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Chapter 1616: Blade of Shadows
Shadow Slave

Sunny had never stopped fighting, sharpening his mastery of combat to a sublime level. He had already been one of the most seasoned warriors of humanity four years ago... mostly because very few had it as rough as he had it on the Forgotten Shore and in the Antarctic Center.

But the last four years had not been easy on him, either. Crossing the Hollow Mountains alone had given him more battle experience than most Awakened would receive in their lifetime. So, now, he had a solid reason to be supremely confident in his ability.

That said, there was a difference between fighting Nightmare Creatures and fighting humans. Sunny had mostly been doing the former recently, so the latter... he was a bit rusty.

As the Fire Keepers surrounded him, Sunny observed them silently.

Now that they were Masters, each possessed one additional Aspect Ability. Gorn not only had four arms, but also expanded in size, towering above the floor at almost three meters in height. Gantry seemed to have augmented his body, somehow... making it more durable? More nimble? Or simply more powerful?

He was going to find out shortly.

Erlas, meanwhile, was enhancing the physical state of each member of the cohort. His powers had been mainly focused on endurance and stamina before... what about now?

Sid was bound to do something unpredictable, as well.

Shim, Shakti, and Kaor all possessed non-combat Aspect, so guessing their powers was of less importance. Still... they could be full of surprises.

There were the Memories the Fire Keepers wielded to consider, as well.

'Ah...'

Sunny felt a pang of regret for setting such strict restrictions for himself. But, still... he was looking forward to it.

A real clash of skill, cunning, and competence.

He had missed it a lot.

"What are you waiting for?"

Before the echo of his cold voice had time to disappear, the Fire Keepers attacked. The two archers opened the battle, instantly letting two arrows loose. They were showing decorum, too — since it was a friendly duel, his opponents refrained from using truly destructive Memories inside the Citadel.

Sunny did not augment himself with any of his three shadows. Being a Transcendent already gave him a great advantage as far as physical prowess and the intricacy of essence control went, so it was unnecessary.

Shifting slightly, he dodged both arrows with the minimum effort. One seemed to possess a homing enchantment, turning sharply to strike him in the back, but was tossed aside by the flat of the black odachi's blade.

At that moment, the melee fighters of the Ascended cohort were already upon him. They coordinate their attacks seamlessly, using the arrow salvo to cover their advance.

'Perfect teamwork.'

Shim and Sid were the spearheads aimed at his chest and back. Gorn and Gantry, who wielded longer weapons and had a wider reach, attacked from behind them at the same time.

There was a ceiling to a numerical advantage, since space was limited and only a few people could target a single opponent simultaneously... but by using this simple formation, the Fire Keepers effortlessly increased that limit.

There was no way for Sunny to block and deflect four attacks that came from different directions with a single sword.

So, he didn't. Instead, he removed himself from the path of the enemy weapons, deflecting Shim's spear and Gantry's heavy axe in the process. Using explosive footwork, Sunny escaped the encirclement and used the bodies of the Fire Keepers to block their comrades from chasing after him.

Then, he lashed out with a probing attack.

Sharp steel sang in the dark expanse of the Nameless Temple.

'Interesting...'

Sunny's smile widened under Weaver's Mask. The Fire Keepers... had not wasted these four years, either. He had known that Valor had used Nephis and her personal battle force like a sledgehammer, endlessly sending

them to put out one fire after another. It was almost as if they were being repeatedly sent to death, but stubbornly refused to die. As a result, their lethality reached chilling levels.

Of course, he could have crushed them easily if he wished to. The gap between Saints and Masters was already vast, and Sunny was a singular existence even among Saints, to boot.

But with the limitations he had put on himself, the Fire Keepers were a challenging adversary. Especially because he could not allow himself to be hit even once.

Plus, he had chosen to only use a single battle style against them... Morgan's own battle style, to be precise. The sharp, deadly, and ruthless technique she used was representative of how warriors of Valor fought —not even becoming one with their weapons, but instead treating themselves as weapons.

So, it wasn't easy.

It was exhilarating, though.

'Damnation. More!'

There were a few tense moments when the unexpected facets of the Ascended Abilities of his enemies revealed themselves. There were several interesting enchantments their Memories possessed, as well.

But Sunny still managed to evade, block, or deflect all their attacks in the most efficient and economical manner. He didn't make any big moves, using the least amount of motion possible in every situation.

And all the while, he was studying how the Fire Keepers fought.

Solving their battle styles and their teamwork like a puzzle.

And when that puzzle was solved...

The dynamic of the battle changed abruptly.

***

The Lord of Shadows was indeed like a shadow. Swift, elusive, and insidious, he moved across the black marble of the great hall with stunning speed and flawless precision, effortlessly deflecting the rain of blows that the Fire Keepers unleashed upon him.

