rock instead.

As soon as all Reflections revealed themselves, Kai started to move. And by the time he reached the Ivory Island… it was already too late to stop him.

Almost.

The Prince of Nothing still could have used his Aspect to move through the reflections and invade the archer's soul. However… Kai was wearing the anvil amulet that Sunny had given him.

This talisman had been forged by the Sovereign of Valor himself, and made the wearer immune to Mordret's soul possession. Even if the banished prince jumped through the reflections into Kai's eyes, he was not going to be able to possess him.

That left only the Reflections, which were currently turned into copies of Sunny and wielded his Divine Aspect. Each had access to the Memories he wore and his Aspect Abilities… including Shadow Step. They could still reach the island in time to prevent Kai from delivering the killing blow to Sevirax.

...Sunny had to stop them at all costs and buy his friend a few precious seconds.

But that was easier said than done!

As a small human figure streaked from the darkness of the Sky Below toward the slumped silhouette of the Ivory Dragon, Mordret swiftly turned and narrowed his eyes, instantly realizing that he had been played.

Before he could react, however, a tide of shadows suddenly exploded from the small lantern hanging on Sunny's waist, enveloping everything around them in impenetrable darkness. The light of the sun was swiftly destroying the shadows, but at the same time, it was being devoured by the lantern, creating a strange equilibrium.

The shadows themselves were ancient, deep, and resilient. Sunny had collected them from the dark sides of the islands surrounding the Sanctuary before departing for the war.

With no light remaining around them, there were also no reflections. With no reflections, Mordret was robbed of a large part of his power for a moment.

That did not help at all against the five Reflections, though, since each of them was as comfortable in the shadows as Sunny himself was. They were his perfect copies, after all…

Knowing that, Sunny decided to try a desperate gamble.

The Mantle of the Underworld was still augmented by four shadows, its [Underworld Armament] enchantment empowering the Dying Wish's effect manifold. Sunny himself was strongly affected by the compelling aura of the charm, feeling an almost irresistible urge to throw himself at the Reflections and tear them apart.

However, this sensation was swiftly disappearing, since he had already dismissed the iron statuette.

Instead, he summoned the Broken Oath into the onyx armor.

…And since the five Reflections were mirroring him, each of them reflected that change, too. Only the Demon turned out to be smart enough to stop himself and consider the consequences. The Beasts and Monsters failed to realize the result of their actions in time.

Mordret moved, and so did the shadow devils.

But just as they did…

The vile charm fully weaved itself into existence. Augmented by the enchantment of the Mantle of the Underworld, its soul-eroding aura was strengthened and flowed outward like invisible poison. The armor, however, was itself augmented four times over by Sunny's shadows, making the empowering effect tremendously more pronounced.

And on top of that…

Four out of the five Reflections suddenly emanated the same ferocious aura.

The five overcharged fields of soul erosion merged together, turning into something far more vicious and destructive than the sum of its parts.

Into something truly horrid.

Even though the Mantle of the Underworld provided Sunny with a substantial degree of resistance against soul attacks, he couldn't help but let out a scream. The Reflections opened their mouths in agony, too, although no sound came out of them.

Mordret, however…

Mordret did not enjoy the same protection that Sunny and the Reflections received from the onyx armor.