Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3211

The coliseum had been built by the Demon of Desire herself, and was called the Theater of Hope. Its walls were white and pristine, as if built from the pure clouds that traveled across the azure sky — however, as Shadow glanced up at the magnificent arches, he couldn't help but imagine them adorned with banners that were as red as blood.

An echo of a distant chant surfaced from his memory:

“Glory! Glory! Glory!"

Shadow winced, feeling a ghostly pain pierce his chest. A moment later, the ghastly vision was gone, and the pain was gone as well.

There was indeed an exuberant chant resounding from within the great theater, but it had nothing to do with glory. Instead, the jubilant voices of a vast crowd were calling for the performers to enter the stage.

It seemed that a play was about to begin — Shadow and his companions had arrived just in time.

“I've heard so many stories about the Theater of Hope! They say that there is nothing like it in the world.”

Noctis grinned, clearly excited.

Snuggle seemed quite curious, as well. Shadow lingered for a moment, then said in a calm tone:

“Then what are we waiting for?"

Leaving the carriage below the walls of the great theater, they paid a small fee and entered. Inside, a vast arena was surrounded by soaring rows of stone benches, all of them filled by expectant spectators. Sunshine poured from above, reflecting from white stone and creating a beautiful, dreamlike atmosphere.

The sounds of laughter and excited chatter washed over Shadow and his companions, making them feel a bit of warm anticipation as well.

Even Shadow, who was rarely enthusiastic about anything, felt like he was looking forward to the play.

He frowned, then shivered slightly.

‘Such potent sorcery...’

Indeed, that feeling of anticipation was not entirely his own. Looking around, he noticed shallow channels carved into the stone throughout the great theater. The entire enormous coliseum was one vast runic array — Shadow could not quite discern its purpose yet, but it seemed to enhance the emotions of people gathered inside.

The sorcery of the Theater of Hope was truly astonishing... and terrifying. It wasn't easy to affect the heart of a Supreme Titan, and yet that was exactly what had happened — without him noticing, no less.

Noctis had said that the Demon of Desire was nice, but Shadow felt nothing but cold dread when thinking about her.

His companions, however, succumbed to the atmosphere of her theater easily, igniting with excitement.

“Shadow! Let's go find a good seat!"

Hearing Snuggle's squeaky voice, Shadow pulled himself out of his short reverie and went to do just that. Soon enough, the three of them were seated in one of the higher rows of the Theater of Hope — Shadow and Noctis resting on the benches, Snuggle sitting on one of Shadow's shoulders.

The vast arena was below them. It was circular, and at its center stood the stage.

“Look, look! It's starting!"

Snuggle pulled at Shadow's hair to make him pay attention, which only made him wince.

There was movement in the arena, indeed.

As if out of nowhere, a tall figure appeared on the stage, wearing a white robe and a smiling mask. The audience exploded with excited shouts, while the figure — the leader of the chorus, coryphaeus — bowed and performed a few movements of a simple, elegant dance.

When the audience grew quiet, a booming voice resounded from beneath the smiling mask. The Theater of Hope was vast, and yet Shadow could hear each word clearly, as if the coryphaeus was standing directly in front of him. It was partially due to the unique acoustics of the theater, and partially due to the actor's masterful delivery.

The play began.

At first, Shadow was only mildly interested in the story. But as it progressed, told by the masked actors and the chorus, he felt himself being drawn into it. The singing of the chorus and the voices of the actors fused with the unique sorcery of the Theater of Hope, creating an unforgettable mixture.

The story of the play was one he knew, but not in detail.

The great heroes treated her with contempt, but the Jade Queen seemed amused. So, she asked the oracle the same question:

“What is the heaviest thing in the world?"

The mad oracle laughed bitterly and then answered, pointing at her unseeing eyes.

"It's knowledge."

And thus, the riddle was solved.

The play ended with the chorus singing about enlightenment and knowledge, praising the wise queen and the learned oracle.

The audience seemed to be greatly satisfied, exploding with applause and whistles.

Shadow, however, thought that the ending of the play was quite strange.

Neither the Jade Queen nor the blind oracle seemed that fond of the truths they bore, so why would the playwright paint pursuit of knowledge as a noble virtue? Trying to attach a didactic moral to the story only seemed forced and patronizing.

More than that, where was the real ending? What was the wish of the blind oracle, and did the Jade Queen make it come true? Surely, that mad oracle wasn't aiming to become the beautiful queen's consort...

‘What a strange play.’

Shadow sighed and shook his head.

Even if he did not like the ending, the experience of watching a play in the Theater of Hope was truly wondrous. The songs of the chorus, the dancing, the twists and turns of the story... he was swept up by the blazing emotions of the crowd, feeling more joyful and exhilarated than ever before.

In this life, at least.

And while none of the spectators could perceive it, Shadow had learned quite a lot about the sorcery of Hope, as well.