Shadow Slave

Sunny waited for a moment... then waited some more. He was back on the deck of the Chain Breaker, surrounded by flowing mist. A slight tremor ran through his body.

'I'm tired.'

He straightened slowly and stared into the fog. It was time for him to take a break, but... Sunny wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do. His companions were just as useless as far as resting was concerned - none of them had given him a single good idea.

Well... except for Jet. She had looked at him for a few moments, chuckled, and told him to take a good nap.

Which was not a bad piece of advice. As a government officer who had always looked overworked and suffering from sleep deprivation, she would know best.

That said...

Even though this revolution was supposed to be his day off, Sunny still had to rescue Jet. Relaxing while she was being killed by Undying Slaughter did not sound restful at all. He couldn't bring himself to even think about skipping this step.

'Ah...'

Glancing at Nephis and Cassie, Sunny walked over to Nightmare and climbed into the saddle. Neph looked at him questioningly.

"Sunny? What are you doing?"

He couldn't be bothered to explain things properly.

"Leaving. Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Until then... just stay here."

Leaving the two bewildered young women behind, Nightmare leaped into the mist.

As the familiar scenes flew past him, Sunny summoned the Mirror of Truth and studied the reflection of Nephis on its mercurial surface. After hesitating for a few moments, he activated the [Searching Reflection] enchantment.

At the same time, he imagined a pure white flame and thought:

'Soul Flame.'

crack appeared on

which had always been still

purest of flames. That flame can both restore and destroy, and is

'How peculiar.'

possessing something and being in control of it were two different things. He should have expected that much, though. After

manifest Soul Flame. As he did, more tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the Mirror of Truth. Judging by the rate at which the Memory deteriorated, he could borrow a Dormant Ability for

the Memory in a few hours, while an Ascended one would not last for more than one. A Transcendent Ability might shatter the Mirror of Truth in mere minutes, while

it was

appeared on his palm.

'...It's black?'

pure white flame, just like what Nephis could

from one's soul. Nephis's soul

It was reasonable, too - although the [Flame of Divinity] and the potency of his Ascended soul fueled it, he lacked Nephis's lineage Attribute,

the innate resistance to fire it granted

"Ouch!"

the black flame when the skin on

the

frown

Nightmare dashed deeper into the misty forest, Sunny continued concentrating on his newfound Ability. Eventually, he managed to summon soulflame again, this time channeling it into his body instead of manifesting it outside of himself. This

dark radiance. Concentrating it on his hands, he

had just healed

'Wow.'

would it be, to be

He shook his head.

Nephis get the audacity to call me a

she was the

his body. Augmented both by both the dark flames and the shadows, Sunny felt dire strength coursing through his veins...

distinct parts, akin to his five shadows. Instead, it was a single mass of flame which

'Huh...'

shadows, all of the authentic soulflame, all of the mirrored soulflame, Effie's Ascended Ability, and the Crown of Dawn on top