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Chapter 1134: Peaceful Morning
Shadow Slave

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Eternity of Reading

Eternity of Reading 28 Jul 2025, 21:33

+ 41 ⋅ 0 -

Manifesting that Rain learns everything about how goated Sunny is

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  SeQ (Magda)
  
  SeQ (Magda) 4 Aug 2025, 14:25 ➥ Eternity of Reading
  
  + 22 ⋅ 0 -
  
  I have to manifest this one with you too
  
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  midnightblade213
  
  midnightblade213 6 Aug 2025, 13:05 ➥ Eternity of Reading
  
  + 4 ⋅ 0 -
  
  Manifesting that Rain learns everything about how goated Sunny is
  
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  Doublefaced 2
  
  Doublefaced 2 5 Sep 2025, 17:38 ➥ Eternity of Reading
  
  + 3 ⋅ 0 -
  
  Let me help u too
  
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  RavenNightshade
  
  RavenNightshade 6 Nov 2025, 07:10 ➥ Eternity of Reading
  
  + 0 ⋅ 0 -
  
  Be careful what you wish for. The Arcane knowledge aren't to be so easily trifled with. What if something goes awry and Sunny becomes a goat and rains in front of Rain's house?
  
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Seiian

Seiian 26 May 2025, 15:08

+ 8 ⋅ 8 -

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BlackFlame

BlackFlame 10 Oct 2024, 13:19

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What happened to his Shadow Legacy?? Did the author just forget about it?

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  lafarticle
  
  lafarticle 24 Nov 2024, 05:08 ➥ BlackFlame
  
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  Weaver's Blood 1v1'd the Shadow God's Legacy and won when Sunny was inside the obsidian tower (or whatever the opposite of the ivory tower was called)
  
  Pretty sure it got destroyed after Weaver won...
  
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    lotmglazer
    
    lotmglazer 6 Jan 2025, 22:59 ➥ lafarticle
    
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    ebony tower
    
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    Alfametadol
    
    Alfametadol 4 Apr 2025, 19:09 ➥ lafarticle
    
    + 3 ⋅ 0 -
    
    не уничтожили, а поглотили. Разница в том что наследие ткача Усилилось за счёт наследия Тени
    
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    Slime rider
    
    Slime rider 6 Jun 2025, 23:12 ➥ lafarticle
    
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    Wait no that didnt happen in the obsidian tower. That happened in his house, after he leveled up his legacy he got the ichor but when he ate it...weaver was feeling hungry
    
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  RabidRod
  
  RabidRod 3 Dec 2024, 18:21 ➥ BlackFlame
  
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  Did the author just forget about it?
  
  It's you who forgot about it lol.
  
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    BlackFlame
    
    BlackFlame 4 Dec 2024, 02:06 ➥ RabidRod
    
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    sorry my bad🤣
    
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  Slime rider
  
  Slime rider 6 Jun 2025, 23:13 ➥ BlackFlame
  
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  Unless you are talking about the legacy the thing that gives him shadow dance and the relics. Then the shadow god bloodline got cooked by bloodweave.
  He didnt forget the legacy its just no need to bring it up.
  
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  SwordDemon
  
  SwordDemon 18 Sep 2025, 22:37 ➥ BlackFlame
  
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  Wrong. Sunny lost the shadow gods bloodline. But not the legacy…
  If he had lost the legacy due to the bloodline then Sunny would have never gotten the Serpent who was a reward of the legacy.
  
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Dadadai Shukosha

Dadadai Shukosha 3 Aug 2024, 19:06

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I think she already knows he's Mongrel...

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  RabidRod
  
  RabidRod 3 Dec 2024, 18:22 ➥ Dadadai Shukosha
  
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  Seems like a baseless assumption.
  
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    Dadadai Shukosha
    
    Dadadai Shukosha 6 Jan 2026, 12:26 ➥ RabidRod
    
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    That's why I put "I think".
    
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Bunnybounty

Bunnybounty 10 Sep 2023, 22:06

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Atleast he can copy the techniques of a legacy, a powerful one at that

So it's a win win situation

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fixis000

fixis000 8 Sep 2023, 16:59

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Quote: N3reus
All chapters till the latest in the comments below. Enjoy!!

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N3reus

N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 10:54

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All chapters till the latest in the comments below. Enjoy!!

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N3reus

N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 10:51

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1139
The spar with Morgan left Sunny feeling sore and contemplative. The soreness quickly dissipated thanks to his Ascended physique and the Shroud of Dusk, but the ponderous mood remained.

Some time later, he was sitting in his small office, ignoring the paperwork he had to fill out in favor of idly staring at the wall.

That fight of theirs was not exactly illuminating, but it had provided him with a lot of food for thought.

First of all, Sunny was reminded of what true Legacies represented. Over the years, he had forgotten the feeling of awe and reverence mundane people had toward the distant, powerful Legacy Clans - the austere warrior caste that produced the best and most valiant champions of humanity. That existed solely for battling the Nightmare Spell... or was supposed to, at least.

