***
Sunny spent a few more days plummeting into the void. By now, he was having trouble remembering what it even felt like, to not be falling. The darkness seemed to be eternal and everpresent, as though he had always been here, in its empty embrace, and all of his actual life was just a strange dream.
'Maybe it was?'
No... no, it wasn't. He was almost sure.
By the time the voice returned, the void had changed slightly. Not only were the distant shimmering lights now closer and brighter, but it also felt as if the air was getting warmer.
Sunny was in his usual spot, sitting cross-legged in the center of the treasure chest and training to better control the flow of shadow essence. On the surface of the lid near him was a dark longbow and a quiver of black arrows.
"...You practice archery?"
Sunny opened his eyes and glanced into the darkness, then shrugged.
"Not really. But I hope to learn a bit of it soon."
He made a grimace and nodded toward his broken arm:
"I do need two functioning hands before I'll be able to, though."
The bow and the quiver of arrows were the same he had entrusted to Saint before. Both of the Memories were Ascended, but only of the first tier. The bow's enchantments made it incredibly strong and sturdy, while the only enchantment that the arrows possessed was that they came as a whole quiver instead of a single one.
His broken arm, meanwhile, was healing. He could already move his fingers, but the process was far from over. He was halfway there, though.
Sunny healed much faster than mundane humans, and even other Awakened. He was sure that in another week or so, he would be able to take off the splint and draw the black bow.
The voice lingered, then said:
"We had no time to discuss the divine flames last time."
Sunny nodded.
"Indeed."
Then, he remembered something and asked:
"Oh, by the way… what do I call you? Do you have a name? It's a bit awkward to keep thinking of you simply as the Voice."
The voice laughed.
"A name? I used to have a name, I guess."
Sunny sighed.
"Yeah? Well, what is it?"
The void lingered for a while, then answered with amusement:
"...Mordret. Or, rather... Prince Mordret, I guess."
Sunny opened and close his mouth a couple of times, then asked with suspicion in his voice:
"Prince? What are you the prince of?"
Mordret laughed.
"Nothing! I am a Prince of Nothing. Nothing at all…"