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…

head and read, an amused expression appearing on his

...[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

couldn't help but

was cut from granite before, was now entirely black and glossy, like obsidian… or onyx. In fact, it was very much

as white as alabaster… at least the small portion of it he

seemed much

not what made Sunny

that stunned him was what hid beneath the armor. Within the shadow that populated Saint's body, there used to be two ethereal

there were

at her for

to a higher

he calmed down and made the runes describing the Shadow appear. A moment later, his hopes were proved

Shadow: Marble Saint.

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Demon.

a

Attributes: [Battle Master], [Stalwart],

had not been there

[Weapon Sage], [Underworld

moment, trying to suppress

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 one, but

with anticipation, he read

Sage Ability Description: [Shadow Saint can effectively

armor can accommodate a charm

for a bit, then turned his head and stared at the taciturn monster… no,

Demon.

satisfied smile finally appeared

"Ah. How wonderful…"

grown tremendously stronger, but she now also had the ability to use any weapon he would provide for her, as

were truly endless. The potential combinations, the flexibility… all it took was

his head and

sometimes thought that Saint

now, he understood that he