Lycon didn't always hate his family.
He was born in the Pillaris Clan, a pristicious, powerful, respectful Clan vassal of Valor. He had everything he wanted, a loving family, money, whatever he wanted, a good education, good training…
He couldn't ask for something else.
However… His happiness suddenly vanished.
Lycon doesn't rememb— Doesn't know why his mother betrayed his father, why his sister gladly accepted it, or why his mother just remarried so soon, like his father never existed…
Why didn't he protest the vileness that he witnessed?
And every time he asked, they acted as if Lycon was lesser, like he did something wrong.
When he discovered that his mother gave his father a Memory, and that right afterwards he started to feel bad, wrong…
'It was supposed to be their wedding anniversary…'
And yet, it was the very thing that killed his father, a Memory that slowly infected him until he died…
He doesn't… Remember when, but eventually, he stopped loving his family, started hating them, despising them. Even his new younger step-brother that had nothing to do with the story.
Then he entered the Dream Realm and got stuck in the Forgotten Shore for years… And every single day, he fought for a chance to escape, to get stronger, to kill his family.
Even if he'd had to risk losing himself due to his damning flaw.
Flaw- Lost Remnant.
[To use your Aspect, you must forget.]
This flaw destroyed him, crippled his powerful Aspect Ability to regress time.
The power in itself was powerful, but his flaw made it all seem useless. It basically lets him regress the state of one person or object, the more he regresses, the more he forgets due to his flaw. To make something regress one year, he forgets one year or more of his life, as the output of his Aspect also impacted how much he forgot. The only reason he took a gamble and made that spy regress a year was to see what would happen, if he could really regress so much.
And he had no idea if it was worth it, as he doesn't know what he forgot along with the memory of what he was doing.
What he forgets is random, he could forget what he was doing for a year, or worse, he could forget what his Aspect does after losing one year of using the Aspect.
The stronger the target, the more time it took to return mere seconds, all the while he lost the exact same quantity of memories.
It didn't get better when he Awakened, his new Ability let him return his own body to a past state he set. Meaning if he put an anchor in the beginning of a battle and was severely wounded, he could activate his Awakened Ability and return his body to the state it was when he set the anchor…
However, the moment he sets the anchor, he begins forgetting rapidly, every minute he puts the anchor, he forgets five minutes of his life. All random, he could even lose memories of why he is even fighting.
And that was as far as he knew. Memories are fickle after all, there's no way for him to know what he forgot, all he knew came from his experience.
He needed to become a Master and get his revenge already, his mother had no intention of doing the Third Nightmare after all, only his step-father was a Saint, it was the only reason she married him… As far as he was aware.
He doesn't know why Pillaris ignored him once he escaped the Forgotten Shore. After years of using his Aspect Ability in the Death Zone, he forgot most of his family, only that they existed, and that they killed his father… Even if he forgot who his father was.
He just needed to kill her, then, he could forget his own existence for all he cared.
— — —
Sunny sat up from his sleeping pod, stretching his body and sighing.
He left the separate room that housed the state-of-the-art pod and entered his bedroom, went to his bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His body was perfect, his face without imperfections, like he was seeing a statue, yet his eyes were still as hollow and dark as ever.
'What are you so afraid of mom?'
Ki Song denied, she didn't want to say his True Name, to create a connection. And Sunny could see in her eyes, it's not that she didn't want to, she is scared of something.
Which could only mean one thing.
'What did Hel, or even Cassie see?'
Did they saw her death? A bad omen? Someone else that he needed to connect to?
Sunny sighed once again.
Meanwhile, the Spell kept whispering in his ear from time to time.
[You have slain a Fallen Beast…]
[You have slain a Corrupted…]
[You have slain an Awakened…]
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
He left Wraith there to kill all abominations that his mother captured, the list was quite impressive. Somehow, she was able to capture various Corrupted and Fallen creatures, mainly Beasts to Demons, but from time to time, Devils and Tyrants were there.
She must have put all the creatures together for Wraith to kill them all so quickly.
