He cringed back, thinking of what happened last night with Tyris. In all honesty, the Roan part was the worst of it all.
Yet it didn't matter. His plan was now in full throttle. Mordret would be coming soon, the only problem being how he should set this up.
"So you have finally come, bastard son of Valor... I've been awaiting you."
No, that didn't sound good enough. It made him sound like a young master or something like that.
"So you've come! My rival! My foe! Prince of nothing!"
No, way too over the top. It didn't align with him at all, and Mordret probably wouldn't vibe with that either.
"A fool, you are... coming here alone... I must commend you though. So face me, Prince of Nothing."
Okay, they were getting somewhere now. He just needed to add some punch, some flare, some pizzazz.
"You dare step up to me, you lowly bastard? Do you not have a clue of who I am? I am the bastard son of fate, and your sister's future husband."
"Care to repeat that last part, Sunless?"
He jumped back, almost falling off the edge of the island into the endless sky below. He coughed a bit into his hand before his voice turned meek.
"How... how long have you been there?"
...
"Since the beginning."
Damnation!
Well, it didn't matter. Mordret would be dying soon anyways, so this shame would vanish when he did as well.
"Ignoring your theatrics, let's skip the catching up, old friend, and get straight into what you've invited me here for."
He could feel his lips attempt to tug at his cheeks, though he didn't stop them from rising. Smiling at Mordret, he lifted his hand up and beckoned him with the movement of his fingers.
"Come into my soul sea and find out. I'll tell you there... everything I know."
In a blink, the world turned black. Once again, him and Mordret were alone in his very soul sea. Mordret, though, seemed wary of it now due to the ever so present nightmare creatures resting right behind him.
"I'm surprised you listened, trying to speed up the plot now, are we?"
...
"What could that mean now, my friend?"
...
"Anyways, it seems you sure are confident you can get out of whatever I'm obviously scheming, isn't it?"
Mordret's eyes narrowed, the ever so obnoxious smile still remaining on his face.
"Why don't we get to the point, Sunless? We're both busy men after all."
He should have stalled for enough time, so now it was time for the final piece to be placed.
"Right here, right now, I'll spill everything I know about Anvil personally."
Silence consumed the still sea for seconds before a voice rang out once more.
"I know nothing."
In the next second, he could already see Mordret making the move to leave his soul sea.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
A wicked smile spread across his face, because now victory was fully in his hand.
"You see, I cashed in a favor with good old Saint Tyris and had her drop us far into the sky below."
For the first time, he could see Mordret's expression crack. It wasn't a crack of annoyance, or anger, or curiosity. It was a crack of the ugliness that lay below his human skin.
"So this was your plan? I didn't expect a suicide mission from you."
He knew Mordret didn't even believe his own words. After all, there were plenty of ways for him to escape and get back to Chained Isles. But for Mordret? There were no mirrors, and no creatures down here. The last thing he would see would be the flames that would consume him.
That is, if he leaves. If he wins the soul battle and takes over Sunny's body, the same outcome would happen though.
It's either we die... or I live.
Though he wouldn't engage in this battle if he wasn't 100% sure that it would be the latter.
Now all that mattered was who made the first move. Sadly for him, Mordret seemed to gain his composure once more.
"Seeing as how confident you are, I'm assuming you sent someone to fetch you. Would that be correct?"
Curse his flaw. The pressure on his head already began.
"I suppose it would."
Mordret's smile returned once more, perhaps whatever little worries he had had vanished.
"I don't see why you're so happy. Shouldn't you be scared that you're about to die? Well, not that you can feel anything anyways."
Sunny felt the shadows stir in his very soul sea, which was a good sign. It meant that it was finally time to put an end to this.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but I cannot feel fear. It is also wrong that I can't feel anything at all. In fact, I'm feeling a lot in this very moment."
Around ten minutes had passed since they entered his soul sea, which meant that he had five minutes left to wrap this up.
"You know, Sunless, me and you are a lot alike."
For some reason, those words hit a nerve. Not only to be compared to someone he hated, but also the fact that it was simply untrue.
"No, we're not. Not at all. For the reason you just said, I do feel fear."
He took a step forward, summoning an Azure Blade as his eyes met Mordret's.
"Even despite the victory being in my hand, I'm still in fear at this moment. In fact, I'm always in fear."
He doesn't know what it's like running from beasts in human skin in the darkest parts of night, the type of dark where the brown bark of the wood and the lush green leaves become nothing but inky black oppressive figures. And he'll never get the chance to find out either.
"And that very reason is why I'm guaranteed to win."
A slow clap came from Mordret, a smile on his face like always.
"A very nice speech, though I must say it could use some work."
In the next moment, he found Mordret lunging at him. He must be trying to finish this quickly instead of taking out his soul cores one by one due to the creatures slumbering in his soul.
Sadly for the bastard son of Valor, the Azure Blade was never swung at him. Rather, it was shot at Sunny's own soul core. Of course, before it could hit, it was dismissed. But the danger of it was just enough for the nightmare creatures slumbering to come out of their sleep.
"Oh."
Checkmate.
---
In the sky below, Chain Breaker, steered by Cassie, was sailing through the air as if it was a sea. Kai scanned around, looking for a familiar figure.
Luckily, it was falling right past him in the moment. He shot his hand down, and the figure shot his up, latching onto it.
"Kai, you and Aiko really are cute, you know that, right?"
...
"I should drop you."
After being pulled onto the deck, he flopped on it like a fish. He didn't know how to feel. After all, Mordret was dead now. For some reason, it felt wrong, but he could ignore it.
Now his main goal was to go tell Morgan the news.
By the time he arrived home, it was pitch black out, yet the lights were still on. She must have been waiting for him.
With a big smile on his face, he opened the door, only to be met with a fist smashing into it.