He couldn't be blamed - Sunny had grown immensely strong himself and had crossed paths with all kinds of powerful creatures, from ancient Saints to Titans. He had even brushed against actual divinities like Weaver, Nether, and Hope. It was not surprising that the fearsome reputation of the Legacies faded a bit in comparison.

But the Legacy Clans, and especially the three Great Clans, were still authorities in terms of personal power and combat prowess. They were in no way inferior to the ancient Awakened of the past, and in fact seemed to be superior in many ways... the most important ways. Legacies - and all modern Awakened by extension - were much harsher, much more extreme, and much better tempered than those from the ancient times.

That was because the Legacy Clans were forged in a much more hellish world. They had risen to resist the Nightmare Spell, and were shaped into a force to be reckoned with by its terrible pressure.

Morgan had reminded Sunny about that.

It was no coincidence that the two most dangerous people he knew - Nephis and Mordret - were products of the Legacy culture. Among the three of them, it was Sunny who was an outlier.

Which brought him to the second avenue of thought... his own power. Sunny would have lied to himself if he said that he wasn't upset about his loss. Even though he understood that a good defeat was much more beneficial as far as his goals were concerned, a small and unreasonable part of his mind still desired to win.

No one liked to lose, and Sunny especially hated the thought of losing to a member of a Great Clan. He deeply resented them, after all... being defeated by someone he disdained was a bitter pill to swallow.

But swallow it he did.

It was one thing to pretend to be weak in front of Morgan, but the truth of the matter was that she was simply too strong - even the current Sunny, with all his advantages, would find it hard to contend with that level of strength in a direct confrontation. And while he was resourceful and had ways of avoiding such a confrontation, Morgan had all the boundless resources of Clan Valor behind her, as well.

So, even in that regard, she was a dire threat.

Sunny remembered what Jet had told him once, years ago...

'No one survives in the Dream Realm alone.'

Her words had always held true, but now they seemed especially poignant. Sunny had grown powerful - much more powerful than he ever imagined being. But he was still just one man. In front of a collective like a great clan, his personal power seemed insignificant.

Worse still, that collective served as a gatekeeper to greater strength. No one could even become a Saint without their permission - unless that person wanted to be hunted down and slain in retaliation for their defiance.

...There were ways to grow more powerful without achieving Transcendence, though.

The last thing the spar with Morgan made Sunny think about was the duel itself. He slowly replayed it in his mind, considering what he could have done better and what mistakes he could have avoided.

The list was both endless and pointless. Everything was easier in hindsight - it was achieving the best result in the moment that was hard.

Still, it was good to review his performance, as well as that of his enemy.

Sunny spent some time staring at the wall and thinking back to the duel.

'A jian was not a good choice for that strike... here I did not need to saturate that group of muscles with essence, it was just a waste... should have anticipated the effect of the kick better...'

As he analyzed their fight, his thoughts inevitably drifted to what could have been done differently.

'I wonder how Morgan would have fared against me if I used the Shadow Shell...'

Sunny tried to construct such a fight in his mind, replacing himself with a version that was three meters high and possessed four arms. Would Morgan have still held an advantage? Not in physical prowess, that was for sure.

However, he was not certain if the outcome would have been different... Legacies were first and foremost abomination slayers, after all. Anvil's daughter had been trained to face all kinds of Nightmare Creatures since childhood. A four-armed fiend would not phase her at all.

'...What about some other shell?'

Sunny was currently limited to one form - that of the shadowspawn - because that was what he knew best. But, in theory, he could create the shell of any creature. He just needed to know the creature well enough... perfectly, in fact. And that was not easy to achieve.

A thoughtful frown appeared on his face.

'Is it true, though? That I can create the shell of any creature?'

It was true in theory, but that theory broke instantly when faced with reality. Take Morgan, for example, or any other human for that matter... creating a shell a human had to be easier, because Sunny was one himself and knew how human bodies operated perfectly well.

But how would that even work? The shadowspawn shell worked because the four-armed fiend was much larger than Sunny, and thus, he could form its body around his own.

But other humans, with rare exceptions, were more or less of the same approximate size as him. There was no space for a human shell to be formed.

There were creatures smaller than humans, too. The current Ravenous Fiend, for example - even if Sunny studied his Shadow for a while, he wouldn't be able to create a shell of the little critter.

So, in reality, the Shadow Shell was limited in what it could recreate.

...A strange expression suddenly appeared on Sunny's face.

He blinked a couple of times.

'Unless...'

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  N3reus
  
  N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 10:52 ➥ N3reus
  
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  1140
  1140 -
  
  Sunny remained motionless for a while, then chuckled.
  
  "No... that's crazy! It would never work."
  
  Then, he stared at the wall some more.
  
  ...Would it?
  
  'No way.'
  
  The thought that had crept into his mind while he was thinking about the limitations of the Shadow Shell was so out there that it seemed utterly ridiculous. But the more he thought about it... the fewer reasons to discard it he saw.
  
  'No, that's... that's a bit too strange, even for me.'
  
  And yet, he could not find a logical reason for why it wouldn't be true.
  
  Sunny hesitated for a while longer, then furtively looked around.
  
  Then, he cleared his throat, stood up, and left the office.
  
