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

assumed his form. 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

Saint before attempting to subjugate the apparition. He needed it to remain as his own reflection, and

how it could use its shapeshifting. But coming up with a foolproof net of prohibitions was a herculean task…

this exact fate, so he knew better than most — better than anyone, perhaps — how hard it was to keep an unwilling slave under control. Especially if the enslaved being was more powerful than

be a way to twist words, find a loophole, and turn the orders given by

He had to be.

what was he supposed to do with the frozen

faced his perfect copy

about to do, nevertheless, was way less complicated. He simply didn't want to be a slaver. He didn't want to

for a while, and then

That would be too cruel of a fate, don't you think? Even… even for a Nightmare Creature like you…

cheek of the pale young man,

ghostly blade of the Moonlight Shard trembled as drops of crimson blood fell from it into the

few moments later, blood flowed from between

at the dying apparition, deeply disturbed by the visage

every day that one got to see

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

paled slightly, but did not look

himself was slowly drowning in blood, a crimson torrent flowing from his cut

later, when the creature was on the death's doorstep, its body suddenly trembled, and then shifted slightly. A tortured smile