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!"

from his shoulders, quite literally — the shadowspawn must have weighed three times what Sunny weighed. Being a tall, powerful devil had its

lighter, but he also presented a much smaller target for the enemies to stick their blades in. And although having only two hands seemed rather inconvenient and silly, shedding the cumbersome shell of the inhuman creature feel nothing short

now that Sunny was a Master, his slender body packed more punch than the shadowspawn could ever hope to muster. Not

height. Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did he learn to appreciate all

the underground dojo, he let out a satisfied sigh and glanced at the crumpled metal of the lip of the sleeping

Replacing the bent panel was not

tilted his

why do I even

he worry about

need it

a Master now… a true Ascended. If Sunny wished to enter the Dream Realm, he would travel there physically. His body would not be left empty and defenseless in the waking world.

He could just remain in the comfort and safety of the real world, enjoying all that it

first time after becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell, Sunny was free to refuse it. He had won

For now…

shop, just like he had wanted. With his accumulated arsenal and knowledge of sorcery, creating a thriving enterprise would not be a problem. Sunny would be able to grow filthy rich and enjoy a lavish or even decadent lifestyle without having to risk his

an actual bed, and

be a beautifully happy ending for a homeless street rat

froze, staring into the distance. Slowly, a pale

if that would

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

government nor the Great Clans would leave him be… especially the latter. Sunny suspected that he was going to receive a friendly visit from a representative of one of

Jet, they had largely let him be when Sunny had been simply a promising Awakened. Now that he proved his

to pass on a message that trying to become a Saint without pledging allegiance to