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

shadow is taking

to his knees. His eyes widened

though his core was being torn apart, drowning him with intense, indescribable

soul, ripping it into shreds. Sunny knew that he

Sunny convulsed on the

[...Your shadow is complete.]

then, something

much stronger than all the previous ones, making it feel as though the gargantuan structure was about to topple. Sunny heard the deafening

absolute darkness, all light disappearing from the echoing interior of the

abruptly fell quiet, its last proclamation

soul apart was also gone. It didn't feel as though the process was finished, though. It felt as

'Wha… what is happening?'

disoriented,

it

raised his

'...What?'

furious light of the Crimson

head around this fact, two things registered in his

strange. His chest was still full of ethereal heat, but there was also something else. Some kind of… interference? He was having trouble finding words to describe that sensation, but knew

second one was

'Crap!'

thing he noticed was that, currently, there were giant slabs of stone plunging down on

jumped off of it. Just a second later, one of the slabs crushed into the coral, turning it

Sea, its invisible string cut by Caster's enchanted jian, so, for a moment, Sunny found himself in free fall. Then, the transparent blur of the Dark Wing finally weaved itself from sparks of light on his back and allowed him to glide forward, following the momentum of

behind. Looking up and at the descending mass of broken stone, Sunny thrust the Moonlight Shard forward. The tip of the Fallen Memory easily sunk into the

his teeth, waiting for the avalanche of debris to pass and praying that nothing hits him. A few moments later, the Spire

down below, destruction was still raining on the interior

Sunny opened his eyes.

He was still alive.

Crimson Spire seemed to be broken, letting in beautiful sunshine. The darkness was not as impenetrable now, suffused with that light.