'Either way, I doubt I'll be able to get that many Memories or Echoes, knowing my luck, I'll probably-'
[You have slain a Fallen Titan, Colossal Sight.]
Sunny froze. Completely.
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
[You have received a Memory.]
He stood still in the middle of the room, absorbing what the Spell just said.
"...."
His mind flooded with one thought.
'I won't get an Echo.'
'I won't get an Echo.'
'I won't get an Echo!'
It didn't work, he stood for a couple more seconds, but he didn't receive any Memories or Echoes.
He rolled his eyes, of course he wouldn't receive an Echo that easily, especially a useful one. It's not like he'll make anything a shadow, it needs to be worth investing in.
'In other news, a Titan?! Mother captured a Titan?! I swear, how the hell did she do this?!'
He sighed, deciding to not think about it too much and look at his new Memory, laying down his comfortable bed and looking at his runes, ignoring the messages of the Spell.
Memory: [Last Sight.]
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: ["The skies are mine to rule! Do you really think you can challenge me brother?! Our father's pathetic excuse of a Domain will fall, mark my words! I'll destroy you all!"
The weak flying warrior gazed at his brother with an endless well of hatred, however, the other man with an identical face just cried over his brother's foolishness.]
"Hm… Interesting."
Reaching out his hand, he summoned the Memory, out of a well of sparks, a blue bow and arrow appeared. It was simple, but intricate, it was carved from blackened wood that gleamed with a blue sheen, its elegant curves ending in wicked, blade-like tips. It reminded him of Silent's first bow and arrow, the one Undying Blade made for her, but blue.
'I was missing a long ranged weapon.'
He heard a sudden knock on his door, a soft voice reached his ears.
"Lord Sunless? Miss Mei Raiden is here, she wishes to speak to you."
It was a maid from the manor. Sunny got up and dismissed his new Memory, answering her lazily, getting some better clothes to wear.
"I'll meet her in the meeting room."
"Understood."
The maid seemingly left the corridor as Sunny finished getting himself ready.
He stood for a moment, and decided to save some time, using Shadow Step to get there faster.
—
He appeared at his destination in a couple of seconds, sitting on the soft sofa and resting on the armrest, waiting for Mei to get there.
After a minute or two, the door opened, revealing the young woman with formal clothing, still carrying her blade behind her wrapped in a cloth, she respectfully bowed as she noticed him in the room.
"Lord Song…"
Sunny waved his hand.
"No need to do this, Mei, you can sit down."
She nodded and moved to the couch on the couch in front of him.
A part of Sunless still couldn't believe Mei was the last daughter of Raiden, it now made sense why she was so quick to follow him, to be so loyal. And why she didn't trust herself with making her own choices.
Her father, Ayakashi Raiden, was the Saint that created the Clan, he was extremely loyal to Ki Song… However she made a mistake, she committed the sin that any child would commit: she was rebellious.
That rebelliousness led to the death of her father while he protected her, and since Mei's mother died shortly after giving birth to her, the Clan didn't have a leading figure anymore. The remaining members planned to use Mei to spearhead the Clan once she Awakened, using her powerful Aspect to lead them back into relavence…
The Forgotten Shore had other plans.
The Clan eventually disbanded, being absorbed into the Song Clan. Once Mei returned, very few wanted for the Clan to emerge from the ashes.
Either way, that didn't matter right now.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Mei straightened and crossed her legs, resting her hands on her thighs.
"Lycon, I don't trust him."
Sunny sighed, he imagined it was something to do with him.
"Why?"
Mei sharpened her eyes.
"Because he's unreliable, untrustworthy, and a ticking time bomb."
Sunless looked at her eyes for a second and sighed again. He sat up and went to the coffee machine at the center of the room.
"You know his flaw."
Mei nodded, crossing her arms.
"I figured it out after working with him for so long, and how his story kept having more and more holes each time he told it."
Sunny poured two cups of coffee.
"You think he'll betray us?"
Mei shook her head.
"The current Lycon? No, but the Lycon after forgetting why he serves you? Yes, I think he will."
