A tense silence settled in the opulent residence of the mad sorcerer… who, meanwhile, was staring at Sunny with an indescribable expression on his pale, beautiful face. Noctis didn't seem happy at all despite finally learning the secret that he had been searching for all this time.
Noctis stared at him for a while, then shook his head.
"No, there is no way for me to invade the Temple. At least not without destroying it completely, which would doom that friend of yours along with the rest of the sect… sadly, that is also one of the places I can't infiltrate in disguise… uh, infiltrate it again, I mean…"
Sunny glanced at Veliona, who simply shrugged. Turning back towards Noctis, he asked:
"If that is the case… what if we infiltrate it, instead?"
The sorcerer stared at them with surprise, and then laughed:
"Sunless and Veliona… what a strange pair you are! Do you not know fear? I have just told you how frightening the War Maidens are!"
Sunny averted his gaze.
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that place! Unfortunately, I have already invested two whole Soul Shards into that girl! If I don't get her out, I'll be at a loss!"
The immortal Transcendent gave him a dubious look, and then shook his head.
"Somehow, I believe it. But no, no, it doesn't matter! Even if you are willing, you can't get into the Temple of the Chalice. Only women are allowed inside, and not any women at that. They will only give passage to female warriors of utmost skill, those who are veiled in dread and the smell of numerous bloody battlefields… maybe with a couple of lowly servants, at best."
Noctis sent a deliberate look towards Veliona.
"Could you say that you meet those requirements?"
Sunny scoffed before she even had the chance to speak.
"She definitely doesn't have the skill to get in… no offense. But… that won't be much of a problem."
Noctis blinked a couple of times and looked at him with confused amusement.
"Uh… how so? Sunless…"
The sorcerer gave him a strange look, and then asked with a mischievous smile:
"...Is there something I don't know about you?"
Sunny glanced at him darkly, scowled, and answered in a sharp tone:
"There's plenty! But that was not what I meant. I just have a female warrior of passable skill... at hand."
With that, he summoned Saint. Two ruby flames ignited in the depths of his shadow, and then she stepped out of it, wreathed in darkness. Her graceful figure appeared in the middle of the sorcerer's residence, and then the Shadow turned her head slightly, staring at the master of the place with cold indifference.
Noctis looked back at her, his eyes widening. His lips trembled.
"That… that…"
The sorcerer leaned forward, his expression frozen, and then suddenly clenched his fists with excitement:
"...That armor! The design! The fit! Oh, gods… who forged that masterpiece?! Sunless, please tell me!"
Saint tilted her head a little, while Sunny and Veliona stared at the immortal Transcendent with inexorable expressions. After a few moments of dead silence, Sunny cleared his throat.
"Uh… actually, I am not sure. Prince of the Underworld, I think. Wait, haven't you seen me wearing a similar armor?"
Noctis glanced at him with confusion, then waved a hand dismissively:
"Ah, if I did, you must have not done it justice. This beauty, however… so it was Hope's little brother, huh? Who knew he had such impeccable taste!"
Finally, the sorcerer became aware of his surroundings and moved his gaze up, staring right into Saint's ruby eyes. His smile widened, but then grew rather strange. He glanced at Sunny with confusion:
"Sunless… this is one of your Shadows, yes? How come she is more powerful than you? Oh, did you inherit this sublime creature from the Shadow Lord? That rogue… he had been hiding such a treasure from me all that time!"
Sunny did not like the way Noctis was looking at Saint one bit. In fact, he suddenly felt a very strong impulse to wipe the lecherous smile off the immortal's face… which would not have been very wise, considering who that immortal actually was…
He narrowed his eyes.
"...No. If you must know, I've created her myself. And also, she can hear you. Have some manners, will you? Of course, if you want me to have your head, that can be arranged."
Noctis froze, then flinched and suddenly turned very courteous.
"Uh… sorry…"
He glanced at Saint, then walked around her, studying the taciturn Demon with a very serious expression. The Shadow didn't move, seemingly uncaring of his presence. Finally, the sorcerer returned to his previous spot and smiled.
"That Shadow of yours might indeed be allowed into the Temple of the Chalice. She has... a presence about her. Even I am impressed! The two of you will pose as her servants, I assume?"
Sunny nodded. The sorcerer turned away, thinking, then said thoughtfully:
"That… might actually work. Once you are inside, you can find your friend and locate the Glass Knife. That will be extremely dangerous, but not impossible. If you succeed, I can ensure your safe escape… however…"
Noctis glanced at them, his expression growing somber.
"Sunless, Veliona… if things go wrong inside the Temple of the Chalice, even I won't be able to save you. You will be on your own… so ask yourself seriously whether or not rescuing your friend is worth risking your lives over. You can make new friends, you know… but you can only die once."
Veliona shrugged.
"Eh, at least it's more interesting than sitting around this place."
Sunny wasn't so quick to speak. After a while, he snorted and looked away.
"First of all, not my friend. Second of all, say, hypothetically, she was my friend… well, I've got to protect my valuables, right? Even if I could always get new friends, it's not like they'd be the exact same person. Once a person dies, there will never be anyone like them. Besides, who says that you can only die once? I have already died a hundred times, and that was just after meeting you… killing me is really a very troublesome endeavor…"
Sunny snickered.
"At the ver least, Shadows die twice, don't you think?"