Shadow Slave

Every time Sunny had inherited a part of Weaver’s lineage, he had to endure harrowing agony. That was because his very being was assimilating something that was forbidden, and turning into something it was not meant to be.

The gods themselves had forbidden daemons from propagating, after all. So, by inheriting the legacy of Weaver, Sunny was going against the will of the gods — against the nature of his existence itself.

However, when a shadow cast by the Demon of Fate fused with his own, there was no pain. There was no agony, either, and he did not lose consciousness, like he had when accepting Mind Weave.

However, the transformation he was undergoing was so profound and all-encompassing that it made Sunny feel instinctual fear. He was a creature of shadows, after all, so Shadow Weave was bound to alter the very foundation of him — the very depths of his vast, lightless soul. And being changed so entirely could not be anything but frightening.

In the dark expanse of his Soul Sea, the silent waters surged, growing restless. In the black void of the sky above them, devastating winds rose, slamming into the seven tenebrous Shadow Cores. The Shadow Cores themselves quaked, as if great forces were raging within them.

Then, a weave of golden threads shimmered in the darkness, permeating the world — that was the intricate web of the Soul Weave, which usually remained invisible, helping his soul endure the transformation. Sunny could feel other parts of his existence reacting, as well. His blood rushed, boiling. His bones seemed to vibrate. His muscles contracted and relaxed uncontrollably, answering an unknown impulse. His state of mind changed subtly, making him feel like he was observing himself from outside himself.

His titanic Will expanded and receded like an ocean — as if affected by the pull of some unfathomable, invisible mass.

Perhaps it was the mass of his Will itself changing, as well.

‘What...’

Sunny drew a labored breath.

Then, a quiet groan escaped from his lips. He swayed and leaned on Nephis to support himself, feeling a profound change overcoming his entire self.

‘What is happening to me?’

For a moment, a frightening thought flashed through Sunny’s mind. He was suddenly afraid that by inheriting all fragments of Weaver’s lineage, he was becoming Weaver — that the treacherous daemon had left these seeds for some unfortunate soul to find so that the great and horrible Demon of Fate could be reborn, replacing their foolish, shortsighted heir.

Their epigone.

But no... that was not how Lineages worked. None of those who had inherited the Lineages of the great gods became vessels for the dead gods. More than that, Weaver had willingly and meticulously arranged their own death — if they wanted to escape it, they would not have spared Orphne of the Nine, to begin with.

Weaver had definitely scattered fragments of their Lineage across the Dream Realm for a purpose. But simply being reborn? The treacherous Demon of Fate would not have pursued a goal so trivial. They would definitely have had a far more diabolical purpose in mind.

One part of their legacy was the Nightmare Spell.

The other? Sunny was that legacy — at least a part of it — but even he did not fully understand Weaver’s intent.

‘I just... have to endure.’

Gritting his teeth, Sunny tried to calm himself and explore the changes his nature was undergoing.

He did not know what inheriting Shadow Weave had done to Broken Sword, or would have done to anyone else for that matter — anyone else except him. Sunny was a Divine Shadow, after all, so he was bound to have a special connection to this part of Weaver’s inheritance.

Shadow Weave fused with his dark existence, producing a powerful and wondrous synergy. Sunny could feel all aspects of him being enhanced and altered, as if a binding substance was added to the sublime alloy of his body and soul.

In fact, there was not one, but two great waves of alteration happening to him.

The first came from Shadow Weave altering his whole being.

The second came from the seventh fragment of Weaver’s legacy fusing with the other six, completing the forbidden lineage.

‘What... exactly...’

Even before reading the description of the Spell, Sunny tried to fathom the nature of what was happening to him — of the first wave of alterations, at least.

His powers... were not exactly growing. However, they were changing. It felt as if a whole new facet of the Shadow Slave Aspect was being revealed to him — something he had always been meant to know and control, but failed to understand and master on his own. Perhaps he could never have mastered it, to begin with, not without receiving the lineage of a deity.

Shadow God’s Lineage, which he had been meant to inherit, ended up being swallowed by Blood Weave. But now, he was receiving a tenacious substitute created by the Demon of Fate. It led him on a path different from what the Lineage of Shadow God would have opened for him, but not necessarily inferior.

‘So that was what it meant...’

Raising his hand, Sunny peered into the depths of his existence, where shadow essence flowed through invisible veins. He had always known that he was different from other Awakened, who controlled soul essence instead — however, it was only now that he understood the fundamental distinction.

Soul essence was the essence of life, while shadow essence was the essence of death. No wonder he could only grow more powerful by slaying living things... however, shadow essence was far more than a mere force of destruction.

Shadows were formless, and so was shadow essence. In fact, it could assume the form of any energy — as Sunny watched, the lightless currents of his essence turned radiant and pure, no different from soul essence, before reverting back. If he wanted to, he could turn it into something else, as well — heat, kinetic force, electricity... he could even turn it into matter.

Or other, more esoteric kinds of things as well.

True darkness? Nothingness? One day, with effort.