Sunny grabbed the two cups and approached Mei, offering her one of the cups.
"There's more, isn't there?"
She hesitated, but grabbed the cup, taking a sip as Sunless sat back down with his own coffee.
"Yes, ever since I figured out his flaw, I can't shake the feeling that he may be lying to himself. Or more exactly, forgetting his past, he had to use his Aspect a lot in the Dark City, and that may have slowly destroyed his memory."
Sunny stopped for a second, considering her words.
"You are saying… He may hate his family for killing his father now…"
Mei completed.
"But what if he didn't before?"
Sunny put his cup down and led his hand onto his mouth, covering it in a thinking position. It followed logic, Lycon wasn't a reliable source due to his flaw, so everything about him had to be put into question.
Let's say, if he forgot something his father did to deserve his death, maybe he was a traitor to Valor. Or if he forgot why he loves his family? There's just too many unknowns.
Sunny sighed, Lycon could have been a strong ally, but his background just made him more and more suspicious…
He leaned forward, resting his elbow on one of his knees and reaching for his cup full of coffee with his free hand.
"Keep an eye on him, I'll ask for my sisters to look into it. I would ask Motza to do it, but you are all already busy with the Second Nightmare."
He took a sip of the warm liquid and then took a deep breath. After he finished, his eyes became even more dark and hollow, looking at Mei with only cold logic, like his mother.
"If he shows any sign of being a traitor… You have my permission to eliminate him."
The last daughter of Raiden widened her eyes for a second, surprised, but soon it was replaced with cold compliance. She understood, and agreed.
"As you wish, Lord Song."
With that, she finished the coffee and placed the cup on the little table in front of her, raising to her feet, she bowed.
"I wish you luck on your trial, my Lord."
She straightened and turned, leaving the room and Sunless alone.
Sunny sighed and leaned on the couch. It was frustrating, but he had to accept that one of his allies could be untrustworthy.
It's not that Lycon wasn't loyal, like Mei said, he was right now. The problem was that his flaw made his state of mind unknown, maybe one day he overuses his Aspect and forgets all his time in the Shadow Watchers, then discovers he is from Pillaris and decides to join them again… Who knows, the flaw is just too severe.
As he was lost in thought, he felt a shadow enter the meeting room, two, actually. One was graceful and gentle, the other dark and oppressive. Slender white arms wrapped around his neck from behind him.
Sunny chuckled and turned his head around to see his beautiful sister Moon smiling at him.
"Hey Sunny! How was the date?"
Sunny's smile disappeared and a vein popped on his forehead.
"It wasn't a date! And it was great."
Moonveil 's face became unamused.
"You are really dense."
The presence behind her chuckled.
"You're the last person who can say that darling…"
Moon let Sunny go and raised herself and turned to her boyfriend, Shin was keeping a hand on his mouth, trying not to laugh.
"You are taking his side?"
The Master raised his hands in surrender.
"I'm just saying you didn't notice when I first asked you out."
Sunny raised his brow, he didn't know that story.
"Really? How was it?"
A sudden blush appeared on Moon's face, and she glared at Shin with a death stare. However, her boyfriend didn't care about self-preservation.
"Don't you-!"
Smirking and leaning on the couch, Shin started the tale.
"You see Sunny, when I asked her out, she thought it was just a meeting between friends, and brought Beastmaster with-"
Moon put her hand over Shin's mouth and pushed him back from the couch, away from Sunny.
"S-Shin!"
He took her hand away and started laughing, it only made her even angrier, blushing even harder, she started lightly punching him, only strong enough to tickle.
Sunny watched amused as his sister, a Saint, punched her boyfriend, a Master, repeatedly like a child complaining about their older sibling.
"I told you already! Bin tricked me!"
The boyfriend ignored, continuing to laugh upon the memory of the nervous wreck that Moon had on their first real date.
Sunless smiled, happy for his sister…
But the happiness turned into bewilderment when he heard the next words the Spell whispered in his ear.
[You have slain a Fallen Devil, Dreadwing of the Black Storm.]
