Mordret talked with Sunless over the course of several days, recovering his energy little by little.
At that point, he decided not to change his tone too much—just be… nicer.
They talked about how the Chained Isles were formed, ways to escape the divine fire burning below that would soon reach Sunny, and about Beastie…
'I'm going to miss him…'
It hurt Mordret more than he expected, even though he had known it would.
Beastie had been his first creation through the reflections. A long-time companion.
Then he heard Sunny's tense voice:
"You, uh… you're not gonna be mad at me for killing your pet, right?"
Mordret let out a deep sigh before answering:
"Mad… at you? Why would I be mad at you? You're not to blame for what happened to us."
'It's actually good, in a way. That little stunt of yours is what'll grant me my freedom.'
After explaining how he had created his "echo," and revealing that he had his First Nightmare at twelve, Mordret's energy was drained once again, forcing him to rest for a few more days.
---
"A name? You know, people have different names, just like different faces… But I suppose you're asking for a specific one. I used to have one, I guess."
Sunny frowned.
"Mordret… or rather… Prince Mordret, I suppose."
Sunny opened and closed his mouth a few times before asking suspiciously:
"Prince? What are you the prince of?"
Mordret laughed.
"Nothing! I'm a Prince of Nothing. Nothing at all…"
Sunny stared into the darkness with an incredulous expression and shrugged.
"Right. Whatever. Nice to meet you… Your Highness. My name's Sunless, by the way. Unfortunately, no title."
Mordret was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"I assume you know about Dreampawn, and that he took me when I was younger, right?"
Sunless froze, his pale face stiff.
He must have been wondering how Mordret knew what he was thinking.
"You're pretty careless. Your face opened up in shock for a second after I said my name. That just confirmed it."
Mordret wasn't offended or anything. He simply took the chance to tease him.
"Anyway, Sunless is a pretty uncommon name… did your mother have a poetic soul, by any chance?"
"H-how do you know?!"
"Relax, it was just a guess. Now then, do you want to hear about the flame or not?"
Sunless stared into the void in disbelief before sighing in resignation.
"Fine. Tell me about the flame, please."
The seven reflections smiled calmly.
"There's not much to say. The heat of those flames is absolutely lethal. Unless you have some way to fly, you're in trouble. Which I assume you don't… otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation, right?"
Sunny seemed to think for a second before replying:
"…I can control the direction of my fall, but yeah, I don't have true flight."
He hesitated, then added reluctantly:
"For what it's worth, my Aspect Ability lets me turn incorporeal and also teleport short distances."
"Oh… those are good abilities. I think it might be possible," Mordret commented.
Sunny looked into the darkness, hopeful.
"Really?"
"Turning incorporeal will help against being cooked by the heat, but it won't save you from the divine flame itself. However, all is not lost. Even if you can't fly, you still have some mobility. With a bit of luck, you might be able to dodge the conflagrations."
Sunless's expression turned resentful.
"I already figured that out on my own. Tell me something I don't know, genius."
Mordret laughed.
"Alright. But only because you asked so nicely…"
He continued:
"There is, in fact, a path through the divine flame. An empty rift in the tapestry of stars where none of it remains. If you find it, you might survive."
Sunless's voice sounded calm.
"Why didn't you tell me that earlier? And how far am I from this rift?"
Mordret sighed.
"How would I know? It's not like I know exactly where you are. Besides, I never managed to find it myself. The Sky Below is vast and deadly, after all…"
Sunny tilted his head and asked cautiously:
"If you never found it, how do you know it's there?"
'Seriously, this is getting annoying…' Why did Sunny have to ask so many questions?
"The Rupture… it should be somewhere near the Rupture."
His energy drained again.
---
'He'll manage… the thread of fate must be guiding him.'
And once more, Mordret was alone.
"How boring… I think the first thing I'll do after getting out of here is eat something sweet. And maybe make a few friends. What do you think?"
'Or we could kill Saint Cormac while he's fighting Saint Tyris. What do you say?'
Mordret fell silent.
"That's not a bad idea… having the body of a Saint would be quite useful…"
The gears began to turn, and Mordret would move them however he pleased.
---
"Good luck, Sunless… I hope you survive…"
Mordret offered his final words to Sunny, who was about to cross the Rupture.
From now on, it would all depend on him.