Somewhere in the Hollow Mountains, an incarnation of Sunny was nearing its edge, light partially breaking through the lethal mist.
He would have had a hard time traversing the mountains if not for having already done so—without fate binding him to existence.
'Existence…' For some reason, that word left an impression on him, somewhere deep in his soul, as if—
Sunny quickly dismissed the thought as he stepped through the mist and onto the forgotten shore.
The accursed wind brushed against him like a dying whisper.
Sunny was… conflicted, to say the least—about how he should go about this conundrum.
On one hand, he could simply 'take care' of the forgotten shore.
Nothing here posed much of a threat to him, except the dark sea—and that too, only because he didn't yet know how to deal with it.
Neither Gunlaug, nor his so-called Pathfinder elites, nor any of the nightmare creatures dwelling here were true threats.
On the other hand, the experiences gained here would be critical to their growth—for reasons both good and bad. Taking away this challenge would be akin to stunting their resilience, rigor, and evolution.
First, however, he had decided to exterminate the spawn of a particularly vile and loathsome bird.
Turning incorporeal, he glided across the patchy floor, heading northward to the Ashen Barrow.
He had always been revered by the shadow. Yet now, it felt different—as if his connection was deeper.
Previously, the shadows had adulated him as their master. Now… they worshipped him as their god. As if he was Shadow itself.
His hunch was confirmed when he came across a Carapace Centurion.
He moved in, ready to kill it with a simple command to the shadows. Then—
'What?!'
Sunny froze. It seemed as though… the shadow of the monster had betrayed it?
He was certain that's what had happened.
The shadow separated from its owner and slid over to Sunny.
[A shadow seeks your finality.]
The creature? It simply collapsed. Lifeless.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.]
Sunny was speechless. He didn't know if it was due to what had just happened—or what the Spell had just claimed.
He didn't have to think long, as his body reacted instinctively, welcoming the shadow.
[A shadow finds solace within you.]
He had a vague understanding of what had happened.
When he fought the great monster, this hadn't occurred—though that monster's shadow had revered him and sought his finality, it was still loyal to its caster.
Unlike the shadow of the Carapace Centurion. Likely because the soul of a Great creature was far stronger than that of an Awakened one.
Sunny summoned his runes, expecting a familiar change.
True Name: Lightless Heir
Rank: Supreme
Shadow Core: Titan
Shadow Fragments: 2
As he expected, the shadow directly counted as a Shadow Fragment. Now there was not only the question of what the Shadow Fragments did—but also what made the shadows betray their casters.
He could narrow the latter down to a few likely reasons:
Two of his Attributes—[Divine Right] and [Scion of Shadows]—and his Innate Ability: [Death].
For all he knew, it could be a combination of all three.
As for what the Fragments did, he hadn't a clue.
Previously, they had strengthened and formed new soul cores. That stopped once he became a Titan. He also didn't feel the strengthening effect now.
'This will take some experimenting… but later.'
With a sigh, Sunny moved on. He came across dozens of Carapace Scavengers—all of whom were betrayed by their shadows.
He discovered that he could will the shadows not to betray their casters—useful, should he ever need to hide his abilities. Also, the betrayal only occurred when the nightmare creature formed malicious intent toward him.
Not that he had any intention of forcing it—unless necessary.
Eventually, he reached the Ashen Barrow. The odious Soul Tree marred the landscape. Alongside it, the Carapace Demon.
It was comical—the Demon he once considered death incarnate had just been slain. Betrayed by its own shadow, which now slithered to Sunny, seeking finality. He granted it.
Sunny turned his attention to the detestable tree—its bark black, its leaves crimson, its fate doomed.
Yet Sunny had not permitted its shadow to betray it. Not yet. He wasn't sure if that might adversely affect the bird's egg resting in a high branch.
Still a shadow, Sunny shadow-stepped to the nest, meters from the grey egg.
Just like before, he felt it—the wretched egg, incapable though it was, tried to steal his life force.
He took on his physical form, donned the Puppeteer's Shroud, and manifested a tenebrific odachi from the shadows.
Out of pure malevolence, Sunny channeled as much of his Supreme will as possible into the blade. He struck. The sword sliced cleanly through the egg—as if through air. A familiar flash of crimson luminance cracked through, then faded. Only darkness remained.
The Spell spoke, its voice neutral as ever:
[You have slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn.]
[You have received a Memory: Drop of Ichor.]
Unlike last time, a shadow flowed from the egg—seeking his finality—which he welcomed.
[A shadow finds solace within you.]
***
Back at the academy, a shadow slithered across the marble floor, toward the cafeteria in search of a certain blind girl.
The blind girl sat haphazardly in a far corner of the cafeteria, isolated from the other Sleepers, her blonde hair awkwardly flowing down one side of her face.
Clearly, she was not yet accustomed to her flaw.
Sunny felt an emotion well up inside him…
'Is it pity? Or maybe compassion?'
A recognizable voice broke Sunny's chain of thought.
It was the aging bastard, Caster.
"Lady Nephis. I am Caster from the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"
She replied with her usual cold demeanor. "It is what it is."
Sunny's lips curled slightly upward. He couldn't quite tell if it was because Caster had been given the cold shoulder or because Nephis was just like he'd expected her to be.
