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!"

a giant weight fell from his shoulders, quite literally — the shadowspawn

also presented a much smaller target for the enemies to stick their blades in. And

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

Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did he learn to appreciate all the benefits of being light, nimble, and

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 armored alloy by simply grabbing it too hard. Getting used to his new strength

moment, Sunny felt very disheartened about the damage he had done to the expensive machine. Replacing the bent panel was

then, he tilted his head

why do I

about the luxurious sleeping

need

the Dream Realm, he would travel there physically. His body would not be left empty and defenseless in the waking world. More than

back to that hell. He could just remain in the comfort and safety of

was free to refuse it. He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was not

For now…

creating a thriving enterprise would not be a problem. Sunny would

sleep in an actual bed,

it not be a beautifully happy ending for a

into the distance. Slowly, a pale smile

as if that would ever

learned how to manage the unpredictable

to attract the utmost attention of the forces that governed humanity. Neither the government nor the Great Clans would leave him be… especially the latter. Sunny suspected that he was going

Master Jet, they had largely let him be when Sunny had been simply a promising Awakened. Now

very least, they had to pass on a message that trying to become a Saint