Shadow Slave

Sunny froze, paralyzed by the whisper of the Spell.

’...What?’

Had he heard right? Had it really said... a fragment of Shadow’s Domain?

Of a god’s Domain?

’No, wait...’

What even was a Divine Domain, and how could there be a fragment of it? How could there be a fragment of any Domain, for that matter? Weren’t Domains more concepts than things?

What could a fragment of a concept look like?!

Sunny took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

’Slow down. Think... most importantly, don’t fall off the ketch!’

He was so out of it that he had almost swayed and tumbled over the side of the boat. Sunny was more than fed up with suddenly falling into water, thanks to the Spell, so he hurriedly took a step back.

’A fragment of Shadow’s Domain...’

Come to think about it... hadn’t he heard something similar once? During the Second Nightmare, when they assaulted the Ivory City, the moon had been suddenly devoured by an enormous shadow, and the world was plunged into darkness.

When that happened, Noctis said... that he had not expected Sevras to possess a piece of Shadow’s domain.

Ivory Dragon Sevirax was a direct descendant of Sun God and an immortal Saint, and yet it was strange for him to possess something like that. And now, Sunny received a piece of a god’s Domain, too?

’D-damn...’

Sunny needed a few minutes to calm down. During these minutes, his imagination ran wild. He fantasized about all kinds of developments, from immediately becoming a Sovereign to instantly ascending to the Divine Rank.

However, his rationality eventually won.

’It doesn’t work like that.’

Indeed, possessing a fragment of someone else’s Domain did not mean having one of your own. More than that, the Ivory Lord, who had used his piece of Shadow’s domain to seal the moon and rob Noctis of his power, had not shown any ability above what a Saint from a divine bloodline should have possessed.

So, while the fourth Aspect Relic of Shadow Dance had to be immensely valuable, it was definitely not a broken cheat item that would turn Sunny into a god among men.

’Yes, but... just what the hell is it, and what can it do?’

He threw a sideways glance at Nephis and Ananke, then turned back to the shimmering runes.

’And where the hell is it?’

Sunny read the runes from the very first one.

Name: Sunless.True Name: Lost from Light.Rank: Ascended.Class: Tyrant.Shadow Cores: [5/7].Shadow Fragments: [1448/5000].Memories: [Silver Bell]...

The Crown of Twilight was the last Memory on the list. The fragment of Shadow’s domain was not among the Memories.

Neither was it among the Echoes, Shadows, Attributes, or Abilities. In fact, there was no indication of it anywhere...

’Wait, no. What is that?’

A single new rune appeared close to the end of the shimmering field of symbols. Sunny blinked as he stared in that direction.

Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control], [Shadow Step], [Shadow Manifestation].Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance].Flaw: [Clear Conscience].??Dream Anchor: Tower of Longing.

’What are those question marks?’

He concentrated on the rune that had no meaning except for the lack of it, and there were suddenly a few more beside it.

Sunny’s heart skipped a beat.

The new runes read:

[Fragment of the Shadow Realm].??: ????: ????: ??Description: [When Shadow made death, he has become death. Everything that Shadow swallowed died, and everything that died was swallowed by Shadow. Death was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everchanging was everchanging no more. Time was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everlasting was everlasting no more. Space was an absolute law, and thus, that which was endless was endless no more. Wielding time, space, and death, the gods defeated and bound their enemies. However, there were those who defied even absolute laws. One of these beings broke free of the Shadow Realm after being swallowed by it, and in doing so, splintered several small fragments of it. This is one of the fragments.??: [By calling upon the Fragment of Shadow Realm, its owner can summon a piece of Shadow’s domain into existence.]

Sunny stared at the runes, perplexed.

’...Huh.’

Then, he stared at them some more.

’Huh?’

Finally, he dismissed them.

’Huh...’

An entire minute passed in complete silence.

’Well, I’ll be damned.’

It seemed like... he had finally encountered something that existed outside the purview of the Nightmare Spell. Which was why the Spell was struggling to integrate the Shadow Realm Fragment into its generally all-encompassing system.

All the question marks and the awkward placement of the Fragment in the field of runes showed that much.

For some reason, that made Sunny feel dark glee. He was reveling in the image of the Spell being stumped and flustered...

On second thought, though, he quickly strangled that feeling. Sunny was more than certain that the Spell could read his mind. And while it was not exactly alive... most likely... he wouldn’t go as far as to say that the Spell couldn’t hold a grudge.

’No, no! It is completely understandable. I also can’t make sense of that thing... yeah...’

The point was that the fourth relic granted to him by Shadow Dance could make a fragment of the Shadow Realm descend into the world. What that entailed, exactly... Sunny was not sure.

He had seen it happen once, in the Second Nightmare, and it caused the moon to be obscured by a giant shadow. Considering that he was a Master of Shadows and even one himself... something like that would definitely be very beneficial to him.

It was just that Sunny had no idea what the summoning would cost him, how it would transpire, or what the actual process was. He didn’t even know if it could be done only once, or repeatedly... which was why he was hesitant to experiment and find out.

What would he do if the very first experiment turned out to also be the last time he could use the Shadow Realm Fragment?

As the seven suns drowned and the waters of the Great River started to shine, Sunny sighed and shook his head.

’Well, at least... if I am surprised by how that thing works, my enemies will definitely be surprised much more.’

Then, he shivered.

If a fragment of Shadow’s Domain was the fourth relic of Shadow Dance... then what the hell would be the fifth?

...What about the seventh?