  If he wanted to test this bizarre theory, he needed to do it somewhere more private.
  
  He left the Valor compound and made his way to the nearby dormitory, where most of the government staff still remaining within the siege capital lived. There, he entered his living quarters - which were a bit more spacious and had better amenities than that of both mundane and Awakened government workers - and locked the door behind him.
  
  Being an Ascended had its perks.
  
  Sunny sent his four shadows to stand watch - two outside the apartment, two within - and stood there for a few minutes, mentally going over what he was about to do.
  
  It didn't seem to be dangerous, just... really weird.
  
  The principle was simple.
  
  Sunny had mastered three steps of Shadow Dance to date. The essence of his battle art was shapelessness and formlessness - it allowed him to shadow an enemy, copying the very essence of their combat technique. After doing so, he could predict their movements, the flow of their battle intent, and even their thoughts.
  
  The first step allowed him to shadow simpler battle styles. He had achieved that breakthrough while fighting Nephis in the Crimson Spire.
  
  The second step vastly elevated his comprehension of the fundamental principles that governed all battle techniques, allowing him to shadow much more sophisticated styles, and do it much faster. It also gave him a glimpse of an intuitive understanding of the more esoteric components of the truly advanced battle arts - those created and used by the Awakened, thus incorporating special ways of guiding soul essence through one's body.
  
  He had achieved that step after collecting a vast library of techniques in the Dreamscape, which culminated during his first duel with Morgan. The inspiration Sunny had received after being decimated by the Princess of War pushed him to a breakthrough.
  
  The third step... was the hardest one yet. Sunny had started his journey toward mastery of it by expanding his horizons and starting to shadow not only humans, but also Nightmare Creatures. In the bloody arena of the Red Colosseum, he had submerged himself into their perverted, demented, rabid minds... which allowed him to intuitively feel what the abominations he fought would do, but also put his own sense of self, if not his very soul, at risk.
  
  The third step of Shadow Dance was much more demanding on the practitioner. It required one to truly accept the formless nature of the shadows and let go of their actual self - which, of course, posed the risk of losing it forever. Sunny had made that dangerous breakthrough after being trapped in an endless procession of harrowing dreams by Nightmare and having his personal memories blocked.
  
  In the end, he had pulled the dissipating pieces of his true self back together by using his True Name. It served as an anchor for what made Sunny an individual, and through it, he was able to advance his mastery of Shadow Dance without losing himself.
  
  That third breakthrough enhanced the speed with which he could comprehend the battle intent and combat intelligence of those beings he shadowed even further, allowed him to actually perceive the flow of essence through their bodies as opposed to just feeling it intuitively, and even gave him the ability to sometimes predict their thoughts.
  
  The fourth step...
  
  That was where Sunny had hit the wall. Shadow Dance was his Aspect Legacy, but it was also something he had to invent all on his own, with no one guiding him... as such, he wasn't even sure what the correct path was, let alone how to reach the next stop on it.
  
  He only felt that the next steps of Shadow Dance went far beyond battle techniques... and would be much, much harder to conceive and master for that reason
  
  However, while he had stagnated in mastering Shadow Dance, he had achieved progress in other aspects of his personal power.
  
  The culmination of it was the Shadow Shell - a powerful tool he had created by bringing together various facets of his skills, Attributes, and Aspect Abilities.
  
  Shadow Dance also played a role in him being able to create shells of other creatures. In fact, its role was perhaps the most important - without deep comprehension of the desired form, Sunny would never be able to construct it from the shadows, and that was what his Aspect Legacy allowed him to do.
  
  However, there was a limitation to Shadow Shell.
  
  After all, shadows were truly shapeless and formless, while Sunny was not. Even if he had managed to make his mind supremely malleable, he still possessed a human body. No matter how much training he had put into making it as flexible and adaptable as possible, it was still a relatively rigid thing.
  
  But what if... he added another ingredient to the mix?
  
  Right now, Shadow Shell existed as a combination of his Dormant Ability, Shadow Control, his Ascended Ability, Shadow Manifestation, and his Aspect Legacy, Shadow Dance.
  
  His Awakened Ability - Shadow Dance - was missing from the equation.
  
  And that, perhaps, was the reason for the limitations Sunny had to deal with.
  
  'Well... uh... let's just try this.'
  
  If he succeeded... Sunny felt that he might just discover a direction that would eventually lead him to the next step of Shadow Dance.
  
  Breathing in deeply, he activated Shadow Step and dissolved into the shadows.
  
  There, in their dark embrace, Sunny himself was a shadow - formless and shapeless.
  
  But he did not need to be.
  
  While fighting the Ravenous Fiend, he had changed his form in this state to possess sharp claws. His shadow form was, too, infinitely malleable.
  
  So, Sunny concentrated and started to slowly change his shadow form... into the shape of himself.
  
  It was a strange endeavor, to turn himself into a shadow, only to then turn the shadow into himself. But that was exactly what Sunny wanted to do.
  
  It was a bit like constructing the shell of the shadowspawn, only instead of shaping the shadows around his body, Sunny was shaping his body - his shadow body - instead.
  
