Shadow Slave

Sunny remembered his first clash with Morgan very well.

Back then, he had been a mere Awakened. Nevertheless, as far as Awakened went, he had considered himself to be somewhat of an outlier in terms of personal power and combat skill... he had even entertained the idea of winning their duel.

Sunny had been blessed with the powers of a Divine Aspect, trained by Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan and tempered in the ruthless crucible of the Forgotten Shore, and possessed of an Aspect Legacy.

So, there had been a reason for his confidence.

The streak of easy wins he had achieved in the Dreamscape also played a role. Even though some of the opponents he had faced were challenging foes, none managed to make him feel seriously threatened.

Sunny had involuntarily grown a little arrogant.

...Morgan had destroyed that arrogance.

She had been the first Master he crossed swords with, and not just any Master at that. The heiress of the great clan Valor was at the absolute pinnacle of what an Ascended could be. Being utterly crushed by her in less than forty seconds had hit him like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing whatever nascent hubris Sunny could have developed.

Her oppressively flawless skill, her overwhelming physical prowess, her crystal-clear killing intent... all of it made a lasting impression on him.

Sunny had returned with two valuable gifts from that battle. The first was a breakthrough in his mastery of Shadow Dance. The second was a stark reminder of how many crouching tigers there were among the Awakened. Yes, he was outstanding and powerful... but he was not the only outstanding, powerful person out there.

Ever since that battle, Sunny had been instinctively comparing every Master he fought with Morgan.

So far, no one had made the cut - not in the waking world, not in the Dream Realm, and not in the Second Nightmare.

Which was why he was very curious to see how he would compare to her now that they were both Ascended.

then - the Night Temple, the Red Colosseum, the gauntlet of nightmares, the Temple of the Chalice, the Ivory City... and the Antarctic Center, from the quiet dread

trials had left scars on his soul, but also made him a much more

'That is true...'

Anvil's daughter was too young and inexperienced to challenge the Third Nightmare... which had to mean that she had been actively earning the necessary experience

this spar of theirs

I was looking forward to

gestured for Cassie to

withstand the intense pressure of being wielded by Masters, and

you prefer to use? Swords, spears, something more exotic? Not weapons at all, perhaps? Oh... I forgot to ask. Are you

if it was of no concern

a moment,

to mention a drain on the essence. I mostly activate it when there are too many enemies

shadow cast by a support pillar and

"That would be enough."

Morgan smiled.

"Neat trick."

took a simple straight training sword from the case and walked to the center of the dojo. Stopping there, she pierced Sunny with

would probably destroy a large part of this level of the compound.

Sunny shrugged.

a shame if he had not learned what Morgan's Ascended Ability was already, but he had - in fact,

near her, after all. She was a priceless source of information... an

the Valor

Morgan's