Shadow Re: Slave

And the fourth… the fourth was having a great time hunting nightmare creatures.

At first, Sunny prowled the endless corridors of the Labyrinth, not daring to face the Dark City head-on. He wasn't ready yet — not strong enough, not fast enough. So he waited, and he hunted. Each kill sharpened him, each battle added weight to his soul. He farmed steadily until he forged his second Shadow Core… and then filled it halfway to saturation.

Only then did he return to the Dark City — the first place that had ever truly felt like home.

He didn't want to miss the moment when Kai would be taken, dragged down into the ancient well. Something about it all felt… nostalgic. Familiar and bitter, like a half-forgotten dream.

This time, Sunny was focused. He hunted, yes, but he also meditated in the shadows of ruined towers and silent streets. After reuniting with Saint and turning her into a Shadow — so that she and the Soul Serpent could now hunt on their own, each paired with a shade — he turned inward.

Weeks passed. Then months. And finally he reached the threshold he had been chasing all along.

Awakening.

He felt it before it happened. Heard the voice of the Spell whisper in the deepest part of himself, where soul met shadow:

[You have broken the Second Seal.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

Just like the first time, something stirred within him. Only now, it was deeper… more defined. Back then, it had felt as though a new power had risen from the depths of his soul — alien, yet utterly his. Now, that sensation returned — but he felt it far more clearer.

The source of it was clear.

His Shadow Cores were burning — not with fire, but with an ethereal heat, subtle and suffocating. Energy coursed through his body in a tide, reshaping it. Strengthening it. It was like the strange warmth he always felt when absorbing a fragment… but wilder. Hungrier. Alive.

He sank into the feeling, sitting down, crossing his legs, letting his eyes fall closed.

And in that quiet stillness, the change overtook him.

The euphoric wave washed over his mind, drenching every thought, every sense. He felt his body improve — bones reinforced, muscles refined, nerves singing with energy. But deeper still… something else changed.

His soul.

There were no words for what was happening, only awe.

Unlike the brutal forging of the second Core, or the searing torment of divine blood, this transformation felt… right. Natural. As though it was something he had always been meant to become. A step closer to what he truly was.

A better being.

When it finally ended, Sunny thought it was over. But then, the Spell spoke again:

[Congratulations. You are the first human of your Divine World to walk the path of Natural Awakening.]

[Evaluating a worthy boon for your hardship…]

He opened his eyes, stunned.

He hadn't expected the Spell to even acknowledge what he'd done. But perhaps it made sense. Maybe the path of natural awakening had never been hidden — only ignored. Why would the Spell encourage hardship, when a shortcut existed? Why would anyone walk the long road, when an easier one lay open?

And yet, here he was.

[You have acquired a new Attribute.]

His runes now read:

Name: [Sunless]

True Name: [Lost from Light]

Rank: [Awakened]

Class: [Demon]

Shadow Cores: [3/7]

Aspect: [Shadow Slave]

Aspect Rank: [Divine]

Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond]

Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step]

Master: []

Memories:

• [Silver Bell]

• [Puppeteer's Shroud]

• [Midnight Shard]

• [Ordinary Rock]

• [Prowling Thorn]

• [Blood Blossom]

• [Moonlight Shard]

• [Blood Fang]

• [Carapace Pincher]

Echoes:

Shadow: [Stone Saint]

Shadow: [Soul Serpent]

Shadow Rank: [Awakened]

Shadow Core: [3//7]

Attributes: [Shadow Bond],

[Blood Weave],

[Spark of Divinity],

[Self Wrought]

Shadow Fragments: [344/4000]

Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]

Flaw: [Clear Conscience]

As he focused on the runes of Self Wrought, the words shimmered before him:

Attribute Description:

You Possess an unnatural aptitude for learning—absorbing knowledge at a terrifying pace. You are able to dapt to changes with inhuman speed, as if shaped not by the world itself, but by the void between moments.