Shadow Slave

Sunny looked around the destroyed theater, then found an intact seat and sat down. Relaxing on the soft velvet cushions, he crossed his legs and looked at the broken stage with a complicated expression.

The shards of glass and empty stimulant packs attracted his attention for a moment. Sunny had expected the stimulants to be of the pleasure-inducing variety, but to his surprise, they were more or less the same as the ones he had used to stay awake for an entire week after returning from the Forgotten Shore.

A slight frown appeared on his.

'Don't tell me… was this guy afraid of going to the Dream Realm?'

…Kurt might have been even more broken than he had suspected. From how Master Jet had described her former acquaintance, the man had once been a dedicated combatant, a specialist... but what kind of a specialist was scared of his specialty?

With a sign, Sunny stared into the distance and summoned the runes.

And there it was, written in the ancient symbols in the air in front of him:

Echo: [Shadow Blade Kurt].

Echo Type: Beast.

…All humans were considered to be Beasts by the Spell, since they only had one soul core, so this was not surprising.

Well, all humans except for Sunny and Nephis.

As the thought of becoming a Demon drifted into his mind, Sunny read further.

Echo Rank: Awakened.

Echo Attributes: [Swift Hand], [Shadow Sworn], [Mark of Death].

[Swift Hand] Attribute Description: "Your blade strikes fast and true."

[Shadow Sworn] Attribute Description: "You are known to shadows."

[Mark of Death] Attribute Description: "You bear a mark of Death, as just like Death, you were created to be a weapon."

Sunny tilted his head a little.

So, an Attribute that increased perception and agility, an Attribute that gifted Kurt affinity to shadows — although to a much lesser extent than his own — and a third Attribute that… actually, Sunny had no idea what the third Attribute did.

Its description, though, was very interesting. He knew that death had been created by Shadow God, and now, he learned that it had been created as a weapon… but against whom? What kind of enemy could have demanded the creation of such a terrible thing?

Someone immortal, perhaps… no, that didn't make sense. If there had been a time before death was invented, then everything back then was immortal, eternal, and endless… right?

Sunny wasn't sure that he understood the concept of a world without death. What he did know, though, was that something as harrowing as death would not have been invented without a reason.

frowned, then turned his attention back

Abilities: [Shadow Manipulation], [Shadow Strike],

Ability Description: "You can affect the

shadows, and your shadow can

'...As expected.'

at the same time similar to his own. Both were much less versatile and powerful than what he was capable of himself, though, even if the ability to deal direct damage

more than a slightly different

Kurt could add a new layer

also the

has the innate

ability to have. Even Saint herself was limited to only

of thought, Sunny looked at the last

beautiful blade,

a couple

with that description? Oh my, am I imagining things, or does the Spell sound…

funny thought that

and waited for a bit, then grimaced and dove

'Let's take a look…'

him a glance, Sunny approached the spot between the black suns of his Shadow Cores, found a large sphere of light that

sphere floated to the surface of still waters and slowly dimmed, revealing

felt his

rather, a soulless copy of a human. Echo Kurt looked almost like a person, but the lifeless emptiness in his eyes screamed of a profound, abhorrent wrongness. It was incredibly

the undefinable spark that all living things possessed. It was an artificial copy of a man that lacked the very thing that made

A ghastly effigy.

was incredibly

tried to think about things

[Awakened] Ability, it would possess the innate capacity to use Memories… which meant that

did

was rather simple. Who wouldn't want to have a creature equal to a powerful Awakened in their service? But

raised a hand and poked the ghastly creature

of runes

into a

He froze, thinking.

on Sunny, and especially

to creating a third core, and the

he felt reluctant to turn just any

was Kurt

though Sunny was very curious to see what would happen if one of the silent shadows was

sure that he