Shadow Slave

…The autumn was in full swing. Out in the waking world, the skies were grey and the winds were turning cold. The trees were showering the wet ground with a fragrant carpet of dead leaves.

But under the boundless, lethal expanse of the Sky Above, the world was still warm and bright. On an especially large island, one covered with emerald grass and moss-covered ruins, a frightening Nightmare Creature was stalking its prey.

It had four mighty paws, a lean body covered in black fur, and a wide maw full of sharp fangs. Above it, two furious red eyes burned with hatred and madness.

The abomination noiselessly moved through the tall grass, approaching the source of loud noise. A human's voice was screaming, full of indignation:

"I'm right here! Come and get me, damned bastards! Curse you all!"

The creature snarled and prepared to jump.

…Before it could, however, a slender arrow fell from the sky and hit the abomination right in the eye, instantly killing it.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast, Black Ravager.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

Several hundred meters away, safely hidden in the shadows cast by a fragment of an ancient wall, Sunny lowered his bow and frowned.

The happy shadow jumped up and down several times, then turned to him and applauded.

looked at it, his frown turning

do you mean, great shot? I was aiming for its leg, you

threw the bow on

he had gained — and promptly lost — the lineage of Shadow God, but Sunny's mood was

also not nearly as impressive as what he had seen Kai do. The fact that his archery was improving so slowly only

of course, reluctant to be seen with a Memory awarded to Mongrel — even if no one except for the terrifying Master knew

Blackhorn Bow, which Saint had used to wield back when he had been too weak to handle Nightmare Creatures populating

question and suppressed the desire to give it a good kick. Dismissing it with a sigh, he retrieved the Cruel Sight from where it had been thrust into the

vastly better arsenal of Memories at his disposal, an additional Shadow Core and a third shadow, and his combat mastery was polished

blood, three of his Attributes evolved. The [Ember of

more potent. Sunny was now much harder to break and kill. He probably couldn't bleed to death even if he wanted to, and

was something, at

the Ordinary Rock to shut up, he picked it up from the ground, hid it

slowly turned its head and stared at the

'This guy…'

Sunny rolled his eyes.

stand there, pervert, come

shadow eagerly wrapped itself around the blade of the Prowling Thorn, which was

Usually, that would be it, but today Sunny needed to retrieve something else as well.

"Should be enough… right?"

the gruesome task, he stood up, picked up the Cruel Sight, and headed toward the