Shadow Slave

The ancient skeleton remained silent for a while, studying Sunny with his empty eye sockets.

Then, he said in an unexpectedly nonchalant tone:

“How is being Supreme treating you?”

Sunny considered his answer for a while, then raised a hand. Soon, a bottle of antique wine appeared in it. Removing the cork with a blade made of shadows, he took a sip and smiled contentedly.

“Well... it’s a bit terrifying, to be honest.”

The wine was supposed to taste exquisite, considering that he had pilfered it from the wine cellars of the Valor clan, but Sunny honestly couldn’t tell the difference from the normal wine he sometimes used for cooking. He was not going to get drunk unless he wanted to, regardless, so drinking this relic of the bygone eras was mostly to amuse himself.

“Before, my power grew exponentially every time I attained a new Rank. But it was still just that, my personal power — no matter how great it was, I was still merely an individual... or a few individuals, at best. But now that I am Supreme, there has been a qualitative change to it. My personal power is like a natural force, and I am not merely a person. I am more of a walking kingdom.”

He paused for a moment, and then added: ”It is strange even to say out loud, but one of me is enough to conquer the world... or destroy it, should I wish. I grew up in the outskirts of NQSC, you know, surrounded by stories about valiant Awakened, Masters, and Saints — who were so lofty as to seem unreachable, inconceivable, unimaginable. But as I am today, I could overrun NQSC with all its valiant warriors, then the Northern Quadrant, then all of Earth. It would not even take me much time... and I will only grow stronger as a result.”

Eurys chuckled dryly.

“My, oh my! How scary.”

Sunny smiled.

”This is to say that the power of a Supreme is not personal. It is... territorial. Conceptual? It is larger than themselves, is what I mean to say. It is a domain. That is why Neph’s own power can increase the power of the entire humanity manifold.” He took another sip of wine, then offered it to the ancient skeleton. Seeing no reaction, Sunny shrugged.

”Well, suit yourself. Now, back to being Supreme. There are a few differences. First of all, my Attributes... the authority granted to me as the [Lord of Shadows] has grown. I can even command the shadows of living beings now, albeit only those much weaker than myself and with great difficulty. Shadows are a very loyal sort, after all. The [Onyx Shell] has become [Jade Shell]. So... I guess I am a bonafide jade beauty now...”

Sunny leaned back and exploded with laughter.

Eurys looked at him with reproach.

“That’s enough wine for you, boy...”

Sunny grinned.

“The [Flame of Divinity] has grown much more powerful, too. And my Lineage, as well. Obviously, my body and soul have been reforged, becoming even closer to perfection than

before. My soul especially has undergone a big change.”

He pointed to the bottle of wine.

“I can actually store physical items in my Soul Sea, for one... only inanimate objects, though. I haven’t managed to bring a living being there yet. But that is alright, because there are plenty of... unliving things in my soul already. All the lifeless shadows I’ve been collecting throughout the years are much livelier now. They walk around, stare at the temple, and rest on the water from time to time. They’re not exactly living beings, but it seems like they retain faint traces of their former selves. If I had to describe it... I’d say that they don’t possess a sense of self. They have neither will nor spirit.”

Sunny hesitated for a while.

“Which brings us to my new Aspect Ability. The Domain Ability... I guess. I call it the [Shadow Legion]. It allows me to open the gates of my soul and unleash all the shadows gathered there into the world. I can also control them, albeit not quite intricately. The shadows fight in my stead, and every enemy killed by them becomes a new soldier in my army. The shadows are also quite deadly, because it is impossible to destroy them. At best, they can be dispelled and sent back to my soul, where they will be restored to form after a while.”

He sighed.

“They retain most powers they possessed as living beings, as well, although that is... a bit complicated. Shadows don’t really have the Will, for one, and neither do they have Domains. Some shadows also seem to retain more of their former selves than others, so their learned skills and combat techniques are sharper. Oh, and since most of the shadows in my soul used to be Nightmare Creatures, they have lost those powers that were granted to them by Corruption. My legion is still vast and dreadful, though. It’s... I guess all I could say is that I would not have wanted to be my enemy?”

Sunny smiled.

“Right, I also received a few other abilities, and my old Aspect Abilities have grown stronger. Every shadow of my Shadow Legion can serve as a vessel for my shadow sense, for example. The maximum range of Shadow Step has become even greater than it had been before... actually, I guess it’s limitless now. The only limitation there is is how much essence I have. Shadow Manifestation allows me to create far more intricate items, and I can also make them stay manifested permanently — although that will diminish their potency quite a bit. And since I am a shadow now instead of a human, I can maintain my incarnations indefinitely, although manifesting them as humans still requires some essence.” 𝙍𝐚Νồ₿Ës

He chuckled.

“But I have more essence than I can spend now, too! Which is to say, it replenishes faster than I can waste it. The only way for me to empty my reserves of essence is to travel a truly great distance in a single moment or summon truly powerful members of the Shadow Legion for a very long time. Even then, I’ll be back to full power in a relatively short amount of time.”

Sunny looked at Eurys while sipping his wine.

“Oh... and I can strike directly at the shadows of living beings, too. Quite an insidious power, that one, although not an unfamiliar one. I knew a guy once who could do just that. I was a bit envious of him, back then, but lo and behold. I gained the same power as a bonus while becoming Supreme...”

Sunny turned the bottle and poured some wine out for Shadow Blade Kurt.

He was certainly not missed, but Sunny was going to use his newfound power well. He smiled.

”So, I’d say that being a Supreme has been treating me quite well.”