His black odachi seemed to have a life of its own, flowing like a stream of darkness. A weapon of that length was supposed to be if not unwieldy, then at least less maneuverable than a shorter blade... and yet, the odachi was always exactly where it needed to be, effectively creating an impenetrable barrier of steel around its cold-hearted master.

It was not because of his speed, strength, or mystical power. Instead... it was pure foresight and pure skill, both sharpened and tempered until they became a lethal weapon.

Nephis observed the movements of the Lord of Shadows silently.

The Fire Keepers, who had gone through countless battles by her side, fought well. They fought bravely. They fought with great skill and cunning, proving that their glorious fame was well-earned.

And yet, she had guessed the result of the duel almost as soon as it started.

Soon, the cadence of the battle shifted. The Lord of Shadows, who had been defending against the barrage of attacks, suddenly abandoned all pretenses of defense. Instead, he easily shrugged off a squall of steel and moved through it, attacking the Fire Keepers before they could even react.

It was almost as if he was dancing...

The black odachi hissed like a snake as it cut the air.

It struck Shim in the chest, sending him flying back. A split second later, Sid's shield was pushed aside, and her breastplate caved as the young woman toppled with a short yelp. Gantry was struck by the pommel of the odachi almost at the same moment, swaying once before falling down. By the time his back hit the floor, Gorn was already on his knees, both of his greatswords sliding away.

The Lord of Shadows was among them. A moment later, he had already reached the two archers.

"Crap..."

Kaor, who was supposed to protect them, was tossed back with one unhurried blow of the demonic swordsman's fist. Shakti and Erlas attempted to retreat, but both were sent to the ground before taking a single step.

From start to finish, the duel between the Lord of Shadows and the Fire Keepers had taken a couple of minutes.

However, they had all been defeated in just two seconds.

It was as though the master of the ancient temple was telling them — look! I could have ended you all any time I wanted.

White sparks ignited in Neph's eyes.

'Beautiful.'

The Lord of Shadows stopped and calmly put the spine of the black odachi on his shoulder. His fearsome mask remained the same, eerie and devoid of any emotion. The Fire Keepers groaned as they slowly picked themselves up from the floor.

"Is that all?"

His voice was still the same, cold and impassive.

Nephis smiled slightly and finally unsheathed her swords.

"You haven't defeated all of us yet, have you?"

He tilted his head a little, staring at her with arrogant indifference.

Well... Nephis thought that those were his emotions. In truth, there was no way to know what was hiding behind that fearsome mask... if there was anything behind it at all.

The Lord of Shadows slowly lowered his odachi and gripped its hilt with both hands.

"Stop wasting my time, then."

Nephis took a step forward.

That mask..

Why did it look so familiar?

Shadow Slave
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  1. Offline
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    Nephis may be stronger coz she is a titan while sunny is a terror.
    But if they were to go all out, I personally think sunny would wipe the floor with neph. He's probably the number 1 tansendent being right now.

    He has soul weave that boosts the quality of his soul and essence. He has 4 transendent shadows, he has a fraction of shadow gods domain and finally, he has six clones that posses all his abilities, including shapeshifting into anything. He could probably mirror nephs beast form if she has one.

    The only way i see neph winning is by exploding her cores.

    Just my opinion. middle
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  2. Offline
    ZEXOS
    ZEXOS
    + 33 ⋅ 0 -
    1619. Essence Technique


    Sliding across the marble floor as he was being pushed back by a merciless onslaught of unhurried, but lethal attacks, Sunny was carefully observing Neph's movements.

    'Why can‘t I make sense of it?‘

    He shifted his weight, deflected the silver blade to the side, and used the long hilt of the odachi as a lever to spin its blade at an inconceivable speed. Nephis easily partied it with the crossguard of her sword, but Sunny was already transitioning from a downward slash into a rising stab.

    Every movement flowed into anotherI forming a torrent of deadly steel.

    'How strange.'

    Nephis was the first person Sunny had ever shadowed. After years of training together and fighting side by side, he knew her better than anyone else. Therefore, it should have been easy to glimpse the true essence of her transcendent battle art, or at least start to unravel it.

    And indeed, Sunny sensed the heart of her intent. Just like how Nephis could read his intentions through her sublime mastery of combat, he could predict her actions through Shadow Dance. But his perception was oddly shallow... he could guess what would happen, but not why it would happen.

    Almost like those initiates who had only mastered the body, but not the mind.

    Nephis evaded his stab by turning and leaning sideways, took a graceful step to shift her balance, and pulled her blade out of the bind. A split second later, it lashed out, almost striking his thigh. If Sunny was a beat too late, he would have had to receive her blow.

