Shadow Slave

Sunny sat in the darkness for a while, thinking. At first, he wanted to immediately put on his new magnificent onyx armor, but then dismissed that idea. There would be time later… for now, he was too tired. The effects of the stimulant were slowly wearing off, and he had spent too much shadow essence already.

He did, however, note a few things about the Mantle of the Underworld.

The first fact he noticed was that it shared two enchantments with Saint. However, there were subtle, but important differences between the versions of [Stalwart] and [Underworld Armament] possessed by the onyx armor and the taciturn demon.

The Memory offered better protection against physical and elemental attacks, but lacked the complete immunity to mind and soul attacks, possessing a moderate amount of protection against those rare and fearsome types of damage instead. Overall, this was an advantageous trade-off, since most Nightmare Creatures relied on more common ways of destroying Awakened.

...Unless they didn't.

The more interesting difference, however, was hidden in the description of the [Underworld Armament]. While Saint's armor could accommodate a Charm Memory to inherit its enchantments, the Mantle of the Underworld could both inherit… and enhance them. Just one word made for so much difference. Sunny couldn't wait to explore this subtle trait of his new Memory.

[Living Stone] and [Feather of Truth], meanwhile, were pretty obvious. That didn't mean, however, that these enchantments did not have a lot to offer. He could already see many interesting ways to apply both in battle. The downside was that both were active enchantments, and as such, would require a constant flow of essence to function. What's worse, the armor couldn't even be used without activating the first one.

But the most interesting enchantment was, without a doubt, [Prince of the Underworld].

'A growing Memory…'

Pondering about that strange and miraculous enchantment, Sunny couldn't help but think about the First Lord of the Bright Castle, who had supposedly been the first master of the Mantle of the Underworld.

What tier and Rank was the onyx armor when he had first found it? How many of the vanquished foes had been defeated by his hand? Was the Mantle of the Underworld one of the reasons for his legendary achievements?

For the longest time, Sunny had wondered about how an Ascended Memory of the Sixth Tier had ended up in the hands of humans in the Dark City. It had to have come from destroying a Fallen Terror… or so he had thought. Now, there were other possibilities.

But all these questions were doomed to be left unanswered. Sadly…

The First Lord and his companions had taken the answers with them to the grave.

Remembering the lonely cairn in the Hollow Mountains, Sunny sighed. Then, his thoughts wandered to something else.

'The Goddess of the Black Skies… Storm God?'

Teacher Julius had described Storm God as being the deity of the depths, of the oceans, of darkness, stars, travel, guidance, and disaster. He also said that the gender of the gods was subject to change. Stars, darkness, and storms were somewhat related to black skies…

Frowning, Sunny remembered the runes describing the Mantle of the Underworld. Indeed, "black skies" could also be translated as skies covered by storm clouds, or the night sky.

'Interesting...'

Translating the runes reminded him of something. Opening his communicator, Sunny found a note he made during his conversation with Effie and Kai.

were written

'Nightingale…'

Dream Realm had actual nightingales, the runes described

'Huh…'

straightforward, but also far more morbid. Raised by Wolves could mean just that, but

Born from

shivered, then deactivated the communicator and closed his eyes

was one more thing he could

again, he found the description of Weaver's

Enchantments: [Mantle of Lies],

an Awakened, he could try to activate the mysterious enchantment marked by three question marks. Even

he was reluctant

the enchantment, but from the boundless, inconceivable pattern of the mask's weave, he got

was a Cursed Devil — at least... and it had been driven mad by just one glance at the reflection in the Weaver's eye. Would something similar happen to

things, after all, that humans weren't

struggled with looking

'...No. Not now.'

out from shock? That would transport him to a random spot in the Dream Realm,

a sigh, he dismissed the runes and took

I am much, much

he removed the old patch

the

road... or

***

bench opposite the entrance to the Academy hospital complex with a cup of bitter dark coffee in his hand.

drink, Sunny grimaced, then lingered for a few moments and

pressed the call button to

of seconds. Her voice sounded a little tense, and there were strange, barely audible whispers mixing with

Awakened Sunless. What… wait, give me

and in the next moment, the background noise was

better. So… have

another sip of

"Yeah."

a bit, then

far as joining the Legacy clans or the government… I've decided against it. I don't know enough and have no leverage to ensure a good deal. Plus, that option will remain open for me in the future even if I stay independent for now. The reverse, however, won't necessarily be true. In any case, it's a serious matter, one that should not be decided upon in a span

turned on the video function of the call and smiled. The smile was bright and beautiful, but Sunny couldn't help but notice that right behind

sense. So then… which