The Deathless were already rising from beneath the dunes, ready to descend upon those who had invaded Ariel's Hell in all their unending fury. Sunny and Azarax took their places at the head of the battle formation, while Nephis remained at the back, standing among the shades like an flash of pure white flame in the sea of darkness.
Just before the battle began, Sunny looked at the distant — but not as distant as before — silhouette of the Tomb of Ariel.
At that moment, he thought he heard something…
An echo of a distant, indiscernible whisper that crawled into his ears and disappeared, as if it had burrowed into his brain.
He stumbled slightly.
Azarax gave him a contemptuous glance.
"What, Shadow? Are you afraid?"
Sunny remained motionless for a moment, then shook his head — the incarnation who was closest to Azarax did, at least.
"No. I just… I thought I heard something. Didn't you hear it, too?"
