Two weeks later...
A blade as black as the abyss and sharp as death cleaved the air, perfectly bisecting a giant, spider-like Nightmare Creature.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Iron Spider.]
[Your Shadow grows stronger.]
Sunny stood over the abomination he had just severed with surgical precision, a satisfied smirk on his lips. In his right hand, Midnight Shard dripped with the enemy's foul blood. He could do better.
Kneeling to retrieve the soul shards from his fallen foe, he quickly ducked into the cover of the ruins and checked his progress.
---
Shadow Fragments: [983/1000].
---
'Almost there,' he thought, his gaze locked on the string of runes with Machiavellian calculation.
His mind, enhanced by [Mind Weave], worked tirelessly, running through every variable and plotting his next move. Sunny's plan was crystal clear.
First, utilizing the capabilities granted by [Shadow Weave], he had consumed every single shade lingering in the dark depths of his Soul Sea to amass as many shadow fragments as possible. He had drained his resources dry, assimilating every last one.
All but one, specifically.
As a Sacred, his Soul Sea had boasted tens of millions of shades of every class and rank—from Dormant to Cursed, from Beast to Titan. But as a mere Dreamer, he currently held only a handful of Awakened and Dormant Beasts and Monsters, and perhaps a couple of Demons. Thus, the counter hadn't skyrocketed as much as he'd hoped.
What had truly made the difference was the next item on his agenda: unlocking his Aspect Legacy, the Shadow Dance.
It had taken him twenty-four hours to remaster the first step. A week to reclaim the second. And for the third step, it had taken significantly less time—a mere half-day. While the first two steps demanded immense physical toll and conditioning, the third merely required him to maintain his sense of self without losing his mind while channeling the battle art.
It was a skill he had refined over an entire lifetime.
Adapting it to the frail physiology of his young, weak Dreamer body had been no simple feat. Yet, Sunny was a shadow; adapting against all odds was his specialty.
The various combat styles he had accumulated in his previous timeline were already engraved into his very being. He merely had to re-teach them to his muscles.
As for his legacy relics, Serpent was already active, resting as a tattoo on his skin. With it, he was planning to awaken naturally, without using the Spell.
Regarding the Shadow God's lineage, Sunny had decided against absorbing it for the time being. Not only to prevent it from being devoured by Weaver's lineage—as had happened the first time—but because he was devising a plan to prevent that clash entirely. He intended to hold both: the lineage of the Daemon of Fate and the God of Death.
The [Shadow Lantern] was currently hooked to his armor's belt, limited for now to providing concealment by emitting a dark halo that devoured what little light remained in the cursed city.
Naturally, he had also exploited the traits of [The Weave] to craft Memories.
His next major goal would be retrieving the [Mantle of the Underworld], but another priority preceded even an armor forged by the Daemon of Destiny himself.
Hearing the rhythmic thud of approaching footsteps, Sunny dismissed his runes and peered out from his hiding spot.
'Finally.' A painful smile, brimming with fierce nostalgia and affection, graced his face.
Down the street he had just cleared of Nightmare Creatures, seven knights carved from the blackest stone marched in a tight, military formation, wielding weapons and shields forged from the same imperishable material.
And there, in the center, overshadowed by her taller, more imposing sisters, marched a smaller stone warrior. She wore her helm with purpose and wielded her sword with honor.
'Soon, we'll be together again, Saint,' Sunny thought tenderly.
It wasn't a wish. It was a promise.
Stepping out of cover, Sunny gripped the hilt of the Midnight Shard and willed the doors of the black pagoda on his belt to open. Instantly, a pitch-black cloud of shadows erupted, engulfing the street and swallowing the seven stone warriors whole.
The Stone Saints immediately fell into a defensive formation, creating a tight circle with their shields raised. The smallest one was inadvertently shoved into the center of the ring, unable—to her great shame—to join the fight.
CLANG.
The sickening sound of a blade biting through living stone echoed. Before they could even react, a stone head rolled across the ground.
The remaining six stared for a fraction of a second at their fallen sister. None had even seen the strike coming.
CLANG.
Seconds later, a second Saint was felled. The group tightened their circle.