[Your shadow grows stronger…]
[You have received an Echo.]
"YES!!!!"
Sunny basically jumped from the couch smiling widely. He turned to Moon and Shin, who were staring at him with apparent confusion.
"I got an Echo of a Fallen Devil!"
A hint of understanding quickly consumed Moon's face and she smiled, forgetting about her anger towards Shin for a moment.
"Exelent! One more Shadow!"
The military Master meanwhile raised his brow.
"Shadow–?"
Moon realized that Shin was there and blurted out something to interrupt his question so as to not trigger Sunny's flaw.
"Eh! Nothing! Just something to do with his Aspect! Like your's!!"
Shin looked at her confused for a second, then his face turned into an expression of understanding.
"Ah, it's a secret, it's fine, I know better than to pry in a Great Clan business. My father taught me better than that."
Sunless let curiosity get the better of him and asked something.
"Speaking of father, what does Saint Cor think of your relationship with Moon?"
Moon was about to shut the question down, but she was also curious, still not having met the Saint even after months of dating Shin. The Master chuckled and answered Sunny non-chalantly.
"What else? He hates it, it gives him headache when trying to mediate Valor and Song. The former thinks he's biased against them, and the latter tries to use it as a bargaining chip. He already asked me to break up with her."
Moon's eyes widened, surprised.
"And… What did you say to him?"
Shin looked at his girlfriend and gave her an innocent smile, like he couldn't hurt a fly.
"I told him to shove it."
"...."
The Song siblings stared at Shin for a good couple of seconds, letting him continue.
"... He was so proud of me… After he put me on triple shift…"
Shin felt a warm body embrace him, looking down, Moon burrowed her face on his chest, smiling widely.
He shared her smile and hugged her too.
Sunny stood there, third wheeling. Outside he showed an annoyed face, discontent at the show of affection, pretending to be an overprotective younger brother.
On the inside, however, he felt glad, really glad…
He stood up and stretched.
"Alright, I'll be going now, see if this Echo is really good or not."
Moonveil let go of Shin, her eyes sparkling in remembrance, she turned to Sunny.
"Before you go, tomorrow I'll be taking you to the Chained Isles with Seishan, remember to get a gliding Memory as a precaution!"
"Right, thanks for reminding me, I'll speak with teacher Blade when I meet him."
With that, he left the room and Shadow stepped outside the manor.
—
Having an open field in the courtyard of the manor, Sunny delved into his soul sea to look at his new Echo.
Once entered the calm dark waters of his soul, the four black lightless suns welcomed him in all their glory.
The army of shades was ever growing, getting more and more members from the countless abominations he and his Shadows had slain.
He took a quick look at his fragments to see how the progress was going.
Shadow Fragments: [3563/4000]
'Good, if this keeps up, I'll be a Terror in no time.'
Close to the center, his servants were standing. Saint and Igris turned to him as he appeared, their stoic demeanor still evident, they seemed to be communicating somehow between each other. Sunny had no idea how the two Shadows seemed so indifferent, yet so close to each other.
Sunny felt a giant body behind him, turning, Serpent regarded its master with their giant body. Having Ascended after Sunless reached the third step of Shadow Dance, it now was twice as big, the scales seemed stronger, more durable. The mouth was big enough to swallow a human whole in one bite, the onyx fangs even more deadly.
Sunless smiled, now that Serpent was Ascended, it could make itself in the form of the Forsaken Knight, and after he became a Tyrant, the form of the Lord of the Dead, he was about to receive a big boost.
The Shadow of the Soul-Devouring Tree was the furthest one from the center, being half-way to the center and the army of shades. Still as imposing and grand as ever.
The Echo of Shadow Blade Kurt was also there, standing in the calm waters, still as empty and dead as ever.
Next to him, his new Echo appeared.
It had the shape of a giant Raven, almost seven meters in height, having black feathers sharp as steel swords and a beak that could break iron, black armor encasing its entire frame save the wings.
Echo: [Dreadwing of the Black Storm]
Echo Rank: Ascended.
