Noctis seed to have regained his composure sowhat. He stared at his half-eaten apple with a somber expression, then threw it away and sat down himself.
A heavy sigh escaped from his lips.
"The three things you asked for... are not that easy to accomplish."
The immortal glanced at Veliona, then raised one elegant finger:
"I can help your friend, Veliona, recover from her wounds... sowhat. Those burns were not delivered by mundane flas, and so, even I would not be able to restore that which was destroyed completely. With my help, she will be able to regain most of her strength and vitality. I can also repair the damage done to her soul. But the flas... their mark will remain. Unless you want to build her a completely new vessel, of course..."
Noctis smiled, and then glanced at one of the wooden mannequins, which was in the process of disposing of the carelessly discarded apple.
"Sothing like that, but much better!"
Veliona sent a dubious look at the dolls.
"Can you fix my eyes?"
The sorcerer nodded.
"Sowhat, at least. I can create an artificial eye to replace the missing one... sadly, I’m not sure how to go about healing the blindness in your remaining eye. There is no physical damage done to it, and my intuition tells that a new one will only bring about more issues. As for the rest of your injuries, I’m afraid to say that although the pain will diminish slightly, it will never go away completely. If you agree to transfer your soul into a doll, on the other hand, your strength will diminish slightly... but you won’t have to endure that suffering anymore. I can also promise to make a truly beautiful vessel for you, one worthy of carrying even the most radiant of souls."
Veliona thought for a few monts, before answering:
"This body is just fine."
Noctis gazed at her for a few seconds, mumbling under his breath.
"What kind of..."
After a few monts, Noctis turned away and shrugged:
"Well... as you wish. The treatnt will be long and painful, but it can be done."
Then, he raised a second finger and glanced at Sunny.
"The other thing you asked for... lots of my coins, was it? To be honest... how do I say this... uh... no?"
Sunny blinked, surprised.
"What? Why?!"
The sorcerer yawned, then made a helpless gesture with his hands.
"What can I say? Making those coins takes ti. Do you know how long it took to create a few thousand before? Each coin contains a piece of a Corrupted soul, after all. That is the reason why they are so valuable, precious, and coveted by everyone in the Kingdom of Hope."
He thought for a few monts and added absentmindedly:
"Oh... now that you reminded , only most of the souls were Corrupted. I think there were a few humans I fed to the Mimic, as well. Regardless, all those coins were consud when that poor fool claid the Obsidian Knife from the altar. So... if you really want to make new ones... I guess I can quickly kill everyone here in the Sanctuary and cook up a hundred or two?"
Sunny shivered, then hurriedly raised his hands:
"No, no! No need! Uh... let’s not kill anyone, yet..."
Noctis smiled.
"Are you sure? Well, alright. So then..."
He raised the third finger.
"Lastly, the Temple of the Chalice... I am sorry to say this, but there is absolutely no chance of ever going anywhere near that place again. Not that I could, even if I wanted to. And I don’t. Ever!"
Sunny stared at the sorcerer with a deep scowl.
"Why? What is so terrible about that place?"
Noctis shivered, then sighed and nervously seeped his wine.
"Oh, it’s not... it’s not that it’s terrible. It’s just that n aren’t allowed to enter the Temple, unless they are serving a woman. They put that rule in place... uh... after the last ti I visited..."
Sunny really tried to not let his face change, and simply glared at Noctis, his eye twitching. Uncomfortable under that murderous gaze, the sorcerer shrunk and looked away.
A low growl escaped from Sunny’s mouth.
"Who cares? You are one of the Chain Lords. What can they do if you decide to break that rule?"
Noctis chuckled nervously.
"You don’t get it! Chain Lord or not... you see, Sunless, as I said, my lands beca sowhat of a refuge for those who seek it. And one of the groups of refugees I sheltered was the remains of an ancient... an ancient and rather terrifying sect. This sect takes in orphaned girls, especially those born with red hair, and trains them to beco perfect vessels of War. His deadly tools, priestesses, and heralds... the War Maidens are not soone to be trifled with."
He grew silent for a mont, and then added:
"...In fact, they only needed my protection because there was a schism within the sect, and one of their disciples left to create her own cult. However... since no one can really leave that sect alive... her departure was not amicable. Those who survived it ca here to build the Temple of the Chalice, and remained there since. Oh, and that runaway disciple of theirs... I think you have already t her..."
Sunny grew cold and leaned back, feeling both of his hearts skip a couple of beats. Then, he closed his eyes for a few monts, and finally said in a hoarse voice:
"Do you an to tell ... that the sect that dwells in the Temple of the Chalice... is where Solvane cos from?"
Noctis nodded and gave him a ghostly smile:
"...Exactly! That is where that fiend was raised. And there is a bunch of little monsters just like her being trained there as we speak. I an, no one can really compare to Solvane, but they are not too far off! So you can understand why I am reluctant to break my word and make enemies of the War Maidens... right?"
Sunny remained silent for a while, and then sighed heavily.
Holding the erald amulet in one of his calloused hands, he thought:
"Well... tough luck. Because that is exactly where the Glass Knife is..."
Despite his grim mood, Sunny felt a bit of vindictive satisfaction when he saw the sorcerer’s handso face pale, and the glass of wine slip from his hand...
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