Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost From Light.
Rank: Ascended.
Class: Beast.
Shadow Cores: [2/7].
Shadow Fragments: [1809/2000].
Sipping on a box of apple juice that he had retrieved from th Covetous Coffer, Sunny was partly accepting of his progress in gaining Shadow Fragments. It wasn't enough to make up for the Cores he had lost, but gaining over two hundred in a single day was much more impressive than his progress as an Awakened.
Most of the Shadow Fragments that were being put towards his third Shadow Core were obtained from all the collateral damage he had caused when forcing Mordret to surrender. As he had only been a Dormant Beast at the time, he was able to gain Shadow Fragments from all living beings no matter the Rank.
Furthermore, the amount he gained increased exponentially the larger the difference in Rank.
Shifting in the wooden chair he had summoned, he glanced at the two shadows cast next to his feet. One of which seemed to be in a constantly terrible mood, while the other simply upturned its chin at Sunny's gaze.
He smiled.
"We'll get those two fellas back. A couple more, while we're at it."
Then, Sunny furrowed his brow as he looked up at the sky. He knew that he had asked to be dropped off at a random spot in the wild… but he hadn't accounted for the fact that the stars were constantly shifting. His only directions were reliant on the unusual celestial activities…
So, not feeling like he had to waste any effort on a fruitless endeavor, he thought back to a completely mandatory and not out of place memory… that took place only twelve hours ago.
***
[...Wake up, Sunless.]
[Your nightmare is over!]
In a dark room, 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 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 talk again? I can talk 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.
He felt so light, so swift, so agile… 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 tall, powerful Devil had its own advantages, but he much preferred his true compact self.
Not only was Sunny much lighter, but he also presented a much smaller target for the enemies to stick their blades in. And although having only two hands seemed rather inconvenient and silly, shedding the cumbersome shell of the inhuman creature feel nothing short of exhilarating.
Besides, now that Sunny was a Master, his slender body packed more punch than the shadowspawn could ever hope to muster. Not to mention how in tune it was with Shadow Essence now, and how explosive the result could be.
At the moment, Sunny was incredibly happy with his natural stature and height. Only after being forcefully turned into a lumbering monstrosity did he learn to appreciate all the benefits of being light, nimble, and swift.
Inhaling the flawlessly filtered air of his room, 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 simply grabbing it too hard. Getting used to his new strength was going to take some time…
For a moment, Sunny felt very disheartened about the damage he had done to the expensive machine. Replacing the bent panel was not going to be cheap. It was well within his means, of course… but still…
However, then, he tilted his head slightly.
"Wait… why do I even care?"
Why would he worry about the luxurious sleeping pod?
He didn't need it anymore!
He was a Master now… a 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 waking world. More than that…
He could leave the Dream Realm behind, 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, enjoying all that it offered thanks to his wealth, citizenship, and social status.
For the first time after becoming infected by the Nightmare Spell, Sunny was free to refuse it. He had won his right to have a choice. He… he was not a slave to the whims of the world anymore.
For now…
He could concentrate on his business 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 about how to sustain it even again.
He could even sleep in an actual bed, and see actual dreams.
Would it not be a beautifully happy ending for a homeless street rat from the outskirts?
Sunny froze, staring into the distance. Slowly, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
He could, theoretically live a completely secluded life, avoiding the eyes of any organizations, clans, or other groups that wanted the strength of a top-class Master such as himself. However, that would, of course, require him to completely abandon society.
And while he wasn't a big fan of society, what point was there in getting rich if he couldn't flaunt his wealth on everyone and everything?
…Well, he was already somewhat rich.
The point was, it would be horribly boring if he had to live in isolation like some kind of monk.
'But people are so troublesome… ugh…'
He still had some world domination to get to.
[Your Attribute has evolved.]
[Your Aspect Ability has evolved.]
Sunny blinked.
'What the… what the hell changed?!'
He hadn't felt anything about him change since he had exited the sleeping pod. It seemed quite strange for the Spell to randomly announce such important updates at this point.
Attributes: [Fated], [Essence of Divinity]…
[Bone Weave], [Blood Weave], and [The War] have not changed. Neither had [Breach of Styx] or [Pathstrider]…
Instead… [Child of Shadows] was gone.
A new Attribute had replaced it.
Sunny stared at the runes.
They read:
[Master of Shadows].
'...What?'
He sucked in a deep breath, waited for a moment, and then concentrated on the shimmering symbols.
[Master of Shadows] Attribute Description: "Shadows recognize you as one of their champions."
The first part was the same, but the second was new.
'…And that does… what, exactly?'
He quickly concentrated on his Abilities, looking for the one that had evolved.
It was [Shadow Control].
Now, its description read:
[Shadow Control] Ability Description: "[Your shadows are more independent than most, and are invaluable helpers. All shadows respect your authority.]
The possibilities! If he could command natural shadows to move and change shapes according to his will, so many things would become easier. So many things would become possible!
And that new and unexpected gift was going to, without a doubt, synergized not only with his familiar Aspect Abilities, but with his new one, as well.
The runes shimmered in the darkness.
Aspect Ability: [Shadow Manifestation].
Ability Description: [You can manifest shadows as tangible objects].
Sunny read the description several times over, then froze for a few moments.
The visage of the Mountain King being torn apart by tentacles made of pure shadows appeared in his mind.
…After some time, Sunny threw his head back and let out a loud, triumphant laugh.
Before sharply jumping as a loud bang rang out. Turning his head, he saw a fist-shaped dent in his door. After a second of silence, a thought appeared in his head, one of many ingenious thoughts:
'Am I being robbed? Suffering from success…'
It seemed that the perpetrator had decided to properly announce themselves… with an apology, which was customary for every robbery since the great outskirts heist of…
"Uh… sorry about that? Let me just…"
After hearing March's voice, Sunny automatically tuned her out, deciding that he didn't want to know, and that he did not care. Sure, she did some cool stuff once or twice, but that did not excuse the fact that she was a… a… Neanderthal!
Whatever a Neanderthal was…
Rather, he was more concerned about his monetary gains. After all, he was an extremely valuable man now — surely he could take some unexpected avenues to milk money and favors out of people.
But he just couldn't think of any!
Until March accidentally ripped his door off his hinges, at least. While he was completely bare to the world, at that.
'…Eureka!'
"March, you beast! How could you barge into a man's sacred place without warning?! Ah… it's too bad that we can't erase your memories. Oh well. Mistakes happen. To make up for it, I guess you'll just have to pay up for it with your money… this body comes with a price, you know?"
Sunny feigned an embarrassed look, fluttering his lashes as he looked away. He waited for a few moments for dramatic effects… before turning back to the broken doorway with a raised brow.
Which was completely empty.
'Huh.'
Using his shadow sense, he blinked before summoning the Puppeteer's Shroud. A moment later, he reappeared in the floor below, standing next to March as they both stared at the door that was somehow lodged into the party car's walls.
To be precise, Sunny's door from the floor above seemed to have been flinged below, stabbing into the walls like a throwing knife.
"How the fuck…?"
"Don't ask."
"You're paying."
"I know…"
"Good."
After a few moments of both astonishment and embarrassment — for Sunny and March respectively — the two turned to face eachother… before instantly covering their eyes and screeching, as if they were blinded by a radiant light.