    The Onyx Mantle was akin to a Transcendent armor, while the mirror sword was a strange hybrid between a Transcendent and a Supreme weapon that he himself had created. Considering that offense usually trampled defense in the ruthless world of the Nightmare Spell, a single strike was all it would take for him to lose the duel.

    The silver blade might not break his armor immediately, but leaving a scratch on its onyx surface would be easy.

    He disengaged and stared at Nephis impassively for a moment.

    Apart from manifesting this avatar, Sunny was not using his Aspect. She had not promised to do the same, technically, but was still following suit. Whether it was out of respect for the Lord of Shadows or simply because Neph was just as starved for a good opponent as he was, Sunny did not know.

    That was a part of the problem.

    A transcendent battle art was tailored to a single user, seamlessly incorporating their unique traits and abilities. So, since Nephis was not using any of her Aspect Abilities, what Sunny was witnessing was not the true extent of her battle style, but rather a partial version of it.

    Of course, he had hoped to extrapolate the missing pieces by experiencing the foundational technique, but it was not going well.

    'Should I try to deduce what's missing?‘

    Sunny had plenty of experience constructing his own battle art, so it was not impossible for him to guess what Nephis would have created.

    'Let's see...‘

    The basic principle of elevating a battle style to a transcendent battle art was universal... at least it was supposed to be. Sunny had not consulted any Saints on how they built their personal techniques, so he did not know if everyone followed what he perceived to be common sense.

    The first step was to create a comprehensive essence technique. By infusing one's body with essence, one was capable of greatly enhancing their physical prowess. Awakened could not control essence with finesse, so their way of going about things was crude and rudimentary, mostly consisting of flooding the entirety of their bodies with essence. Masters were much more skilled in that regard. Their control of essence was rather intricate, as was their understanding of the human body. By selectively infusing various areas, muscle groups, and organs with essence at just the right time, they were able to not only increase its efficacy, but also drastically reduce its consumption, thus raising efficiency.

    But Saints could control soul essence as naturally as they were breathing, and with truly incredible finesse. They could more or less selectively enhance each muscle fiber, nerve cluster, or tendon in their body — not only that, but due to better control, the range and manner of these enhancements were broader than those of a Master, and could be consciously altered.

    In short, Saints could explosively increase their already stunningly formidable strength, speed, agility, and resilience if they were smart about using their essence, and had trained themselves to do it instinctively... like Sunny had in the past four years.

    Each time he took a step or delivered a strike, the complex machine of his body performed numerous actions. His heart pumped blood through his veins, electrical impulses traveled along his nerves, various muscles relaxed or contracted, and so on. To perform a proper strike, a warrior had to possess great control of his body and know how to use it well.

    Of course, no one consciously willed all these minute processes to happen. If trained properly, the body itself would remember how to act to the best of its ability.

    An essence technique, therefore, was like an additional layer on top of physical training, designed to augment every motion in the most effective and efficient way, as well as tailored to the unique personal battle style of the individual. Designing such a technique demanded immense insight into the functions of the body, the laws of combat, and one's own self.

    At first, including his soul in the movements of his body was a conscious process, and one that demanded an inconceivable amount of concentration, at that. But by now, it was like an instinct to Sunny — luckily, he had possessed a rich foundation of going through countless battles as an Awakened and a Master to build upon, so mastering his essence technique had not been too hard.

    There had been the Soul Serpent and Soul Weave to assist him, as well.

    ...Similarly, Nephis had designed an essence technique of her own. Sunny could perceive her radiant, pure soul essence flowing through her body with a strange and almost hypnotic elegance, moving in perfect harmony with the fluid grace of her sword dance.

    Her technique seemed even more intricate and precise than his own... was it simply because Neph's swordsmanship had a different personality than his, or because she had spent more time to thoroughly comprehend the science behind the biology of her body and the physics of her sword?

    After all, Sunny had mostly taught himself through practical experience and intuition, spending less time on theory.

    In any case, this shallow layer of Neph's battle art was not a mystery. Sunny had enough ability to perceive it, enough insight to dismantle it, and enough experience to reassemble it... even emulating it was not a problem, given enough time.

    But that was what an essence technique represented — the most shallow and basic layer of a battle art.

    The true essence hid much deeper, having to do with Aspect and Attributes. That was what Sunny had to deduce in order to remove the strange interference that prevented him from comprehending Neph's elevated battle style.

    There was another sonic boom, and the two of them were momentarily thrown away from each other. Sunny increased the weight of his body and slid several meters back, swiftly coming to a halt. Nephis pivoted on one leg and performed an effortless pirouette, regaining her balance almost immediately.

    The Fire Keepers scrambled to get even further back, seemingly stunned by how long the duel was lasting.

