Shadow Slave

There had been a time when Sunny studied Changing Star's runes like a man obsessed. His whole life had been built around the desire to overtake her on the path to power.

He might have even done a few careless things in that pursuit.

At some point, however, Sunny had lost the desire to compare himself to Nephis, at least in this way. The first change had happened because of her return from the Dream Realm. The second... sometime in the Antarctic Center, he had lost the habit of summoning her runes every day.

Shadow fragments, soul fragments - those were not a true measure of strength, anyway. Sunny had seen countless mundane soldiers stand and fight against the Nightmare Creatures, never surrendering despite the dire disparity of power between them. If those people were weak, then he did not know whom to call strong.

And so, at some point, he had stopped paying constant attention to Neph's runes without even noticing it.

Now, however, Sunny had the Mirror of Truth. So, he decided that it was worth taking another look.

The familiar symbols shimmered, forming into strings:

Name: Nephis.True Name: Changing Star.Rank: Ascended.Class: Tyrant.Soul Cores: [5/7].

He stared at that number for a few moments.

After years of lagging behind, Sunny had finally caught up to her... wasn't it so very funny that he had only been able to do so after stopping caring about the race?

A light smile appeared on his face.

'Whatever... she still has more fragments than I do. She'll be a Terror sooner than me.'

But did it really matter? In the end, they would both be Titans. That day was not as far away as it had once seemed, now.

Sunny continued to read:

Soul Fragments: [2719/5000].

after being adopted by them. However, she could not reveal the fact that she possessed a Divine Aspect and multiple soul cores - requesting more than a thousand would have been

not been hunting down many Nightmare Creatures while Sunny had been going from one dire battle to another almost every day in the Antarctic Center, either, so her progress

she had received in the recent battle, then turned his attention back to

[Starlight Legion Armor], [Dawn Shard], [Dark

long list of Memories. Some of them she had received while wandering the Dream Realm and challenging the Second Nightmare... in fact, Sunny could learn a few things about what kind of trial she

about her harrowing experience, he held himself back. Perhaps it

Sunny knew what a precious and fragile thing trust was... it had taken a lot for him to extend his own trust toward Effie and

the Memories that clan Valor had provided to Neph. They were incredible Memories, indeed, no less outstanding than Morgan's Warbow

study their weaves. He

you please take off your armor? I need it for a couple of weeks...

thinking about it made him

image, Sunny continued to study the

two worlds, belonging to both, but welcomed in neither. Your soul exists on the edge between nightmare

divine and the profane. Nephilim were the most beautiful, and the most harrowing of

of Divinity] Attribute Description: "Your soul is aflame with the light of

Fire] Attribute Description: "You have inherited the lineage

the past years, but Nephis had not. Neither had she unlocked her Aspect Legacy... which was not very surprising. Each Aspect was unique, after

with an even smaller number doing so as Masters. Otherwise, there would have

it was Sunny who

of Serpent, and

and doomed to exist in the darkness. You bring radiance and warmth to wherever you

portion of the soul essence of any Nightmare Creature destroyed by your flames,

Flame] Ability Description: "Your soul burns with the purest of flames. That flame can both restore and destroy, and is both a blessing

familiar with the first of Neph's three Aspect Abilities - it had grown slightly more

other two Abilities - her Awakened and Ascended ones,

"You can bend

did not have to be her

the other hand... was