Shadow Slave

The apparition stood motionlessly, frozen in place by Sunny's quiet command. He could see his face reflecting in its dark eyes, even paler than usual, beads of sweat glistening in the sun. The creature was completely still, all its terrifying strength shackled by the four simple words Sunny had whispered to it.

It was... enslaved. No matter how powerful the strange abomination was, no amount of power could ever allow it to disobey the command of its new master.

...Sunny.

By stealing his face and his powers, the creature had also inherited his Innate Ability, Shadow Bond. Sunny had made use of that bond to subjugate the devil, and now, it was at his mercy.

For now, at least.

With a pained grimace, Sunny fell to the ground and drew in a hoarse breath.

'That… that was close.'

The wound on his thigh was not too serious, but the cut he had received as a shadow was long and deep. Blood Weave had prevented him from losing too much blood and was going to ensure a fast recovery, but it had its limits. The wounds needed to be tended to… however, they could wait.

Right now, Sunny had to decide what to do with the former ruler Reckoning... the dreadful creature that had slain plenty of humans, and only gods knew how many Nightmare Creatures, which was now under his full control.

Such a powerful abomination… it would surely be very helpful to have something that fearsome serving him, unable to disobey any command.

He glanced at the frozen creature and shivered.

Looking at it was still like looking in a mirror, after all. Despite knowing that the thing in front of him was a Nightmare Creature, he couldn't help but see a slight young man with pale skin and dark eyes… couldn't help but see himself.

Yes, having a Fallen Devil do his bidding would be extremely beneficial, especially because the apparition looked exactly like him. With a bit of cunning and preparation, Sunny would be able to seemingly appear in two places at the same time. If he ever needed to prove that he wasn't Mongrel or accomplish something shady without drawing any suspicion, that would be a perfect way to do so… there were countless scenarios where such an ability would be incredibly useful.

there lay the

Since the creature could take any shape, it was going to stop possessing his Aspect Abilities — including Shadow Bond — as soon as it turned into something else. Then, it would be free of its shackles and able to do whatever it wanted, including

Saint before attempting to subjugate the apparition.

he could circumvent the possibility of losing control over the terrifying creature with a long series of complex orders that would limit when and how it could use its shapeshifting. But coming up with a foolproof net of prohibitions was a herculean task… Sunny wasn't even sure

better than most — better than anyone, perhaps — how hard it was

find a loophole, and turn the orders given by the master against themselves. Sunny

He had to be.

he supposed to

up with a grimace, Sunny faced his perfect

way less complicated. He simply didn't want to be

for a while, and then

be scared. I won't make you a slave. That would be too cruel of a fate, don't

to caress the cheek of the pale young man, and then

bright light, the ghostly blade of the Moonlight Shard trembled as drops of crimson

young man didn't move, but his pupils widened. A few moments later, blood flowed from between his lips,

looked at the dying apparition, deeply disturbed by the visage in front

was not every day that one got to

'That's... that is...'

but

like himself was slowly drowning

doorstep, its body suddenly trembled, and then shifted slightly. A