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 going to

is

staggered and fell to his knees. His eyes

soul had reached a critical point, and then exploded. It felt as though his core was being torn apart, drowning

within his soul, ripping it into shreds. Sunny knew that he couldn't stop that process, and

convulsed on the

[...Your shadow is complete.]

something

much stronger than all the

suddenly enveloped in absolute darkness, all light disappearing from

Spell abruptly fell quiet, its last proclamation left

tearing his soul apart was also gone. It didn't feel as though the process was

'Wha… what is happening?'

and disoriented, Sunny

it so

then raised his head

'...What?'

of the

to wrap his head around this fact, two things registered in

very 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 that it wasn't harmful.

one was

'Crap!'

currently, there were giant slabs of

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

was currently restoring itself in the Soul 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

descending mass of broken stone, Sunny thrust the Moonlight Shard forward. The tip of the Fallen

avalanche of debris to pass and praying that nothing hits him. A few moments later, the

interior of the Spire, but this high,

Sunny opened his eyes.

He was still alive.

sunshine. The darkness was not as impenetrable now, suffused with that light. Dust particles floated in the air, sparkling like tiny