  Of course, he knew the shape of himself the best. Which was why recreating it was much easier than summoning the fiendish form of the shadowspawn.
  
  Eventually, the incorporeal shadow assumed the form of Sunny's body. It had arms and legs, a torso, fingers and toes, and a face that was a perfect rendition of Sunny's face.
  
  It matched his physical body perfectly - not that it needed to. Starting from becoming himself was just the easiest thing he could do for that test.
  
  Satisfied with the result of the shaping, Sunny spent some time in the dark embrace of the shadows, drifting.
  
  'I wonder...'
  
  Then, he took a deep mental breath, activated Shadow Manifestation...
  
  And manifested himself back into the waking world through it.
  
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N3reus

N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 07:39

+ 44 ⋅ 1 -

1135
1135 Rematch

Sunny remembered his first clash with Morgan very well.

Back then, he had been a mere Awakened. Nevertheless, as far as Awakened went, he had considered himself to be somewhat of an outlier in terms of personal power and combat skill... he had even entertained the idea of winning their duel.

Sunny had been blessed with the powers of a Divine Aspect, trained by Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan and tempered in the ruthless crucible of the Forgotten Shore, and possessed of an Aspect Legacy.

So, there had been a reason for his confidence.

The streak of easy wins he had achieved in the Dreamscape also played a role. Even though some of the opponents he had faced were challenging foes, none managed to make him feel seriously threatened.

Sunny had involuntarily grown a little arrogant.

...Morgan had destroyed that arrogance.

She had been the first Master he crossed swords with, and not just any Master at that. The heiress of the great clan Valor was at the absolute pinnacle of what an Ascended could be. Being utterly crushed by her in less than forty seconds had hit him like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing whatever nascent hubris Sunny could have developed.

Her oppressively flawless skill, her overwhelming physical prowess, her crystal-clear killing intent... all of it made a lasting impression on him.

Sunny had returned with two valuable gifts from that battle. The first was a breakthrough in his mastery of Shadow Dance. The second was a stark reminder of how many crouching tigers there were among the Awakened. Yes, he was outstanding and powerful... but he was not the only outstanding, powerful person out there.

Ever since that battle, Sunny had been instinctively comparing every Master he fought with Morgan.

So far, no one had made the cut - not in the waking world, not in the Dream Realm, and not in the Second Nightmare.

Which was why he was very curious to see how he would compare to her now that they were both Ascended.

Sunny was not the same person who had met Morgan in the Dreamscape. He had lived through too many tribulations since then - the Night Temple, the Red Colosseum, the gauntlet of nightmares, the Temple of the Chalice, the Ivory City... and the Antarctic Center, from the quiet dread of LO49 to the cold despair of Falcon Scott.

Each of these trials had left scars on his soul, but also made him a much more experienced and deadly fighter.

'That is true...'

But Morgan must not have remained stagnant, either. Saint Tyris had once said the Anvil's daughter was too young and inexperienced to challenge the Third Nightmare... which had to mean that she had been actively earning the necessary experience all that time.

So, this spar of theirs was bound to be interesting.

"Sure. I was looking forward to it."

She nodded with satisfaction, then gestured for Cassie to take a seat.

Then, Morgan walked to a case containing a multitude of training swords - all fashioned to withstand the intense pressure of being wielded by Masters, and thus insanely expensive - and looked at them thoughtfully.

"What weapon would you prefer to use? Swords, spears, something more exotic? Not weapons at all, perhaps? Oh... I forgot to ask. Are you going to be fighting as is, or assume that pseudo-transformation of yours?"

It did not seem like she particularly cared, as if it was of no concern whether she would face a human or a towering fiend.

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No transformation. It only serves as a force multiplier... if the underlying skill is not there, using it is pointless. Not to mention a drain on the essence. I mostly activate it when there are too many enemies around, to reap the benefit of having four arms. As for the weapon...

He pulled on a shadow cast by a support pillar and formed it into a blunt, featureless black tachi.

"That would be enough."

Morgan smiled.

"Neat trick."

With that, she took a simple straight training sword from the case and walked to the center of the dojo. Stopping there, she pierced Sunny with a sharp look of her vibrant vermilion eyes.

"I would have suggested using our Aspect Abilities freely, but that would probably destroy a large part of this level of the compound. So, sadly, we will have to limit ourselves to our Dormant and Awakened powers. I hope you don't mind."

Sunny shrugged.

He did not mind. It would have been a shame if he had not learned what Morgan's Ascended Ability was already, but he had - in fact, he not only observed her for more than a month and came up with a solid theory, but had also asked Cassie for confirmation.

The blind girl was now able to see both the Attributes and the Aspect Abilities of those near her, after all. She was a priceless source of information... an almost limitless well of it, really. Thanks to her, Sunny now knew a lot about many people, including the likes of Whispering Blade and Beastmaster.

With Cassie's help, Sunny had finally confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that those of the Valor bloodline - Anvil and his children, at least - carried the lineage of War God in their veins.

As for Morgan's Aspect Abilities...

