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!"

so agile… but most of all, so himself. It was as though a giant weight fell from his shoulders, quite literally — the shadowspawn must have weighed three times what Sunny weighed. Being a tall,

in. And although having only two hands seemed rather inconvenient and silly, shedding the cumbersome shell of the inhuman creature

his slender body packed more punch than the shadowspawn could ever hope to

being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did he learn to appreciate

lip of the sleeping pod. He had inadvertently damaged the armored alloy by simply grabbing it too hard. Getting used to his new strength

expensive machine. Replacing the bent panel was not going to be

then, he tilted his head

why do

about the luxurious sleeping

need it

Sunny wished to enter the Dream Realm, he would travel there physically. His body would not

could never go back to that hell. He could just remain in the comfort and safety of the real world, enjoying all that

Spell, Sunny was free to refuse it. He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was not a slave to the whims of the

For now…

a thriving enterprise would not be a problem. Sunny would be able to grow filthy rich

in an actual

happy ending for a homeless street rat

distance. Slowly, a pale smile appeared

as if that would ever

be that easy. Even if he learned how to manage the unpredictable

Strategic Asset designation, he was bound 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 to receive a friendly visit from a representative of one of the ruling clans in the

simply a promising Awakened. Now that he proved his mettle and elevated himself to the venerated status of an Ascended, the clans would not

to become a Saint without pledging allegiance to one of them would