    Sunny smirked behind the mask and rushed forward.

    'lf I compare our Aspects...‘
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    1. Offline
      ZEXOS
      ZEXOS
      + 29 ⋅ 0 -
      1620 Deeper Layer


      A transcendent battle art was meant to incorporate the user's Aspect into their combat technique. What did it mean for Sunny?

      The first element he had to consciously and comprehensively integrate into his battle style was the easiest — it was his ability to perceive the movement through shadows, as well as see what was happening behind his back. That did not sound like much, compared to his other abilities, but was actually a drastic change.

      Almost every battle style he had learned in the past was meant to be practiced by humans, after all, and humans only had two eyes. That naturally dictated how they fought, and how the masters who taught young warriors to wield weapons constructed their styles. However, Sunny was not beholden to these standards. Therefore, he had spent plenty of time relearning the very basics of combat, building his technique in a way that allowed him to fully utilize that subtle, but confounding advantage.

      The second element was even more fundamental, since it concerned movement. Movement lay at the base of every battle style... footwork was just as indispensable as striking and defending, if not more so. Not only did it dictate the balance and strength available to a fighter, but it also controlled space.

      Advancing and retreating, evading and pressing the opponent — both offense and defense relied on controlling space. Sunny was not beholden to space, either, because he was supremely mobile due to Shadow Step.

      That was perhaps his greatest advantage in a battle, and therefore, he meticulously altered his way of thinking about space in accordance with this advantage, practically rebuilding his battle style around it.

      The third element was... group battle. It was a strange matter, considering that Sunny was both an individual and possessed multiple bodies.

      Back on the Forgotten Shore, he and Nephis had been able to slay Carapace Scavengers by acting together — one served as bait, another delivered a fatal blow from behind. That simple manner of teamwork illustrated perfectly why the boon of fighting in a group was not additive, but instead multiplicative. The sum was greater than its parts, and Sunny alone... had seven parts.

      So, he had trained himself relentlessly to fight while controlling many bodies at the same time, learning how to efficiently use group tactics without anyone's help.

      The fourth element had to do with Blood Weave and Bone Weave. Most living things were hard to kill unless you aimed at their vital points, and due to these two Attributes, Sunny lacked several vulnerabilities that most humans possessed. He wouldn't bleed to death even if his artery was sliced open, and his bones were immensely resilient, to the point that breaking them was almost impossible.

      Therefore, he had to teach himself how to make use of these traits. It was the simplest, but also the hardest mindset alteration he had to absorb — because it went against his most powerful instinct, the instinct of self-preservation. Nevertheless, Sunny had succeeded in changing his behavior in a manner that allowed him to strategically sacrifice non-vital parts of himself.

      The fifth element was about another Attribute of his, the Onyx Shell. Among other things, it allowed Sunny to freely change his weight... or was it mass? He could never tell the difference.

      In any case, such an ability opened up a vast ocean of possibilities for a skilled warrior, from increasing the impact of his blows to greatly augmenting his speed, solidifying his balance, and even performing actions that would otherwise be impossible without toppling like a cut tree.

      Sunny had incorporated the effects of the [Feather of Truth] trait of the Onyx Shell into his battle style a while ago, but since he had had nothing but time in the last four years, he took this opportunity to fully reconsider it, learning how to use it not only comprehensively, but also instinctually. Now, he did not even have to think about utilizing that adaptable trait to enhance his every move.

      The sixth element was the most broad, and concerned Shadow Manifestation. Sunny had the ability to manifest endless variations of tangible shadows, roughly divided into two methods. The first was to summon external implements like shadow hands or chains... this method was destructive, but lost too much of its potency in battles against truly powerful opponents.

      As such, it was best used against large groups of weaker foes, or for pure utility.

      The second method was to alter the shape of his body with manifested shadows, from summoning additional limbs to building towering Shadow Shells. The shape of the Shells Sunny could create was, theoretically, endless — so, it was hard to pinpoint exactly how he was supposed to incorporate this method into his battle art.

      However, in practice, his repertoire of Shells was currently limited. Since Sunny did not possess a True Name anymore, there was nothing to anchor himself, and therefore, assuming the shapes of alien creatures was extremely dangerous — unless he wished to lose himself entirely. So, he only used a handful of Shells. In exchange, these Shells had been perfected by him to a stellar degree.

      Currently, he was slowly translating his battle art to each of these Shells.

      And finally, there was the seventh element... or rather, there wasn't.

      Sunny did not know what the last element of his transcendent battle art would be, but suspected that once he mastered it, his technique would become a supreme battle art. 'Wishful thinking...‘

      Sunny and Nephis clashed in another exchange, the silver sword and the black odachi howling as they repeatedly attracted and repelled each other. A few seconds later, the two Saints disengaged and spent a moment to realign themselves.