CLANG. CLANG.
Two more followed. It was as if the darkness itself was tearing them apart.
CLANG. CLANG.
After ten minutes of one-sided slaughter, only she remained.
The darkness receded, allowing the final Stone Saint—the smallest and most resolute—to behold the shattered stone corpses of her sisters and the jagged, damp earth that had become their tomb.
The shadows coalesced into a single point, revealing a small hand holding a beautifully crafted black pagoda forged by a dark deity. In the next instant, the pagoda vanished in a shower of luminous sparks, taking the creeping darkness with it.
A figure was revealed.
A pale young man. Eyes like pools of ink and pitch-black hair swept by the wind. He was clad entirely in dark grey leather. In his right hand, the curved blade of an austere tachi, roughly eighty centimeters long, gleamed under the phantom light of a non-existent moon. A serpentine tattoo seemed to writhe beneath his shroud.
"You're as beautiful as the day I first met you," Sunny told her, his eyes heavy with regret.
There was something unspoken in his voice. A debt of affection he had never been—and would never be—able to fully repay.
The Stone Saint studied the boy from head to toe, ignoring his words entirely, focusing only on the tachi in his grip. She glanced at her own sword and shield.
Decisively, Saint cast her shield aside. She gripped her hilt with both hands and leveled her blade firmly at the challenger.
Seeing this, Sunny smiled. 'Ah... so nostalgic,' he thought, bringing both hands to the hilt of his Midnight Shard and raising the blade vertically over his right shoulder.
A few paces away, a loose tile clattered against the ruins of the ghost city.
The duel began.
Sunny and the last Stone Saint lunged simultaneously, like two synchronized bolts of lightning.
CLANG.
Their blades met perfectly in the middle, locking in a fierce stalemate. Sunny hadn't dodged or parried the strike; he had intercepted it, absorbing the crushing impact with his shadow-augmented body.
Sunny and Saint stared each other down. His heart swelled with burning passion.
CLANG. CLANG.
Their blades locked twice more. On the third exchange, Saint threw a brutal punch. Sunny raised his forearm to block and was sent tumbling two meters back.
A breathless, genuine laugh escaped his lips as he sprang back to his feet, throwing himself immediately back into the fray.
A relentless exchange of thrusts and slashes followed. Sunny didn't even try to avoid them entirely.
With every thrust, he twisted his torso just enough to avoid being skewered.
With every slash, he used his tachi to parry or deflect.
Whenever she tried to grapple, he simply leaped back.
He wasn't just taking a beating. Several shallow cuts decorated his face, but his body, fortified by the traits of [The Weave], didn't bleed; the wounds knit closed almost instantly.
Capitalizing on Saint's momentary loss of balance after a heavy overhead strike, he struck the vulnerable joints of her armor where she was exposed. Whenever he could, he kicked the backs of her knees to destabilize her. Whenever possible, he closed the gap to attack head-on.
The clash was long and intense. And even though Sunny had faced far deadlier calamities and overwhelmingly superior foes in his previous past, this fight was absolutely enchanting.
But in the end, he emerged victorious.
Saint lay on the ground, her stone body shattered, her armor completely wrecked. One hand still stubbornly gripped the hilt of her sword, which was driven deep into the earth.
On the horizon, the sun of the Forgotten Shore was finally beginning to rise.
The boy—her opponent—stood over her, catching his breath. A deeply satisfied look crossed his face as he raised the austere blade of his tachi one last time.
"It breaks my heart to reduce you to this," he told her before delivering the finishing blow. "But don't worry, we will be together again soon. So please, Saint... become my blade once more."
CLANG.
The Midnight Shard descended, bringing the fateful duel to an end.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster: Stone Saint.]
[Your Shadow grows stronger.]
"Please. Please."
Sunny waited for the Spell to announce the new Echo. Thanks to [Shadow Weave], he technically didn't need the Echo to recreate the Stone Saint as his Shadow anymore. Yet, Sunny felt an overwhelming need for it to happen this way—a profound melancholy carving out his soul.
[You have received an Echo: Stone Saint.]
"Welcome back home, Saint."
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