'I really do need to think of a way to approach her…'
Thankfully, he knew exactly how to do that. But not yet—
Scurrying across the floor, Sunny attached his shadow to a certain blonde girl's, intending to approach—and hopefully console—her.
The shadow spoke, hushed and soft, heard only by the frail blind girl.
"Hello."
She tensed, the unfamiliar voice catching her by surprise.
"Um— hello," she responded with a hushed whisper, trying to match Sunny's tone.
A slight chuckle escaped him. "No need to be on edge. I thought you looked lonely, so I came over to say hello… hope you don't mind."
A pause followed. Then Sunny continued, quiet and cheerful:
"My name's Sunless, but you can call me Sunny."
"Sunless? That's a unique name," she replied, slightly tilting her head.
Simultaneously looking at the rankings being displayed, he said, "Ah! Well, you see, my mother had quite a poetic soul."
They remained silent for a while. This time, however, it was the blind girl who broke the silence:
"My name's Cassia, but you can call me Cassie… Sunny, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
The blind girl thought for a moment, looked down, then spoke:
"I… I know I probably won't survive. So… why me? Why talk to me?"
Sunny studied her expression for a moment before replying:
"Well, Cassie. The reason is simple. The Spell is never unfair in its rulings. If it gives someone a terrible flaw, getting an Aspect worthy of that is only fair."
Then, softer—
"I believe that if you've received such a wicked flaw, then surely you also have powers to match. Which is why I approached you."
A gentle smile formed on her face. "Thank you…" Her tense shoulders loosened. Her breathing turned ever-so-slightly calmer.
A contented silence followed suit.
Slowly, the cafeteria had started to clear out.
"It's almost time for my class," Cassie said. She sounded… hesitant?
Sunny's voice was calm and soft as ever, his Supreme voice box being put to good use: "Alright, I will—" he said, as the Eye Candy and Ear Honey he was—
'W-What! No! I will not stand for this transgression! HONEY?! DESPICABLE.'
"Sunny?" Cassie asked, a hint of worry lacing her tone.
"Right, sorry, I got distracted for a moment. As I was saying… I'll try to be with you whenever you're in the cafeteria," spoke the Ear H— spoke Sunny.
---
Some time later, Sunny found himself hidden in the shadow of one of the students as they witnessed a clash for the ages: the Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan against Caster of the Han Li clan. It looked like Caster was overpowering her—which was true. However, one key detail was being overlooked:
Nephis wasn't using her Aspect at all.
Caster, on the other hand… let's just say his flaw was almost as vile as a certain bird.
Still, every time Caster attacked, every time he got close to hurting Nephis, Sunny flinched—not scared, but prepared. Prepared to intervene at a moment's notice. Killing Caster wouldn't be hard for him.
Sunny had realized that his Attribute, [Scion of Shadows], allowed him to control not only the shadows of inanimate objects but also those of animate ones. Including the shadows inside bodies.
Which meant Sunny could very easily strangle Caster's heart if he made the wrong move.
'Just try to harm her. I dare you.'
In the end, everything remained as it had been. Nephis had put up an astounding fight. However, without the use of her Aspect, she had been defeated—but not hurt.
Somehow, that brought Sunny a measure of solace.
Ironic, considering he was supposed to be the embodiment of shadow… and in turn, solace.
With a sigh of relief, Sunny shadow-stepped to the armory room of the Awakened Academy. There were lines of all kinds of weapons, from warhammers to tantos. A large dueling platform lay to the side, intricate marble tiling outlining the area. It wasn't grand, but decent enough for even most Masters.
He stepped forward and held one of the weapons—an odachi.
Tsk.
As much as Sunny wanted to use those weapons, the simple truth was that they would shatter near-instantly under the pressure of his Supreme will.
With a light sigh, Sunny manifested a tenebrific odachi from the shadows.
Then he began his usual warm-up routine. He moved with near-effortless grace. His technique, ever-changing. His form, ever-shifting.
Every move, measured. Every cut, precise. His blade performed impossible maneuvers.
Sunny had started delving deeper into the application of will in battle.
He had an inkling that fighting with will wasn't just about wrapping your weapon in it—he'd learned this from his fight with Slayer.
'Let's try this.'
This time, Sunny covered his entire self with will. He felt it. The difference was too much to be caused by just that.
He felt the change instantly. Though it took him a few tries to perfect—courtesy of his Aspect Legacy—he now felt as though his body was as much a weapon as his sword.
He was uncertain but believed this was further enhanced by his newly acquired Innate Ability: Death.
Sunny continued training. Flowing through battle arts like electrons through the lattice of a metal.
The surrounding shadows danced in reverence to their god. Following his movements. Shadowing him.
His own shadow, however—unknown to everyone—was pinned in one spot, staring just beyond the entrance of the armory room.
'How is he so good?'
She thought she was hidden.
She wasn't.
Sunny didn't know exactly what was running through her head—but if he had to guess, it would be that.
After all, he'd reduced his presence to that of a mundane human and reassumed his Supreme appearance, which was apparently another perk of his [Pureborn] attribute—allowing him to mask his presence with precision.
Unbeknownst to him, however, a slight tinge of red crept up the face of the silver-haired girl.
"You know, it's rude to stare,"
He wiped a single bead of sweat from his brow, then—
"Even for the Lady Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan."