Shadow Slave

Some time later, Sunny left the house and sat on the porch by himself.

His thoughts were in disarray.

So much had changed, so much had happened. So much was going to happen in the next few days, as well. His life was inevitably going to transform… hopefully, for the best.

However, there were many obstacles he was going to have to overcome and many decisions he was going to have to make in order to avoid being destroyed by the changes instead. Although Sunny had grown considerably stronger, and obliterating him was not as easy anymore, there were still threats out there that he did not dare to face.

He sighed, and looked down.

'I am a Master.'

The knowledge rested in his mind, but he was yet to truly comprehend it. Ascended had seemed so distant and glorious to him, once. Not quite demigods, but also not mere mortals anymore. But now, he was one of these venerated beings himself. He could feel inhuman power coursing through his veins.

That was something he couldn't process that fast.

And yet, time waited for no one. Sunny knew that there would be no opportunity to properly get used to his swiftly shifting circumstances. He had a lot to do, and he had to do it now.

'Just take it one step at a time.'

What did he have to do immediately?

Call Aiko, for one. He had to let his business partner know that he was back and get an update on how Rain was doing.

way to contact the White Feather clan and find out about the fallout of the destruction of the Night

For better or worse, she was his handler and his point of contact with the government. If things turned from bad to worse with the great clans, the authorities were the only force

Sunny grimaced.

I need to collect my thoughts

back and studied the familiar, peaceful landscape of the terrace

was not too easy to deal with Sunny and the other members of the cohort anymore. All four of them were Masters now, and exceptional ones at that… not only had they conquered the Second Nightmare, but they had also done it at an abnormally young age and after entering the Seed

storm, both in the media and behind closed doors. Sunny would not be able to remain

to mention that each of them received extremely

appeared to bolster her allies as long as they could see her. It was as though they were receiving

when Effie enthusiastically activated her new Ability, and had to admit that it was… powerful. Not comparable to what the young woman herself could accomplish,

without an additional cost in essence. That basically meant that any cohort, any force, and even any army

and too much for them to do to form full cohorts of Ascended. However, that did not mean that one could not build supporting

get very, very popular among the great powers

a similar

of them, not even Kai himself, had the chance to explore the full

to follow his commands. The result and the consequence depended on how much essence he poured into the compulsion and the target's resistance, as well as some

resistance to mind attacks. For example, if Kai commanded another Ascended to drop their weapon, they would be able to refuse

grip might grow weaker, and their attacks might grow

the other way around, too. The compulsion did not have to be aimed at an enemy. Kai could call upon his allies to fight with more fervor or to hold their ground no matter what. He could invoke

incredibly valuable for those who held power, as well. The government propaganda machine especially was

was more… Kai's Aspect had evolved after he had faced and slain the Ivory Dragon. Instances like that were known to happen, but were also incredibly rare.

yet, so his friends had no idea what the evolution entailed. They only knew that their friend had grown stronger, although perhaps in a way that few

then there was