As they walked, the sorcerer suddenly spoke:
"I thought a lot about what you have told me, Sunless. About wanting to return home."
Sunny glanced at him with surprise, but did not say anything.
Noctis remained silent for a few moments, and then said in a wistful tone:
"I used to have a home too, you know? A long time ago. There was a beautiful temple where my siblings and I grew up, being taught by priests and priestesses. It was surrounded by a vast forest where we played and hunted. There was a lake where we caught fish and swam to escape the summer's heat, without a care in the world."
The smile slowly disappeared from his face, and his eyes shone softly, reflecting the pale moonlight.
"...I returned to that place some time ago. Ah, but it was not... it changed. The temple lay in ruins, the forest had been chopped down. The lake had dried up. Everything felt unfamiliar and strange, like a distant dream. And for a moment, I felt as if my whole life was just a dream that I have dreamt... and maybe was dreaming still."
He paused, sighed heavily, then suddenly smiled and looked at Sunny.
"But hey, by then, I already had this. This sanctuary that I have built with my own two hands, the people that I saved, the land that I tried to protect, the duty I made mine to uphold… this was my home."
He inhaled deeply and looked around, enjoying the sight of the Sanctuary…
Sunny suddenly realized that the sorcerer was, perhaps, seeing it for the last time.
His face grew heavy.
After a few moments, Noctis said:
"What I am trying to say, Sunless, is that you don't need to belong somewhere, or to something. You just need to make something belong to you. That is how you can find home…"
The sorcerer hesitated, and then added with a proud look on his face:
"...I mean it as a metaphor, of course."
Sunny looked at him for a long time, then smiled.
"That was a great metaphor."
Noctis grinned.
"It was, wasn't it? Well, why wouldn't it be? I am the most learned man in all of the Kingdom of Hope, after all!"
At that moment, they passed between the menhirs and approached the edge of the island, where the ugly monstrosities that Noctis had called statues of him stood. There were fourteen of them, each at least twice as tall as Sunny and cut of solid marble. He had not looked at the fruits of the sorcerer's labor after that first time, and was momentarily disturbed.
If the first statue could have been remotely called an image of a person, the rest of them, without of doubt, resembled terrifying abominations much more. They were giant and heavy, with talons, claws, fangs, spikes, and horns that made Sunny's own look pathetic in comparison. The giant gargoyles looked frightening, unsightly, ferocious...
And each had mighty stone wings.
Surrounded by monuments of harrowing creatures, he suddenly felt small and weak.
Feeling uneasy, Sunny glanced at Noctis and asked:
"These are… statues of you?"
The sorcerer laughed.
"Oh… well… I might have lied a little. These were never meant to look like me."
With that, a Sailor Doll silently appeared from the darkness, carrying a heavy box that was wrapped in thick, heavy chains.
As soon as Sunny saw the box, he felt his heart turn cold, and muffled whispers invade his ears. Involuntarily, he took a step back.
"What… the hell… is in that thing?"
Noctis calmly took the box, which trembled slightly, as if something inside was trying to break free. At the same time, Sunny thought that he noticed a movement under the sorcerer's skin.
The immortal grimaced, and then said:
"...Souls. A few especially vile souls that I have collected across the centuries."
Sunny scowled, gripping the Cruel Sight tighter.
"And what, exactly, are you planning to do with these souls?"
Noctis glanced at him, smiled, and then easily tore the heavy chains keeping the box shut.
"What else? I am going to create a few little helpers for you and your strange friends. What, were you really going to take on the armies of the Ivory City and the Red Colosseum all by yourself? By the Moon, Sunless… I do trust in your abilities, but what would people say if I turned out to be the only Chain Lord without an army? How would that look? Ah, no, such an embarrassment would simply not do…"
With that, he opened the box, his eyes shining with cold moonlight.
…And in the next moment, the fourteen terrifying stone beasts suddenly moved.