      He frowned behind the mask.

      The odachi he had manifested from a wild shadow was infused with his Transcendent essence, which in turn was made more potent by Soul Weave. So, it was akin to a Transcendent weapon, and a powerful one at that. The odachi had held up well against Neph's quasi—Supreme longsword.

      But just then, he had felt a crack forming along the length of its blade. Tile odachi was not going to last much longer... Sunny could easily repair it, of course, but doing so would mean breaking his promise to abstain from using his Aspect.

      More than that, he would be cheating — it wasn't a coincidence that his weapon was failing, after all. Instead, it was the result of Nephis consciously targeting the same spot on the dark blade over and over again, without him noticing.

      'How devious...‘

      Sunny couldn't help but smile.

      Nephis might have forgotten her teacher, but it seemed like she remembered the lessons. This duel of theirs would have to come to an end shortly.

      It was a shame.

      He didn‘t attack, this time, waiting for her to come to him.

      'Can I understand what is wrong before the duel is over?'

      If Sunny remembered his own considerations when elevating his battle style to a transcendent art, he could try to imagine what Nephis had done.

      What elements did her battle art consist of, apart from the essence technique?

      Her Aspect was much more straightforward than his. Sunny had a wide array of traits and abilities that made him a jack-of-all-trades, skirting the line between combat prowess and utility, but leaning slightly more toward the latter.

      Of the other two Divine Aspects he knew of, Mordret's was pure utility with hardly any battle application. Neph's, on the contrary, was all about combat prowess and destructiveness.

      So, how would she have altered her battle style after becoming a Saint?

      [Longing] was not applicable in combat, so it shouldn‘t have affected anything. The ability to control fire was probably similar to the first method of using Shadow Manifestation, mostly needed when facing swarms of weak abominations, or maybe enemy fortifications. The most obvious change would, of course, have to do with her Transformation Ability. She must have developed a robust technique for aerial combat, where there was no ground to stand upon and therefore no footwork, with a completely different relationship between mass, force, counterforce, and impact. She would have also paid more attention to archery, using it against enemies on the ground.

      Sunny was less knowledgeable about the two forms Nephis could assume apart from the winged one, so he couldn't even start to guess what her combat approach would be in those states.

      The most important change, however, had to be about her very first Ability... the wondrous ability to heal herself. Just like Sunny had to rethink his relationship with physical harm due to Blood Weave and Bone Weave, Nephis would have forced herself to change the way she fought in accordance with her own inconceivable vitality.

      Sunny had seen her destroy the vessel of the Skinwalker after having her neck broken. In Twilight, Soul Stealer had delivered her a thousand fatal wounds, and yet, that wasn‘t enough to stop her. Scarily enough, if one thought about it... Nephis was nearly undying. He did not know what it would take to fully destroy her, and hoped that he would never find out. However... ever since the battle in Twilight, it felt as though Nephis had come to terms with her chilling power. If she had incorporated it into her battle art...

      What would it feel like, to fight against a nearly—indestructible enemy? Someone who would continue to fight despite being pierced by your weapon, could sacrifice a limb to wound you and then immediately restore it, could not be slowed down even by the most gruesome injuries, was too accustomed to harrowing pain to care about it, would not bleed to death... and simply would not die before killing you?

      He shivered slightly.

      'Not unsolvable, but definitely frightening.'

      Yes... she had to have rebuilt her battle style around that dreadful Ability of hers, disregarding the torturous curse of her Flaw.

      There was another element Sunny had to consider, though.

      Neph's Aspect Legacy. The tree with seven branches, each bearing fruits of knowledge. She had mastered one, [Knowledge of Fire], in Twilight. Had she mastered others after that?

      Was there a way to incorporate the Sorcery of Names into a battle art?

      He defended against her increasingly violent assault, contemplating.

      But even after coming up with all these guesses, Sunny simply couldn't comprehend her battle art. It was just too strange, making no sense, as if something was interfering with his ability to understand it.

      Stumped, he remembered the first time he had tried to shadow N ephis... long before he even knew what it meant to shadow someone.

      It had happened on the Forgotten Shore, when they were traveling toward the Hollow Mountains. Back then, Nephis and Caster were sparring with each other, and Sunny sent his shadow to observe her.

      That was how he had received a revelation that resulted in Shadow Dance, to begin with. ironically, Nephis had not even used her most precious battle style in the spar against Caster. Since she knew that he had been sent to kill her, she guarded her true skill against him, showing a different and less lethal technique instead.

      ...Sunny eyes suddenly widened slightly behind the mask.

