Shadow Slave

In a dark underground chamber, a metal sarcophagus stood shrouded in silence. Nothing had disturbed the silence and no light had penetrated the darkness in a long, long time.

Until now.

Suddenly, the sarcophagus came to life, and a scattering of lights ignited on its surface. A crack appeared on the smooth alloy surface, revealing where the edges of a heavy lid were. The lid smoothly slid away, and a flood of radiant light chased away the darkness of the underground chamber.

Cold vapor shined as it rose from inside the sarcophagus. Then, a pale hand rose from within it and forcefully grabbed the metal lip, easily bending its armored alloy.

Sunny struggled to climb out of the sleeping pod for a few moments, then lowered his feet to the cool plates of the dojo's floor. A moment later, he swayed and fell down with a yelp.

"Damnation!"

Sunny remained sprawled on the floor for a few seconds, trying to understand what had happened and why he suddenly lost balance. Then, his eyes gleamed.

"Wait… I can speak again? I can speak again!"

A happy smile slowly appeared on his lips.

Of course… he was back to being a human! He had returned to his own body. Trying to move like a towering demon was not going to do his sense of balance any good…

With a mad grin, Sunny nimbly jumped to his feet and looked down, enjoying the sight of his slender, pale body. Then, he suddenly spun and performed several lightning-fast strikes and kicks.

"Ah, it is good to be home!"

shoulders, quite literally — the shadowspawn must have weighed three

was Sunny much lighter, but he also presented a much smaller target for the enemies to stick their blades in. And although having only two

Master, his slender body packed more punch than the shadowspawn could ever hope to muster. Not to mention how in tune it was with shadow essence now,

moment, Sunny was incredibly happy with his natural stature and height. Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did he learn to appreciate all the benefits

filtered air of the underground dojo, he let out a satisfied sigh and glanced at the crumpled metal of the lip of the sleeping pod. He had inadvertently damaged the

had done to the expensive machine. Replacing the bent panel was not

then, he tilted his head

do I

would he worry about

need

would travel there

could leave the Dream Realm behind, forever. If he wanted to, he could never go back to that hell. He could just remain in the comfort

becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell, Sunny was free to refuse it. He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was not a slave

For now…

his accumulated arsenal and knowledge of sorcery, creating a thriving enterprise would not be a

in an actual bed, and see actual

beautifully happy ending for a homeless street rat from

froze, staring into the distance. Slowly, a pale smile appeared

as if that

himself from the Spell would be that easy. Even if he learned how to manage the unpredictable nature of his [Fated] Attribute, there were other factors to

governed humanity. Neither the government nor the Great Clans would leave him be… especially the latter. Sunny suspected that he was

been simply a promising Awakened. Now that he proved

very least, they had to pass on a message that trying to become a Saint without pledging