Shadow Slave

Standing above Caster's corpse, Sunny tilted his head slightly.

Despite his expectations, there was not a lot of joy in his heart. Instead, defeating the powerful scion of a true Legacy clan left him feeling somber, and a little bitter.

There was, however, a sense of… if not validation, then at least vindication. It was as though some profound need in his soul was finally satisfied, making it more solid.

Steady.

With a pained groan, Sunny took a step back, turned around, and dismissed the Weaver's Mask.

He was in better shape than he had expected to be. Countless cuts on his body were painful, but not dangerous. Blood Weave was diligently doing its job, preventing him from losing too much of the precious red liquid. The cuts were already starting to scab over and close.

The only serious wound was the gash on his side, but it, too, had already stopped bleeding. Very soon, it was going to start healing, too. Until then, it was not going to hinder his movements a lot, as long as Sunny was ready to endure a bit of suffering.

After a year on the Forgotten Shore, dealing with pain was one of his best trained skills.

'...I've been through worse. Much worse. This is nothing.'

Then, another thought entered his mind.

'That shadow fragment… it should have brought me to a thousand, right?'

A moment later, he realized that his whole being was somehow… weird. It felt as though there was intense heat in his chest, slowly growing more and more scalding. This sensation was not exactly physical, but more of a spiritual one. Like the core of his soul was undergoing a violent change.

With a mix of anticipation and dread, Sunny concentrated on this feeling.

'Here we go…'

What was going to happen to him?

Suddenly, he heard the voice of the Spell again. In the eerie expanse of the Crimson Spare, where ancient darkness fused with otherworldly light, it sounded solemn and almost… triumphant?

[Your shadow is overflowing with power.]

what was it

is taking

he staggered and fell to

soul had reached a critical point, and then exploded. It felt as though his core was being torn apart, drowning him with intense, indescribable pain. Disoriented

knew that he couldn't stop that process, and so, all he could do

on the ground, the Spell

[...Your shadow is complete.]

then, something

suddenly shuddered. This quake was much stronger than all the previous ones, making it feel as though the gargantuan structure was about to topple. Sunny heard the deafening sound of breaking

he was suddenly enveloped in absolute darkness, all light disappearing from the echoing interior of the

the Spell abruptly fell quiet, its last proclamation left

gone. It didn't feel as though

'Wha… what is happening?'

disoriented, Sunny

was it so

a premonition, he then raised his head and

'...What?'

of the Crimson Terror was

his head around this fact, two things

also something else. Some kind of… interference? He was having trouble finding words to describe that sensation,

second one was

'Crap!'

he noticed was that, currently, there were giant slabs

it. Just a second later, one of

jian, so, for a moment, Sunny found himself in free fall. Then, the transparent blur

from behind. Looking up and at the descending mass of broken stone, Sunny thrust

himself against the cold stones and gritted his teeth, waiting for the avalanche of debris to pass

raining on the interior of the Spire, but this high, it

Sunny opened his eyes.

He was still alive.

Spire seemed to be broken, letting in beautiful sunshine. The darkness was not as impenetrable now,