Most obviously, though, he could turn his essence into shadows, thus becoming their source, not only their ruler. The shadows he created could then be controlled, called upon to shroud him, or manifested like any other. In fact, Shadow Weave had greatly augmented the power of Shadow Manifestation.

Before, the shadows he manifested permanently were equivalent to materials roughly two Ranks below his. Now, that gap was reduced to merely one Rank, meaning that at the moment, he could create permanent tools and weapons worthy of a Saint.

More importantly, the shifting nature of his essence could greatly ease his efforts to master Shadow Dance — after all, if he truly wanted to shadow a being, he needed to shadow the shape of their soul, as well.

He had already took a step in that direction by shadowing Neph’s [Soul Flame], but the malleable nature of his essence could greatly accelerate his progress.

Sunny also fathomed how to channel his essence into his shades, granting them far greater power. He even felt a hint of an ability to influence living shadows with his essence — in order to truly discover that ability, however, he would still need to explore and experiment.

And those were not the only boons Shadow Weave granted him, either.

The power granted to those his seven shadows augmented was enhanced, while the seven shadows themselves became more tenacious and difficult to destroy. The range and intricacy of his Shadow Step was increased. The innate affinity of his Will deepened, making it stronger as far as visiting death upon living beings went. Sunny was the Sovereign of Death, after all, and Death had been created by Shadow. So when he accepted Shadow Weave, the Death aspect of his spirit was greatly enhanced.

The most profound and instantly recognizable transformation, though, happened to his shadow sense, which now encompassed more than just the shape and depths of the shadows that surrounded him.

Now, he could effortlessly communicate with those shadows, learning far more about the things that cast them — from mundane things like color and taste to more metaphysical things like Rank, Class, and nature.

It was as if a colorless, silent world had suddenly become full of vibrant colors and varied sensations, making Sunny feel as if he had been blind all this time. He felt it all — the rough texture of the weathered stone, the coldness of the falling water, the weight of moisture hanging in the air, the radiant grey painting of Neph’s eyes...

It almost overwhelmed him.

Even then, Sunny felt that this was not the most important thing he had gained, though.

The true expansion of his abilities came from somewhere else.

It was hard to sense, and even harder to fathom. But Sunny felt that a profound change had happened to his very soul, as well as to the nature of his Domain... to the power he wielded over his Shadows, and his shades.

In the past, seven Shadows had come to dwell in his soul. Some of them had been Shadow Creatures, to begin with, while some Sunny had created by fusing shades and Echoes with the help of the Nightmare Spell — with the exception of the Marvelous Mimic, whom he had created on his own by turning a Memory into an Echo, then animating that Echo with the shade of the Mordant Mimic.

But now, Sunny felt that he did not need the transitional medium of the Echo anymore, and neither did he need the assistance of the Spell. The nascent understanding of how to elevate shades to the status of Shadows was already in his mind, and now, all he needed to do was experiment and develop the complete process.

Shades did not possess agency or a sense of self, and therefore, they were not imbued with the Will. More importantly, they were dead things, and therefore static. They could not change, evolve, or grow.

His Shadows, however, were different. Although peculiar creatures, they were beings with their own minds and individuality. They wielded their Will as any other creature would, and were capable of growth. Needless to say, their existence was superior to that of shades who lacked personhood.

Of course, not all shades were fit to become Shadows... but some were. And many of those who weren’t could be helped along the way by Sunny’s power.

There was an even deeper layer of mastery over his Domain that Sunny sensed, but could not quite grasp yet. After all, now, he was already capable of transforming shades — but was this transformation limited to becoming Shadows? Or could he do something else?

Could he consume his shades, for example, to rebuild his cores? Could he destroy them and turn them into soul essence, like Shadow God had been able to? Could he nourish strong shades with the weaker ones, thus making them more powerful?

All these questions needed to be answered, but Sunny suspected that he was now on the threshold of an entirely new horizon of possibilities.

However, there was a contradiction.

Why would he try to consume the shades in order to build new Shadow Cores if he was already a Titan?

And why would he elevate the shades to the status of Shadows if he already ruled seven Shadows, and could not accept more?

And there... there hid the final part of the new power Sunny sensed.

A long time ago, Eurys had said that his Shadows, while powerful, were not complete.

Now, Sunny felt like he stumbled onto a hint of the understanding of how to finally make them whole.

But before he could think on that matter deeply, the Spell suddenly whispered into his ear.

It said:

[You have lost an Attribute.]

[You have lost an Attribute.]

[You have lost an Attribute.]

[You have lost an Attribute.]

[You have lost an Attribute.]

[You have lost an Attribute...]

And then, in a voice that hinted at triumphant satisfaction, the Spell said, its voice echoing in the darkness.

[You have received an Attribute.]

[You... are complete.]

Sunny flinched and stayed motionless for a few long moments.

Then, he inhaled deeply and summoned his runes.

As the shimmering field of them ignited in the darkness, his gaze rushed to the string describing his Attributes. And there, Sunny saw something that he had long expected to see.

The runes read:

Attributes: [Lord of Shadows], [Flame of Divinity], [Jade Shell], [The Curse], [Fated]...

And at the end of it, a new one.

[The Weave].