Echo Class: Devil.
Echo Description: [A lone raven lost their family after making mistake after mistake, blinded by guilt, it did everything to make a new family, and protect them till the end…
However, all that corruption made her was a Terror that roamed the skies, hunting for prey.
It eventually met its end at the hands of a mother seeking to protect her child from Death.]
Curious, why did it seem like the Spell was talking about his mother in the end there?
Well, no matter, now, the question was: What were its abilities and was it worth it to make it a Shadow? The fact it was a flying creature already made it extremely tempting.
The ability to fly gave it an inherent advantage, especially considering he just got a bow and arrow, Kai already proved that.
But if the only thing the Devil could do was fly, it didn't seem as enticing to waste the fragments.
[Do you wish to transform the Echo into a Shadow?]
[Cost: 500 fragments.]
Sunny hesitated, he couldn't think of it as a type of gamble, and teacher Lunae always warned about not taking gambles when he doesn't need to.
'Do I really have to wait to meet Cassie…?'
As he questioned himself, a message coming from one of his connections reached him, two, actually.
[Blood: "Need some help brother? I have the blind seer right beside me."]
[Light: "Want me to ask Cassie to read those runes?"]
Sunny paused, he received the messages at the exact same time, with very similar content…
That meant both were looking at the runes at the same time, and that both were close to Cassie…
That meant…
He sent two messages, one for each one.
[Shadow to Blood: "What are you doing with Nephis and Cassie?"]
[Shadow to Light: "What are you doing with Seishan and Cassie?"]
He stood for a few moments… Actually he stood for some time, more than he expected, were they fighting or something? Eventually, they answered.
[Blood: "I merely came to the Immortal Flame's mansion to talk about the Second Nightmare."]
[Light: "Kai called her here after Cassie convinced him. The Second Nightmare is just an excuse."
Sunny's eye twitched, he decided to tease his sister.
[Shadow to Blood: "Quit lying and ask Kai out like a normal person, you're not as subtle as you think. And also, my best friend? Really? He may have a crush on you, but he's not perfect."]
[Shadow to Light: "Just tell me what Cassie sees please."]
He received the answer from Seishan not long after.
[Blood: "I have no idea what you mean brother."]
Unamused, he stared at the message until he rolled his eyes. The answer from Nephis came after a few minutes.
[Light: "It has a couple of attributes and abilities, the attributes help it maintain equilibrium and guide itself in the skies and the night, also has a resistance to lightning and a strong sense of hierarchy.
The abilities meanwhile are summoning lightning, incredible sight, armor durable, but limited since it needs to be light enough to take flight, and having the potential to create 'spaws', whatever that means.
Cassie thinks it's worth the investment, Kai seems to agree, saying: 'I finally won't be alone in the sky!'... Seishan also agress."]
Sunny chuckled… But he felt something was missing… Nephis's opinion.
[Shadow to Light: "What do you think…?"]
[Light: "It's worth it."]
Simple, direct, efficient, just like the Neph he knew…
[Shadow to Light: "Time to expand my Army."]
Smiling, he looked back at the Spell's message
[Do you wish to transform the Echo into a Shadow?]
"Yes."
Once again, shadows raised from the dark sea and infused in the Echo of the giant raven, consuming and changing the Devil.
He felt his body getting weaker, looking at his counter, it showed how much he lost for creating this Shadow.
Shadow Fragments: [3102/4000]
'Alright, it will take longer to reach Tyrant, but it's fine. From what mother said, there's enough creatures for me to become a Terror.'
After some seconds, Sunny looked at his new Shadow.
A colossal raven born from living shadow presented itself, its form impossibly lean and predatory, as though darkness itself had taken the shape of a bird. The jagged plates of black armor clinged to its body like a second skeleton, their edges sharp as obsidian blades. Now, Sunny could see what seemed like veins of black lightning crawl across its feathers and armor.
Where its eyes should be, there was now only an empty abyss, featureless darkness that seemed to swallow all light. Its vast wings shed drifting wisps of shadow with every movement. Silent and regal, the new Shadow, Dreadwing, carried a presence of an ancient calamity, like a harbinger that descends before kingdoms vanish into darkness.
