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!"

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

And although having only two hands seemed rather inconvenient and silly, shedding the cumbersome shell

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

his natural stature and height. Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did

flawlessly 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 armored alloy by

Replacing the bent panel was not going to be cheap. It was well within his means, of course…

then, he tilted his head

do I even

about the

need it

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

forever. If he wanted to, he could never go back to that hell. He could just remain in the comfort and safety of the real world,

He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was

For now…

and open a true Memory 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 life or think

could even sleep in an actual bed, and see actual

it not be a beautifully happy ending for a homeless street

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

that would ever

Even if he learned how to manage the unpredictable nature of his [Fated] Attribute,

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

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

a message that trying to become a Saint without pledging allegiance to one of