The instant Little Black pulled Isshiki into the pile of fragments, everyone froze for three seconds. Even the wind paused for half a beat.
Hand Princess Big recovered first and crawled slowly over, drawing close to the big black figure before it. The eye in its palm stared at him without blinking. "You... eat candy too?"
Isshiki looked down at the little white hand, with its five short, slender fingers and a round eye embedded in its palm. It was unlike anything he had ever seen in his life, and his tone softened without his realizing it. "I had some. It's sweet."
Hand Princess Big nodded, then turned and called to its companions behind it, "He says it's sweet! Just like us!"
At those words, the fragments all crowded around-Hand Princess Small, Hand Princess Three, Hand Princess Four, Hand Princess Five, along with the little ears, little noses, and little toes. They squeezed into a white mass, each glowing softly as they gathered around the black giant and gazed up at him eagerly.
Surrounded by them, Isshiki's tall figure stood out starkly, but he did not move an inch. He simply looked down at the chattering little things, the cold darkness in his eyes disappearing completely.
After a long standstill, Hand Princess Big looked up again and asked, "Will you... stay?"
Isshiki froze for a moment and instinctively looked back into the distance. His shadow subordinates still stood a hundred meters away, densely packed and awaiting his orders.
He turned back to the fragments before him and Little Black at his feet, at a loss for words.
Little Black walked up to his feet on short little legs and looked up at him. "You have his light inside you. Shuo's light."
Isshiki looked down at his chest. That pale golden