      'No way.‘

      But, at that moment, he finally understood why he was having so much trouble. In hindsight, it was pretty obvious why he couldn't peer into the secrets of Neph's transcendent battle art.

      ...It was because she wasn't showing it, to begin with. Instead, she was deceiving everyone with a lesser, fabricated version of it.

      Was it for his benefit? No, not likely. She was probably footing the entirety of Valor with this splendid performance. After all, despite being one of the most renowned champions of the Great Clan Valor... she was ultimately its most insidious enemy.

      Sunny suppressed a grin.

      'As expected. Ah, my curiosity is thoroughly satisfied.‘

      Nephis was not using her Aspect, and on top of that, she had created a whole fake transcendent battle art to deceive her enemies. Therefore, trying to learn its secrets was of no real benefit to Sunny.

      He felt his odachi slowly coming undone and sighed.

      'Shall we end this duel, then?’
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      1. Offline
        EVOLT
        EVOLT
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        Thank you!
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      2. Offline
        Kiber
        Kiber
        + 6 ⋅ 0 -
        Всё что я узнал за 2 главы, это то какая же ахуенная Нефис, можно сюжет пж:( hokage
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          ZEXOS
          ZEXOS
          + 5 ⋅ 0 -
          Согласен, я за***лся если честно от того что повторяется уже несколько глав. Трансцендентное искусство боя это то , это сё, б**ть где сюжет
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        BlankDjinn
        BlankDjinn
        + 3 ⋅ 0 -
        Interesting interesting interesting ohhh this is so fun!!!! I like this deception but damn I really want Sunny and Neph to talk more then again combat is conversation
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    maks838838
    maks838838
    + 1 ⋅ 0 -
    Oo
    Oo
    Oo
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  4. Offline
    Guy_Might
    Guy_Might
    + 1 ⋅ 0 -
    Quote: EVOLT
    Unrelated to the ch (as always the ch was really good), has anyone been gettin a bunch of pop op ads? It just started today but it is a little irritating

    You don't use adblocker?
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    1. Offline
      Turnc4406
      Turnc4406
      + 5 ⋅ 0 -
      Yes, but it wasn't working. A few ads were still making it through, as if there was some sort of newly discovered exploit that was patched within a few hours.
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      1. Online Offline
        keyleur
        keyleur
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        yeah they kept popping up even though i had the ad-blocker on but it stopped after a while
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        1. Offline
          Lythan Page
          Lythan Page
          + 2 ⋅ 0 -
          Same issue as well
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  5. Offline
    LeoLusterPow
    LeoLusterPow
    + 10 ⋅ 0 -
    Author is edging us with the new chaps
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  6. Offline
    EVOLT
    EVOLT
    + 5 ⋅ 0 -
    Unrelated to the ch (as always the ch was really good), has anyone been gettin a bunch of pop op ads? It just started today but it is a little irritating
    Read more
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      Dummybaron
      Dummybaron
      + 7 ⋅ 1 -
      Yes, but it stopped few hours ago.
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      keyleur
      keyleur
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      yes i had the same problem
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  7. Offline
    JOEMUDA
    JOEMUDA
    + 4 ⋅ 3 -
    1617-18 summary
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    1. Offline
      Dummybaron
      Dummybaron
      + 3 ⋅ 0 -
      Yeah I agree
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  8. Offline
    REN・DOVERঐ
    REN・DOVERঐ
    + 6 ⋅ 4 -
    I'm seriously tempted to drop the novel..... Like why TF would you lose, you idiota. I hate it when it goes like this..... Take this one win goddamnit evil
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    1. Offline
      Dummybaron
      Dummybaron
      + 7 ⋅ 4 -
      1st He can't win, he can't use his aspect because he set this condition himself + Nephis is just stronger she didn't spend this 4-5 years for nothing you know. 2nd Sunny want to join Valors clan in this war, and he said it himself if he lose he will join, he can't win anyway so it doesn't matter.
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        GoodKnight_
        GoodKnight_
        + 2 ⋅ 1 -
        Entendo sua visão, mas também entendo a visão daqueles que estão indignados. O principal ponto, apesar de ambos terem passados 4 anos, o protagonista é Sunny e sempre queremos ver o protagonista sendo o mais foda em seu mundo.
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          Dummybaron
          Dummybaron
          + 6 ⋅ 4 -
          Yeah I can understand it too, and I personaly want Sunny to win, but I also trying to make myself and others understand that even tho Sunny is prtotagonist of the Shadow Slave doesn't mean he has to be best at something. That is also reason why I wrote my comment about Sunny being weird mix between Shadow and Weaver that doesn't benefit him much.
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        REN・DOVERঐ
        REN・DOVERঐ
        + 0 ⋅ 1 -
        No shit genius..... Like I didn't know that already.
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        Warrior of void
        Warrior of void
        + 5 ⋅ 0 -
        I believe that if Sunny would give everything he would beat Nephis. 1) His personal power includes the power of his shadows and 2) His transformation ability is the strongest in my opinion. No matter how good Nephis is I think Sunny is as strong as Nephis but 6? His whole former group has no chance. 3) Nephis is as arrogant as Sunny is. If Sunny doesn't use his aspect, Nephis probably won't either.
        In fact, I'm pretty sure Sunny is the most powerful of the Saints now.

        Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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          rekicchi
          rekicchi
          + 3 ⋅ 0 -
          I agree, I think Sunny should be the most powerful within the Saints. He's literally six Transcendent, with three more Shadows as strong as a Saint. He should be able to utilize Shadow Lantern and Shadow Domain more effectively now, and he can shapeshift into many forms. His soul essence must be many times of higher quality and higher capacity than even Nephis with his Soul Weaver. He can even manipulate water.
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            Xenko
            Xenko
            + 3 ⋅ 0 -
            True, but he can't manipulate water now
            The crown got destroyed when he was banished from the spell along with other memories
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              rekicchi
              rekicchi
              + 0 ⋅ 0 -
              Right, I mistook it as one of the memories he altered and kept. That's such a waste, that memory will literally give him another domain to control
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      MamaMia
      MamaMia
      + 0 ⋅ 1 -
      তুমি বাঙালি?
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      BlueClay
      BlueClay
      + 4 ⋅ 0 -
      Who are you kidding? After 1600 chapters ur talking about dropping the book you wouldve stopped reading a 1000 chaps ago if you were serious
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  9. Offline
    Dummybaron
    Dummybaron
    + 7 ⋅ 3 -
    Well if you think about it Weaver stated to be the weakest out of all Gods/Daemons and I personaly think that Shadow God was one of the weakest too, so I think Sunny would be as weak as they are if not weaker. Like I know Sunny is "Heir of Weaver" or whatever, but if you think about it Sunny is nothing but a failed Frankenstein's monster(at least right now). He has aspect of Shadow God but doesn't have his lineage which highly decrease all cool stuff he can do with Shadows, and he doesn't have enogh of Weavers abilities to actualy do something Weaver can. The only thing Sunny is good at is sorcery, but only thing he can do with it is weaving memories, and Heir of War God is better in crafting enchanted weopons in any posible way. So yeah Sunny is nothing but a failed mix between Weaver and Shadow God(at least RIGHT NOW, but I doubt it will change somehow in the future).
    Edit: if you disagree I would like to hear your interpretation.
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      _Lev
      _Lev
      + 4 ⋅ 0 -
      I would argue that the Shadow God is not inherently one of the weakest. I think the strength of Shadow lies in the accumulation of power over a long time. Sunny's growth hasn't come as easily as others when it comes to forming cores, for example.
      And yet, even Mordret was afraid of the Shadows in Sunny's soul, when he tried to invade it.
      Perhaps Sunny's soul, like the lantern, can contain, and perhaps eventually even release, an infinite amount of shadows?


      To support this general idea, the description of the Shadow Lantern and it's enchantment, as seen in chapter 654:
      Memory Enchantments: [Gates of Shadow].

      Enchantment Description: [This lantern devours light and can contain, and then release, an infinite amount of shadows.]


      Memory Description:

      ["Death is just the shadow of life," said the Goddes of Life. "And peace is just the failure of war. Have you ever been something that had not been stolen, made empty, and vile? Have you ever done something that was not futile and hollow? Can you even exist without being cast by another? Look at how weak you are, how small you are. Am I supposed to be frightened of a small shadow?"

      Made pale and feeble by the radiance of day, Shadow laughed and rose from the ground. As he did, his figure swallowed the land, devoured the heavens, and blotted out the light of the sun. Soon, there was nothing left around them but darkness. And from that darkness, a hiss came, making Life tremble:

      "Life is just the prelude to death, and war is just the key to open its gates. Everything you cherish, everything you nurture, everything that starts with you will one day be mine, be welcomed by me, swallowed by me, and find peace within me. This is the mercy of Shadow. Hollow… futile... you might have come first, my sister, but when your cruelty ends… I will be all that remains…"]


      And some of the lines that follow the memory's description:
      'D—damn… was Shadow God always that creepy?'

      Due to his closeness and affinity to shadows, he had never thought about the God of Shadows as terrifying. After all, even other gods had not held Shadow in high regard, at least from what Sunny knew. His temples had been burned and destroyed, his followers turned into slaves… even his aspects and attributes seemed to pale in comparison to others.