Her Dormant Ability allowed her to passively enhance the sharpness of anything she touched. Her Awakened Ability was a comprehensive physical augmentation with an emphasis on resilience - basically, her body could become as durable as tempered steel.

Her Ascended Ability was a strange one, though. It allowed her to assimilate enchantments into her body and soul, inheriting their effects. As a Master, the number of enchantments she could absorb was limited to three, and they could be switched freely for different ones at any point in time.

Considering how powerful, versatile, and unpredictable such an Ability was, Sunny was more than willing to forego using Ascended Abilities today.

Standing opposite of each other, the two of them studied the opponent for a while in silence. Sunny was remembering the thirty-six seconds he had managed to hold out against Morgan the last time they fought.

Morgan was probably studying his posture and expression, as well as replaying the scenes from the battle against the titanic horde in her mind.

After all, she didn't know that this was not the first time the two of them faced each other holding swords in their hands.

...Slowly, a smile of anticipation appeared on Morgan's beautiful face.

Her vermilion eyes glinted, and her crimson lips parted, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Prepare yourself, Master Sunless..."

Sunny almost rolled his eyes.

'Is there really a need to announce her atta...'

He did not get to finish that thought, however.

Suddenly, Morgan was beside him, and her sword was falling down like the inescapable blade of a guillotine.

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  N3reus
  
  N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 07:49 ➥ N3reus
  
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  1136
  1136 Friendly duel
  
  Morgan moved fast... much faster than she had moved in the Dreamscape. One moment she was standing calmly a dozen meters away from him, the next she was already there, delivering a downward cut aimed precisely at his temple.
  
  Luckily, Sunny was prepared for her.
  
  He sidestepped, raising his shadow tachi to intercept the training sword. The two blades met and bit into each other, connected in a bind. He felt the shock of the impact travel through his bones and pushed the sword away - at the same moment as Morgan raised her hands, changing the angle of her weapon and pushing it forward over the tachi.
  
  The tip of the training sword barely missed his eye.
  
  But now, momentum was on Sunny's side.
  
  He took a step forward, past their two blades, and rammed her with his shoulder. Morgan was thrown back, and a split second later, it was her turn to deflect a cut... only the cut had never come.
  
  Instead of trying to twirl his tachi into a downward cut that was not too different from the one his opponent had delivered a moment ago, Sunny simply kept its position - raised above his shoulder, the blade facing back - and struck her in the face with the pommel.
  
  No matter how fast Morgan was, no matter how strong, the distance between them was too short, and that strike was too swift - better yet, the blade of the tachi remained between his neck and the enemy's sword.
  
  Sunny saw no way for her to escape.
  
  And... she didn't.
  
  Instead of awkwardly trying to avoid the strike, Morgan simply lowered her head and received it with the ridge of her brow, where the bone was strongest. She didn't seem phased by the powerful blow, either. In fact, Sunny felt as if he had struck steel... he almost heard a metallic ring.
  
  The two of them pushed away from each other, ending that first, probing exchange.
  
  Sunny was pleased with himself.
  
  ...Morgan seemed pleased, too.
  
  A wide smile bloomed on her face. She briefly touched her forehead, then glanced at her fingers, where a drop of blood was smeared across her alabaster skin. The smile turned into a grin.
  
  "Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Nephis, Cassie, and you... I've been starved of good opponents for so long, and now there are three. And you are all so different, as well!"
  
  She looked like a starving glutton who suddenly found himself choosing between three exquisite dishes.
  
  Sunny raised an eyebrow and glanced at the blind girl, who sat quietly by the wall of the dojo.
  
  'What, that battle maniac got Cassie involved in her training regime, too?'
  
  Noticing his gaze, Morgan chuckled.
  
  "Cassia might not be the strongest Master out there, but in terms of pure technique, she is among the best. And with how potent her precognition is... fighting her made me exercise skills and muscles that I had never had to exercise before. Which is a rare boon, for me. Why? Have the two of you never fought?"
  
  Sunny lingered for a moment, then shook his head.
  
  "No. Not with swords, at least."
  
  Morgan gave him a curious look.
  
  "Ah... it's your loss."
  
  She raised her sword and prepared to launch another strike. Her smile turned from charming to dangerous.
  
  "I won't hold back, then."
  
  With that, Morgan attacked, turning into a furious whirlwind of steel.
  
  'Curses...'
  
  Sunny had been pleased with his performance in their first exchange, but his satisfaction quickly evaporated. Now that Morgan was done testing him, the onslaught of attacks she unleashed was... simply unreasonable.
  
  In terms of raw physical strength and speed, the two of them were about equal - granted, Sunny was only using three of his shadows to augment himself. He would have had an advantage if he used all five. But then again, his enemy was probably holding something back, too.
  
  In terms of technique, combat intelligence, and experience... to his deep dissatisfaction, Sunny realized that he was still inferior to the Princess of War in that regard.
  
  He had already known that Morgan's skill was near-flawless, honed into a perfect tool by decades of practice and chilling killing intent. She was the epitome of what a Legacy was supposed to be - a person born and raised for the sole purpose of being a fighter. The people who forged her into a deadly weapon were some of the best warriors humanity had to offer, as well.
  
