The Broken Halo

’Two is the limit.’

Simon’s eyes flashed with a calculating and calm glint as he placed a finger on the side of his head due to slight headache he had from failing to form a third Eye.

That limit was not permanent.

As Simon’s proficiency with ShadowEye increased, he would become capable of creating more Eyes. Their duration and the distance across which he could maintain a connection would also increase.

For now, each ShadowEye could exist for approximately twenty four hours.

That was under normal conditions.

If Simon constantly watched through one, the continuous transfer of sight, sound, and demonic energy fluctuations would consume more mental energy and reduce its lifespan. Leaving the Eye dormant until something disturbed its shadow required far less energy.

Distance worked in a similar way.

Shadow Eye did not possess a fixed range that suddenly ended after Simon crossed a certain point. The connection was maintained through his mental energy and shadow energy.

The farther he travelled from the Eye, the more energy the connection consumed.

With his current reserves, Simon estimated that he could maintain a clear connection across roughly six kilometres without wasting too much energy.

This was a lot compared to the current and previous distance ShadowSense could grant him.

It also made Simon relieved that his decision was not in vain.

Going farther was possible, but the drain would increase rapidly.

He also knew that, increasing his shadow affinity would reduce that cost.

His High C grade shadow affinity was not poor, but it was also not exceptional. A higher affinity would make controlling shadow energy smoother, strengthen the Eyes, and reduce the amount of mental energy needed to maintain them.

Simon turned his attention toward one of the floating white flames illuminating the room and he had a thought.

With a thought, he snapped his fingers and a flame appeared above his hand.

It was a weak flame that could not cause any damage, and he placed the flame directly over the first ShadowEye.

Its vision immediately became blurry.

The dark rune beneath the table faded slightly, and the connection weakened. It did not disappear because part of the table’s shadow still remained, but the effect confirmed another limitation to Simon.

Extremely bright light weakened ShadowEye.

If the shadow carrying an Eye disappeared completely, the Eye would be destroyed.

Strong formations could also block his connection with the ShadowEyes. The ShadowEye might continue existing on the other side of the formation, but Simon would neither see nor hear through it until the connection was restored.

There were still other restrictions.

He could not release an attack through a ShadowEye.

He could not channel his demonic energy through it.

It was an organ of perception, not a path for his abilities.

If Simon dismissed an Eye himself, the connection would disappear without harming him. However, if someone discovered and forcefully destroyed it, the fragment of mental energy inside the Eye would be torn apart.

The damage would not be serious at this stage, but it would cause mental pain and weaken his concentration.

Simon moved the flame away and extinguished it.

The first ShadowEye became clear again.

He remained silent for a moment, inspecting the evolved skill and comparing it to what ShadowSense used to be.

Less than six months had passed since he obtained ShadowSense.

During most of that time, he had used it passively. He did not spend every day training it, nor did he possess an extraordinary shadow affinity. His shadow affinity was only High C grade.

Without the Seven Stars Blessing, reaching this point would have taken much longer.

An ordinary demon with the same affinity might need more than four years of repeated use to push ShadowSense to the edge of evolution. If the demon mainly used it passively like Simon did, the process could last several decades.

And even after all that time, the skill might simply gain a larger range or sharper perception.

Transforming it into something as different as ShadowEye would require deeper understanding, deliberate guidance, and perhaps another opportunity entirely.

Simon achieved all of it in less than six months.

That was the power of the Seven Stars Blessing.

It restricted Simon to seven skills.

No matter how many abilities he devoured, only seven could occupy the stars within his Sea of Consciousness. That limitation sometimes forced him to reject useful abilities or combine several skills into one.

In return, the seven skills grew at a frightening speed.

Their proficiency increased far faster than normal, and once their foundations became strong enough, Simon could guide them beyond their original limits. A simple skill could evolve into something its former owner might never recognise.

ShadowSense was proof of that.

It had not merely become stronger.

It had become another ability while preserving everything useful from its previous form.

Simon looked into his Sea of Consciousness.

The black star remained unchanged, but the new eye-shaped rune floated steadily within it. Several faint and unfinished lines extended from the rune before disappearing into the star’s darkness.

Simon knew what this meant... The evolution path had not ended.

Shadow Eye could still become something greater.

’And I look forward to it,’ Simon could not help but smile as he had this thought.

Simon withdrew his perception and looked at the Murmur Bone resting on the table.

The evolution of Shadow Sense came at the right time, and once again, a part of Simon could not help but become suspicious and wary.

’This is it so suspicious since it coincides with what I know about my blessing and my experience with it, but I remember the last time I obtained Unholy Regeneration...’

’... Don’t tell me that this Operation Crownless Dawn might turn to something beyond me once again?’

Simon’s brows creased into a slight frown, then he shrugged.

If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t mind the dangers at all.

If there was one thing he knew, it was that if he was able to overcome the dangers, he would be like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger... most of the time.

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I’m starting a super gift exchange for bonus Chapters.

A magic castle for one extra Chapter which means I’ll upload five Chapters instead of the normal four.

A spacecraft for two extra Chapters which means I’ll upload six Chapters instead of the normal four.

A golden gachapon three extra Chapters which means I’ll upload seven Chapters instead of the normal four.