Shadow Slave

Lowering his sword, Sunny stood in the silence of the empty room for a while. In the window, the distant axis of the Crimson Spire loomed, the light of dawn slowly painting it red.

A subtle smile appeared on his face.

"Aww. Thank you, Spell. What a nice birthday present."

Summoning the Endless Spring, he greedily drank delicious cold water and then sat on the floor, crossing his legs and drawing a few deep breaths.

'Let's take a look…'

Leaving his worries behind, Sunny dove into the Soul Sea and walked past the rows of motionless shadows.

A long time ago, there had been just a handful of them. Now, hundreds of dark silhouettes watched silently as he approached the tenebrous sun of the Shadow Core. Among them were all kinds of horrors, creatures whose appearance alone would drive weaker men insane. The Mountain King was there. The Black Knight was there, too. The terrifying Spire Messenger stood lifelessly on the tranquil surface of the water.

…And there were humans, too. Harus was among them, and so was Harper.

Sunny didn't pay them any attention.

Standing beneath the Shadow Core, he sighed and summoned the runes.

Name: Sunless.

True Name: Lost from Light.

Rank: Dreamer.

Shadow Core: Dormant.

Shadow Fragments: [977/1000].

…He was so close to accumulating the whole thousand. If Sunny really wanted to, he could have abandoned caution and pushed to reach it before the inevitable journey to the Crimson Spire. However, he was wary of delving into anything unknown right before the fateful confrontation.

He also felt that his time was better spent consolidating and perfecting everything that he had already learned and earned, not wasting it trying to acquire something new.

Still, it was not an easy decision.

With a sigh, he continued reading.

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Midnight Shard], [Ordinary Rock], [Prowling Thorn], [Endless Spring], [Blood Blossom], [Moonlight Shard], [M… …old], [Weaver's Mask].

Echoes: —

Shadows…

and read, an amused expression appearing on

...[Marble Saint].

…Marble?

'How fitting…'

of the Core. She appeared in a whirlwind of black flames, standing in front of him with her usual taciturn

Sunny couldn't help but

and was now even more oppressive. Her graceful stonelike armor, which had looked as though it was cut from granite before, was now entirely black and glossy, like obsidian… or onyx. In fact, it was very much like the shattered onyx armor he

and as white as alabaster… at least the

much

that was not

beneath the armor. Within the shadow that populated Saint's body, there used

there were

her for a

she… rise to a

and made the runes describing the Shadow appear. A moment

Shadow: Marble Saint.

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Demon.

a Shadow

[Battle Master],

line had not been there before.

[Weapon Sage],

for a moment, trying

always known that Saint was not a typical Nightmare Creature. But to think that she would acquire an actual Ability before even becoming a devil… and not just

anticipation,

Ability Description: [Shadow Saint

Saint's armor can accommodate a charm Memory to

head and stared at the

Demon.

satisfied smile finally appeared on his

"Ah. How wonderful…"

the ability to use any

this could provide her were truly endless. The potential combinations, the flexibility… all it took was

shook his head and

Saint was really suited

he understood that