Dreadwing looked around curious, until its gaze reached the Heir of Shadows, it snapped the head around, the lightless eyes acquiring information.
Then, the grand raven bowed to their master, gracefully and evenly. The other Shadows acknowledged their new companion, well, not exactly…
Shadow Saints and their stoic indifference seemed to change, like they were a little annoyed at the bird… Maybe it was because of the armor. Serpent slithered around the giant raven, as if judging them. The tree… Just ruffled its branches.
Sunny smiled, satisfied at his new Shadow, now, he had a flying option.
Shadow: [Dreadwing of the Black Storm].
Shadow Rank: Ascended.
Shadow Class: Devil.
— —
Revel widened her eyes upon looking at Sunny's runes.
"How is he so lucky?!"
That [Fated] attribute… If it wasn't a double edged blade, it would be perfect!
She sighed, laying on her disorganized bed with her new book in her hands. Azriel was walking through her room, looking at the books with a small luminous Memory. He raised an eyebrow upon hearing Revel's outburst.
"Who is lucky?"
Revel paled, she kind of forgot her boyfriend was there, the book was really good and Sunny gaining a new Echo distracted her. Originally, they were reading it together, but she read way faster than him, so he ended up letting her read at her own pace while he picked something else to read.
'Gods… What kind of girlfriend am I? Forgetting my own boyfriend…'
She raised herself and looked at Azriel while grabbing her pillow, hugging it. Using the best lie she could.
"The guy in the book, he got out of a sticky situation with pure coincidence…"
Azriel chuckled.
"Really? That's a shame, an obvious plot contrivance always ruins a good book."
Lightslayer chuckled.
"True, things like that always bother me…"
The handsome cold Saint left the bookshelf and approached the bed.
"But sometimes, those coincidences happen in real life, and those are the ones that save us, that saved me. That led me to meet you."
Revel blushed, remembering how she and Azriel met. She was looking for someone to complete her cohort for the Third Nightmare, well, her companions were, she only got up to search after Sunny pointed out she would never get laid if she kept locked inside her room.
She got so angry with him and the idea of dying as a virgin that she decided to leave and search for someone. The place she went to? A library. She ended up not talking to anyone, just focused on the books…
Until Azriel asked her about where a certain book was, and then, they started talking. Things went forward from there.
She was happy, finally, she could say someone other than her family cared for her, really cared for her…
But still, she couldn't help but question why Azriel started dating her, she could be the Saint Lightslayer, the strong, lethal, daughter of Song that all feared.
But he knew who she really was, a sheltered introvert with an obsession with novels that would marry a fictional character if she could, why would he date her?
"Az… Can I ask you something?"
The blue eyes of the handsome Saint looked at her calmly.
"Sure, what is it Rev?"
She blushed a little, hesitating for a moment, before gaining the courage to ask.
"Why do you like me?"
The question clearly startled him, confusion invaded his ice-like face, he shifted closer, his voice came out with worry.
"Where did that come from? Why wouldn't I like you?"
She looked to the side.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm weird Az, a weird, oblivious woman that spends way too much time in her room, I wouldn't have even met you if it weren't for my brother…"
She laughed self-depricadingly.
"I mean, look at me! Using an old shirt that barely fits me, I haven't showered in days, I don't even…"
Azriel touched her arm calmly, caressing her skin and getting close to her.
"And I still love you despite that. Because I know that it is you. The fact you are like this in front of me proves you are being yourself, not lying, not pretending, this is you. And I still love you."
She blushed, trying to hide her face, she led her arm to it, but Azriel stopped her, grabbing her hand and making her look at him, continuing.
"And if you want to get better, I'll support you all the way. But only if you want to do it."
He got closer… And closer… Until their breaths touched.
"Damn… You are perfect, you know that?"
He chuckled.
"But I have a flaw."
"Don't care. You are perfect."
They had a good night.
Ki Song left them alone.