Shadow Slave

‘No matter how I look at it, it’s weird.’

It wasn’t supposed to be, but it unmistakably was.

Saint’s fearsome armor was still as black as the lightless expanse of the Underworld, but underneath it, her smooth stonelike skin had become flawlessly white, like sublime jade.

And although Sunny knew that it was not unreasonable, he just could not get used to the idea of it. Her skin had been gray as the Stone Saint and alabaster white as the Marble Saint... but she had been the Onyx Saint for so long that he grew accustomed to it.

The jade nature of her Supreme body was not the only different thing about Saint’s appearance, though. She had returned to her usual height now, but immediately after completing her evolution, Saint was at least ten meters tall, towering above him like a breathtaking monument.

He had a suspicion that even that was not the limit of how tall Saint could become as long as she wished to. She had gained the ability to change her size and mass at will after absorbing the essence of one of Mordret’s Reflections — now, Sunny knew that Saint could achieve that by using the negative quality of Nothing. And since she had absorbed far more Nothing in the Palace of Imagination, there was no telling what her true height was now.

It was a far cry from the small living sculpture he found on the Forgotten Shore, who had been the same height as he was. For what it was worth, though, Saint herself seemed to prefer her usual height... which was just above Sunny.

‘She can weigh as much as a mountain of jade, though.’

Quite literally.

That would, without a doubt, come in handy in battle.

‘What am I even thinking about?’

The changes brought about by Saint’s evolution went deeper than her appearance, of course.

Sunny summoned her runes, which had already been adjusted with Cassie’s help to reflect the current state of Saint.

They read:

Shadow: Jade Saint.

Shadow Rank: Supreme.

Shadow Class: Devil.

Shadow Attributes: [War Master], [Stalwart], [Flame of Divinity], [Heart of Darkness], [Vessel of Nothing].

Two of Saint’s Attributes had evolved, and a new one seemed to have appeared.

The [Flame of Divinity] was the simplest. Saint had possessed a spark of it even as an Awakened — now that she was Supreme, that spark had grown into a towering flame. [War Master], however, was more interesting. It was an evolution of the [Battle Master] Attribute, and from what Cassie could glean, the change was quite intriguing.

The description of the [Battle Master] Attribute read: ”Born on the battlefield, the Stone Saint is proficient in all forms of combat.”

However, the description of the [War Master] Attribute was different.

Sunny glanced at the runes.

[War Master] Attribute Description: ”A veteran of countless battlefields, the Jade Saint is proficient in all shapes of warfare.” He was not sure what exactly it meant... however, if he was to hazard a guess, the [War Master] had to do with strategy and tactics as opposed to personal combat skill. It was an Attribute fit for a general, not merely a foot soldier.

Which was quite good news, considering that Sunny happened to be in possession of a legion that needed someone to command it.

‘We’ll have to see about it in the Burned Forest.’

And then, there was the new Attribute, [Vessel of Nothing].

Sunny glanced at the runes.

[Vessel of Nothing] Attribute Description: [Nothing dwells in this Shadow’s body, granting her the power of annulment.]

It was quite a mysterious description, no doubt. Of course, Sunny had already known what it meant — that Saint had gained a measure of control over Nothing, which allowed her to contain it within herself and make use of it to pursue her goals. ŗÃℕ∅ᛒЕṣ

How exactly the ghostly mist could be used, though... apart from her ability to reduce her size and mass, the answer lay in the new Ability she now possessed.

Sunny looked at Saint, who was still staring at Slayer with indifference, and then turned around to the runes.

Shadow Abilities: [Weapon Sage], [Underworld Armament], [Mantle of Darkness], [Blade of Darkness], [Shield of Nothing].

‘Shield of Nothing...’

Sunny concentrated on the new Ability and read its description.

[Shield of Nothing] Ability Description: ”Nothing protects this Shadow, and as long as it does, no one can harm her.]

These words were both vague and provocative. The reality of what [Shield of Denial] did, however, was both less grand than what the description implied... and far more fearsome.

The Shield of Denial was not a literal shield. Rather, it was a power that Saint wielded now — a field of annulment. And what that field did was deny everyone their own powers when they faced her in combat.

As long as Saint sustained the Shield of Annulment, the Aspects of Awakened and the unholy powers of the Nightmare Creatures, as well as their Attributes — the very things that made them extraordinary — would either be heavily suppressed or outright negated around her.

It was a bit like what Moonveil could achieve as long as she made her target bleed... it was also a bit like the foundation the War Realm had been built upon.

Needless to say, it was a frightening power. Saint had always excelled in defense, but now, her conservative battle style had reached its culmination — after all, was there a better defence than denying the enemy their offensive ability?

Sunny, for one, would not want to clash with someone like Saint while denied both his Aspect and his Attributes.

Not that there was anyone like Saint out there, in either of the worlds.

And on top of that, she now possessed the strength of a Supreme creature. Her will was also exceptionally strong — strong enough that she had been completely immune to most forms of mind and soul attacks as a mere Awakened.

Sunny smiled.

‘I think we will raise hell, the two of us...’

The last change was not written in the runes — rather, it was the lack of runes that had been there before that announced it. The counter of shadow fragments that used to be at the very end of the field of shimmering runes was gone. It was not replaced by a new one, either — it was simply not there anymore.

Sunny was not sure what it meant, but it seemed like Saint — or any Shadow, perhaps — would not be able to become Sacred through usual means.

That made sense, sadly. Apotheosis was not something one could achieve through quantity, after all. It was the quality that mattered.

Throwing one last look at Saint, Sunny failed to suppress a smile and turned to Slayer. His smile grew a little strained.

This one had grown quite a bit more powerful, as well...