Sunny vanished into the shadows just as the triggers were pulled.
The first bullets tore through empty air, magenta casings spinning uselessly as Kafka's submachine guns barked in rapid succession. The recoil didn't even shift her stance.
The world flattened as he submerged himself fully into shadow, sound dulling, color draining until everything became gradients of absence. The pressure of reality loosened around him, and for the first time since the fight began, there was no immediate threat demanding his attention.
His thoughts exploded.
Images, sensations, connections snapping into place with startling speed. His Shadow Essence flowed through him in intricate, almost musical patterns, no longer brute-force reinforcement or simple expenditure.
After hitting that strange technique, his mind and Shadow Essence underwent a qualitative transformation. He had better control of the latter, while the former…
He just felt high.
If being high suddenly provided him with enlightenment.
His Shadow Creatures, for example. He had just learned that he could summon strengthened versions of them by simply feeding them more Essence. But was that truly the limit? What if he summoned them inside his Soul Sea while his consciousness was outside of it? What if he summoned more than one Shadow on the same spot at the exact same time?
Shadows were mutable. Ever-changing. Responsive to will, intent, belief.
So why had he been treating them like fixed tools?
His three Aspect Abilities were Shadow Control, Shadow Step, and Shadow Manifestation. Turning the tangible intangible, turning the intangible tangible, and controlling it all.
Those Abilities were clearly interconnected, but Sunny never got the chance to safely experiment.
What did people say? No time like the present?
As he was now, Sunny felt like he could succeed in grasping his ideas even under constant danger.
Sunny felt it then — the sheer intricacy of his Essence control. Every strand responded instantly, obeying not just command but intention. It was as if the shadows were waiting for him to finally understand what they were capable of.
'Can I pull this off?'
Sunny's gaze drifted high above Kafka, who's smile widened just a smidgen.
It was at that moment that a figure fell from the sky, deflecting bullets with nothing but her bare hands — and with such angling and precision that it seemed as if she was predicting the future.
Standing between Kafka's gunfire and the sky was a petite woman with long pink hair, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. A floating halo-like construct hovered behind her, rotating slowly, etched with geometric patterns that pulsed faintly with power.
The bullets had never harmed her.
They curved away.
She scowled.
"Tch."
With a sharp motion, she leaped backward, landing lightly before immediately pivoting toward the shadows where Sunny had vanished.
"Unbelievable. You couldn't hold her off for two seconds? Not even one?"
Sunny blinked.
Why was she acting like ninety nine percent of Masters wouldn't have died after that first kick?
Sunny walked out of the shadows, glancing at Kafka to find her courteously waiting on them, even going as far as to wave. He waved back, before turning his attention towards the pipsqueak in front of him. Giving the admittedly-beautiful Transcendent a lookover, he asked:
"Who are you? Where did you drop from? We were kind of having a bit of a confrontation here, so…"
She whipped her head toward him, eyes blazing.
"You can have a 'confrontation' after she's tied up and behind bars! Right now, you are going to help deal with the Stellaron Hunter. Understood?"
Sunny considered violence.
Her tone was grating. Her attitude abrasive. And she was ordering him around as if he were some subordinate Awakened who had stumbled into a Saint-level conflict by accident.
…But damn, did he appreciate a lady with a commanding tone and a bad temper.
"Fine, but don't get in my way."
Sunny reached inwards, towards Saint's presence in his Soul Sea. A small, basically negligible amount of Shadow Essence was rejuvenating his Shadow.
So, he pushed.
Shadow Essence surged outward in a violent flood, pouring into Saint's damaged form like liquid night. The response was immediate. The missing arm reformed, just as it was before.
The cost hit Sunny a heartbeat later. A sixth of his Shadow Essence vanished.
The new arrival stepped forward, bare hands raised, the halo-like construct behind her flaring to life as intricate symbols rotated into alignment.
Kafka's gaze flicked between Sunny and the pink-haired Saint, lingering briefly on the halo behind her.
"Jing Yuan's people really do have poor timing."
The petite woman's brow twitched, her eyes still tightly shut.
"I'm not his subordinate!"
Kafka laughed.