Shadow Slave

Sunny shut down the illusion. The underground dojo was silent and submerged in darkness, almost like the lightless expanse of his soul.

Crawling out of the Dreamscape pod, he glanced at it, and then walked to the middle of the hall. There, he sat down on the cold ceramic plates of the floor, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes.

Back in the illusory world created by the will of an eccentric Saint, the tournament was coming to an end. There were spectacles, festivities, and accolades being given to the winners. But he didn't care.

He didn't care about the legend of Mongrel, either. Sunny had no doubt that his inexplicable refusal of the final reward and daring challenge had created quite a stir. Were people praising Mongrel for his resolve and ambition? Or mocking his defeat and calling him a fool? In any case, the network must have been boiling right now.

Sunny couldn't be bothered to check.

He had much more important concerns.

There was the final reward he had received, given to him by Morgan of Valor despite his failure, as well as previous rewards he had no time to study well.

And there was Shadow Dance. This was what he had to concentrate on now.

Sitting in the darkness with his eyes closed, Sunny thought back to the revelation he had received during the battle with the monstrous Master and started to slowly digest it. He had the key now… all that remained was to absorb it, turn it from a fleeting feeling into an inseparable part of his mind, body, and soul.

That was going to take some time.

Fragments of Morgan's battle will helped him find unity in the discordant collection of battle styles he had amassed. His comprehension of the fundamental, governing principles of battle techniques was vastly elevated, allowing him to understand them on a deeper level.

level, he needed to be able to recognize patterns of essence control from how the enemies moved, breathed, and attacked. The

just had to assimilate it

continued to meditate, making slow progress toward his goal. After

gave Sunny much more than he

and a breakthrough in his comprehension of Shadow Dance, but there was also something else. Different,

offer had helped him to put his own prowess into perspective. Facing formidable champions one after another showed Sunny just how

and inevitably finding himself falling short. He chased after her with desperate resolve, but was never able to catch up. Mongrel might have been only

without even noticing. Now that he had a chance to look back, Sunny finally saw just how wide the gap between himself and all

been able to cut the best of them down while barely

themselves, they had to challenge those who were stronger than them. Nothing was more beneficial to one's growth than fighting against a superior opponent. That was why and how he had transformed himself into a lethal killer in the

as a reference point achieved the same result. Even if the goal of surpassing her often seemed bitterly unattainable, he had come far by struggling to do so against all odds. So, so

saw it clearly

he also saw how much further he

fighting the participants of the Dream Tournament had shown him his strength,

there were other giants out there, no less terrifying than him. They were older, stronger, and had years of battle experience and vast resources that he lacked. In front of

smile appeared on

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