  Subjected to Morgan's inescapable sword, he felt... suffocated.
  
  Back in the Dreamscape, he had been simply crushed. He had felt as if his enemy was not a person, but a hurricane. The thirty-six seconds he had lasted against her seemed like a miracle.
  
  Today, the situation was different. Sunny was at a disadvantage, but he could confidently defend himself. He was older, stronger, and more experienced... his mastery of Shadow Dance had improved a lot, too.
  
  That said... the problem was...
  
  'What the... the hell... she is insane!'
  
  Although Morgan's battle style was too sophisticated and strangely elusive to be absorbed by him in a short amount of time, he did manage to glean a few things about it - enough to be able to predict the general flow of her movements.
  
  However, that flow was flawless, entirely devoid of any vulnerability he could exploit. What was the point of knowing her moves in advance if he couldn't do anything about it? She fought in a way that left him with no choices. It was as though there was a steel cage around him, and its sharp bars were slowly constricting. Soon enough, he would be caught and cut into pieces by them.
  
  Sunny knew that if the enemy had no vulnerabilities, the best way to defeat them was to create some. So, he tried to lure Morgan into several insidious traps - to no avail. She seemed to see straight through them, solving the puzzles he presented in an instant.
  
  Even all this time later...
  
  She was still like an insurmountable obstacle for him. The savage, but simultaneously chillingly calculating deadliness of her perfectly lethal skill was like a work of art.
  
  Its theme was war, violence, and destruction, and Sunny was both the subject and the sole member of the audience for whom that art was being created.
  
  As well as its victim.
  
  At that moment, he realized something...
  
  Sunny realized that this was the worst possible way for him to fight someone like Morgan.
  
  Direct confrontation, contests of strength and skill... all of that was not his battlefield. The most dire battles Sunny had fought, he won with cunning and guile. He employed underhanded tricks, used every single resource available to him in unexpected ways, and tore victories from the claws of fate through sheer force of will and boundless spitefulness.
  
  He was good in a fight, of course. Much better than most. But while being a sharp sword was an important conduit of his will, it was not what made him truly deadly.
  
  'What a... fine realization...'
  
  The question was - how could he turn this duel around and push it toward a direction where he held the advantage? There were ways to overcome Morgan's furious, cold, suffocating might, surely.
  
  A more important question, though...
  
  Was if he even wanted to.
  
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    N3reus
    
    N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 08:09 ➥ N3reus
    
    + 41 ⋅ 2 -
    
    1137
    1137 Loser's game
    
    Up until now, both Sunny and Morgan had acted relatively tame.
    
    It might not have looked like it from the side, considering how fierce and vicious a battle of two Ascended inevitably appeared. Masters possessed superhuman speed, strength, and resilience. A clash between them would look like a collision of two natural forces to a mundane person, and a mundane building would be swiftly destroyed should it become an arena for it.
    
    Which was why the dojo they were fighting in was lined with durable armored plates, and the training sword Morgan was using cost a fortune.
    
    ...Nevertheless, they were holding back.
    
    Not even considering the fact that the two of them had agreed to forgo using their Ascended Abilities, Sunny had yet to make use of Shadow Step. Morgan had not made her weapon sharper, either, preferring to rely on pure technique.
    
    It was as though both of them had silently decided to make this spar a contest of skill... for now.
    
    Which was actually a disadvantage for Sunny. The fewer resources he had at his disposal, the more restrained he felt. Morgan, on the other hand, seemed to only ever need one resource - her sword.
    
    In fact, even that was not necessary. Her body itself was the sword, capable of cutting through tempered steel without hindrance.
    
    So, if Sunny wanted to turn things around, he needed the situation to change, pushing their duel into the next stage.
    
    However, he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
    
    '...What is my goal here?'
    
    He had been curious to compare his strength with Morgan's. He had been given little choice but to accept her request, as well. He naturally wanted to win.
    
    But was a victory really in his best interest?
    
    Now that Sunny was being closely observed by the great clans, there was no possibility of not drawing their attention. Which was why he had decided to accept that fact and settle for creating a very specific impression of himself instead of trying to remain unseen.
    
    Sunny wanted both Valor and Song to think of him as someone strong, exceptional even... but not too exceptional, and not too strong. They had to think of him as a powerful, but crude upstart - a talented outskirt rat that had achieved a lot, and had the potential to achieve even more... but not much more.
    
    As someone who could be predicted and controlled.
    
    Considering all that, did he really want to defeat Morgan?
    
    Could he even defeat her?
    
    'Well... of course, I can.'
    
    Saint, Nightmare, Imp, and Serpent were also part of his power. Morgan possessed a great number of mighty Echoes, but those had come from outside of her Aspect - the Shadows, on the contrary, had come from within Sunny's.
    
    Which meant that he would obliterate her in a contest of unadulterated personal power... which did not matter, really, since such contests never happened in real life. There were always other components involved.
    
    The Transcendent Echoes might have been external to Morgan's own power, but they would rip Sunny apart just as well.
    
    'No... I don't really want to best Morgan today. What I really need to do is lose in a way that will make it easier for me to gain access to her secrets. So, lose in a way that would leave her wanting for more.'
    
