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.

his frown

I was aiming for its leg,

threw the bow on the ground and

two months since the day he had gained — and promptly lost

aim wasn't terrible, but it was also not nearly as

using Morgan's Warbow, of course, reluctant to be seen with a Memory awarded to Mongrel — even if no one except for the terrifying Master knew what exactly that

wield back when he had been too weak to

he retrieved the Cruel Sight from

stronger now. He had a vastly better arsenal of Memories at his disposal, an additional Shadow Core

— lineage of Weaver had swallowed the drop of Shadow God's blood, three of his Attributes evolved. The

Bone Weave had not changed in name, but became much more potent. Sunny was now much harder to break and kill. He probably couldn't bleed to death even if he wanted to, and it would take a Saint… or someone like Master Morgan… to shatter his

was something, at

he picked it up from the ground, hid it

and stared at the carcass

'This guy…'

Sunny rolled his eyes.

just stand there, pervert, come

the Prowling Thorn, which was then used to cut the

and swallowed it with a metallic click. Usually, that would be it, but today Sunny needed to retrieve something else as well. Grimacing from time to time, he cut several large slabs

"Should be enough… right?"

up, picked up the Cruel Sight, and headed