    Being a personal sparring partner of the heir of the great clan Valor was a dangerous position to be in - not the least because Morgan could potentially learn much more about Sunny than he would have liked her to - but it was also the best position to be in for a spy.
    
    Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer...
    
    Sunny frowned for a moment.
    
    'Isn't this the same reasoning Nephis used to justify her decision to join Valor?'
    
    Maybe it was... but he did not really care. Many things had changed since then, including Sunny himself and the situation he was in.
    
    'Alright, then... let's do this.'
    
    He deflected another of Morgan's blows, evaded her follow-up strike - three of them, actually, all chained into one predatory, fluid motion - and raised an eyebrow.
    
    "...Should we take it up a notch?"
    
    She took a step forward, sent her sword flying toward his throat with diabolical speed, and smiled pleasantly.
    
    "Let's."
    
    Sunny sidestepped her strike and nodded.
    
    Then, his technique instantly changed.
    
    Before, he was using a fluid mix of various simple styles he had picked up over the years. Such a patchwork technique did not excel in any one thing in particular, but was flexible and hard to predict.
    
    Sunny had held to his best cards, though, unwilling to share them with the enemy... a potential enemy, at least. Broken Sword's style that Nephis had taught him, Saint's grounded technique that had originated from the legions of Nether, the battle art of Solvane's zealots, which had come from the warmaidens of the Red Sect - those, he had hidden within himself.
    
    Now that he wanted to lose in the most interesting fashion, though...
    
    'What would really intrigue a battle maniac like Morgan?'
    
    She had faced and defeated all kinds of Awakened, and had learned all manner of battle styles, no doubt. Her collection was probably even larger than Sunny's own...
    
    So what technique could he show that was both exceptional and fascinating - and, most importantly, unknown to Morgan?
    
    One particular style came to mind.
    
    It was one that he had learned by chance... not from Awakened, Ascended, or even Saints, but from Nightmare Creatures. The primeval hunters that had emerged from the Gate near Rain school, wielding weapons made of flint.
    
    After all, if anything could capture the attention of an obsessed connoisseur of swordsmanship and all things related to combat like Morgan, it was a technique that might have had just lain at the root of all techniques, all styles.
    
    Sunny's movements changed, shifting from fluid and refined to uncomplicated and brutal. His whole demeanor changed, too.
    
    The savage technique of the Barrow Wraiths was straightforward and rudimentary, but there was a primal lethality to its clear, callous barbarity. It was the expression of a pure, unclouded intent to kill - simple, but in no way crude. There was nothing about it to dilute the ruthless resolve of a hunter who sought to slaughter his prey in the most direct, efficient way possible.
    
    Sunny remembered the desperate fight in front of the Nightmare Gate and attacked, cruelly aiming to slice through Morgan's hamstrings.
    
    'Let's see how this goes...'
    
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      N3reus
      
      N3reus 8 Sep 2023, 08:11 ➥ N3reus
      
      + 41 ⋅ 2 -
      
      1138
      1138 Suffering from success
      
      It went well.
      
      Sunny was not doing much better against the murderous hurricane of steel wearing the beautiful human face of Morgan of Valor... but he did manage to slow her down a little.
      
      Morgan slowed down not because she felt pressured by his sudden change of techniques, but because she was fascinated by it.
      
      Her raven-black hair swept back and her simple tunic rippling from the wind risen by their clash, she pierced him with a burning vermilion gaze. Her red lips moved:
      
      "Interesting. Very interesting..."
      
      Morgan was not addressing Sunny, but more so speaking to herself.
      
      After that, she changed her strategy, as well. Before, Morgan was all offense, all sharp edges, and a relentless barrage of calculated, but devastating strikes. Now, she was moving more deliberately - not really holding back, but also not pursuing an overwhelming defeat of the enemy at all costs.
      
      It was as if Morgan was afraid to break him too soon.
      
      ...Sunny did not really know how to feel about that.
      
      'Huh... well, that's a new feeling...'
      
      They clashed, their swords weaving a cacophonous, but strangely beautiful melody of hissing and clangor. At the side of the dojo, Cassie turned her head slightly, listening.
      
      Sunny had long beaten his record of holding out against Morgan for thirty-six seconds. A minute passed, then another. He was still solidly standing on his two feet, and even though his breathing was growing a little labored from the terrible strain of the intense fight, his stamina was far from running out.
      
      In the middle of a particularly furious exchange, when they were close to each other, Morgan suddenly asked:
      
      "That style... who taught you?"
      
      Sunny struck at the hilt of her sword, aiming to sever her fingers, and answered hoarsely:
      
      "No one taught me. I just learned it... from a Nightmare Creature..."
      
      She easily avoided his strike and punished it by aiming a thrust at his heart. A smile appeared on her face.
      
      "...In the Nightmare?"
      
      Sunny hesitated, considering how much he could reveal. He had fought the Barrow Wraiths as Mongrel, after all... but then again, no one else had gotten a proper measure of their battle skill, and he had faced countless Nightmare Gates later in Antarctica, most of them undocumented.
      
      "No, in front of a Nightmare Gate."
      
      Morgan's smile widened.
      
      "You're a fast learner, then..."
      
      She seemed to have gotten a good grasp on the essence of the primal battle style he was using, which translated into her attacks becoming more purposeful. She was probing and testing, forcing him to reveal more facets of the technique... all of them, ideally.
      
      Which did not quite suit Sunny. It was too soon - he could not have her growing bored yet. He needed to impress her some more before losing, so that the impression he made lasted.
      
      Without giving Morgan any warning, he commanded his shadow tachi to change in the middle of a swing. The shadow flowed, turning into a great jian. It was still a two-handed sword, but this one was straight and double-edged, much more suitable for thrusts, slightly more versatile, and supremely mobile.
      
      The swing staggered unexpectedly and turned into a thrust, catching Morgan by surprise. She moved with the grace of a dancer, pulling her head out of the way. A strand of wavy black hair was cut and glided through the air.
      
      "Ah! Devious!"
      
      Despite the outraged tone, her vibrant eyes were shining with excitement.
      
      Technically, Sunny had just cheated - they had agreed to leave their Ascended Abilities unused, after all.
      
      But that was fine. Cheating was exactly what an exalted Legacy would expect an outskirt rat to do...
      
      And honestly, it was also what a person from the outskirts would actually do.
      
      It was also what a fighter in a real battle would not shy away from, which was why Sunny thought that Morgan was bound to enjoy his little twist.
      
      Instead of answering, he attacked, turning his jian into a spear.
      
      There were a few weapon forms that he had trained creating well enough to summon them on the fly... the only one he had reasons to avoid was the odachi, since that was what he had used the last time he fought Morgan.
      
      Her smile grew wider.
      
      They fought, putting the armored plates of the dojo under more and more strain. At some point, one of them even started to crack. Sunny used it to his advantage, launching a deliberate strike while his opponent was slightly less sure-footed.
      
      Pushing the tip of her spear aside, Morgan pivoted, shifting her weight to one leg...
      
      The other suddenly whipped into the air, delivering a lightning-fast, picture-perfect roundhouse kick to his head.
      
      Sunny barely had time to react, pulling the spear slightly back and raising its butt to solidly block the kick with the shaft.
      
      Morgan's alabaster shin connected with the matte black surface of the shadow spear...
      
      And cut straight through it, as if it was not as strong as an Ascended weapon would be. Sunny's eyes widened slightly.
      
      'Crap...'
      
      It seemed that Morgan had decided to start using more of her Aspect Abilities, as well.
      
      There was nothing really for him to do but accept the blow and hope that she was not planning to decapitate him.
      
      The kick had lost none of its power after cutting the spear. The moment Morgan's foot connected with his jaw, it was as if he had been hit by a siege ram. Sunny momentarily saw stars. He was thrown aside and staggered, barely managing to maintain some semblance of balance.
      
      'Not good... no... actually, very good! This is exactly what I wanted. Time to be defeated...'
      
      He overplayed his disorientation a little and waited for the follow-up strike to come.
      
      But it didn't.
      
      When Sunny regained the ability to see clearly a second later, he saw a hint of guilt on Morgan's face. She was looking at him with a resigned expression.
      
      "Ah, damn it... sorry, I forgot myself for a moment. I have a healer at hand..."
      
      Then, she paused and stared at him with a slightly startled expression. It was strange to see Morgan surprised.
      
      "You're... you're not cut?"
      
      Sunny rubbed his cheek, which was still numb. He was going to have a nasty bruise, that was for sure. But the Marble Shell seemed to have withstood Morgan's Aspect Ability.
      
      No, not quite... she had probably released the Ability after slicing through the spear. But her Flaw - what Sunny suspected to be her Flaw - remained.
      
      He grimaced, then moved his jaw side to side and answered in an even tone:
      
      "No. Why would I be cut? Do I look fragile? Well, I'm not. I'm quite sturdy, in fact."
      
      Morgan stared at him for a bit, a strange expression on her face. Eventually, her lips twisted into a light smile.
      
      "That you are. I'll remember that... for our next spar. This one, sadly, has to come to an end. Thank you for a wonderful duel, Master Sunless."
      
      She glanced at her training sword, then calmly turned around and went to place it back in the case.
      
      Sunny rubbed his cheek again, feeling a bit of dull pain seep through the numbness, and looked at her back.
      
      'Seems like it worked. That... is what I call a job well done. Beautifully, really. Ah... I guess that is what they call suffering from success...'
      
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JOEMUDA

JOEMUDA 8 Sep 2023, 07:33

+ 28 ⋅ 1 -

hows life going guys and girls

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  Guru
  
  Guru 8 Sep 2023, 23:22 ➥ JOEMUDA
  
  + 6 ⋅ 0 -
  
  Long time no see man
  
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  Rãōõñ
  
  Rãōõñ 31 Jul 2025, 16:21 ➥ JOEMUDA
  
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  Going nowhere or somewhere i don't know
  
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Chapter 1134: Peaceful Morning | Shadow Slave

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Chapter 1134: Peaceful Morning
Shadow Slave