      God of peace, death, solace, and mysteries… that sounded humble and rather inconspicuous when compared to something like Goddess of the Black Skies, the god of storms, depths, of the oceans, of darkness, stars, travel, guidance, and disaster.

      …But things that preferred to remain unseen and unheard were often the most dangerous, weren't they?

      Sort of like Sunny himself.
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        Dummybaron
        Dummybaron
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Oh yeah, I didn't think about that thx
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      GoodKnight_
      GoodKnight_
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Eu vejo algo engraçado nessa junção que é o Sunny. Como ele tem a linhagem do destino e aspecto das sombras/morte é possível desenhar essa linha que o destino de todas as coisas é a morte. Eu sinceramente gostaria que o autor começasse a usar Sunny para pensar que um pode complementar o outro e começar, de alguma forma, a desenvolver novas habilidades relacionadas ao destino e morte.
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        Dummybaron
        Dummybaron
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Interesting idea
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  10. Offline
    Аман Алинур
    Аман Алинур
    + 26 ⋅ 3 -
    1617 Duel of the Saints

    Sunny held his odachi lightly as he watched Nephis take unhurried steps in his direction. The familiar white flames were dancing in her eyes…

    But what was this?

    As he walked, the same sparks ignited in the eyes of the seven Fire Keepers. A moment later, their bodies shone with a soft white radiance, and the bruises and contusions left on them by his restrained blows disappeared without a trace. Expressions of gratitude and relief appeared on their faces, and at the same time, Neph's own face grew colder.

    'Since when can she heal others from a distance?'

    Before he could consider the implications of that unexpected turn of events, her sword left the enchanted scabbard with a quiet murmur. Its mirror-like blade was as black as the night sky, the light of the magical lanterns reflecting in it like distant stars.

    He knew that sword well… or rather, he had known it once.

    The silver blade was a Transcendent Memory of the Seventh Tier Nephis had received after slaying Soul Stealer. It was a mighty weapon, and had been made mightier still by Sunny himself. He had transplanted a Supreme soul shard as one of its nodes, augmenting the fundamental enchantment of the silver blade..

    But now, it was different.

    Sunny frowned behind the mask when he noticed a familiar symbol branded into the mystical steel just above the crossguard. An anvil pierced through by a sword…

    Had one of the forgemasters of the Clan Valor deemed themselves competent enough to improve on his own work? No, they wouldn't have been able to.

    That left only one person, then.

    The King of Swords himself.

    That bastard. Who gave him the right to taint the gift I gave her with his dirty hands?

    Suddenly, Sunny felt displeased.

    And since he did, the shadows drowning the great hall of the Nameless Temple moved, overcome by the same displeasure.

    The Fire Keepers, who had been retreating to give the two Saints space to fight, suddenly paled.

    Nephis sensed the change in the atmosphere, too.

    What is the matter, Lord Shadow? Do you not wish to fight me?

    'Sunny smiled darkly.'

    ...I am a peaceful man. I hate fighting.

    As he said that, he lunged forward without any warning and thrust his odachi at Neph's throat. His sudden attack was violent and ruthless, aimed at slicing open her arteries and severing her spine.

    Of course, Nephis deflected the black odachi easily, taking a sidestep in the opposite direction at the same time. Her movements flowed like a placid river, and yet Sunny instantly felt that he was in mortal danger.

    The silver sword had pushed the blade of the odachi down just a split second ago, but was already flying forward. It was moving at a speed that could not be perceived by the Fire Keepers, and even Sunny struggled to sense its passing. Unable to pull his own sword back in time, he had no choice but to jump back.

    The tip of the silver sword missed his chest by mere centimeters.

    After that first exchange, Sunny and Nephis circled each other for a few moments.

    The, she suddenly spoke:

    "The battle style you used. Only those trained by Valor are masters of it."

    Tilting his head a little, Sunny responded coldly:

    "My esteemed guests have been sent by the King of Swords. It only seemed polite to greet them by using the battle style of his knights."

    The corner of Neph's mouth twitched subtly.

    "Then what style would you have used if we were sent by Song?"

    Sunny raised his odachi and took a step forward.

    "Something like this."

    A moment later, they were upon each other once more, their swords weaving a complicated web of attacks and deflections in the air. Both were moving with astonishing speed, exchanging dozens of blows in a second. The clangor of steel fused into a continuous wail that echoes in the darkness of the solemn hall, followed by a thunderous sonic boom.

    A shockwave spread from the spot where the Lord of Shadows and the radiant Star of Ruin clashed, sending a cloud of dust rushing outward like an opaque sphere. The Fire Keepers reeled and staggered back.

    'This is it… this is it!'

    Straining his Transcendent body to its limit, Sunny was momentarily overcome by the exhilaration of combat. He had missed having someone to spar with, and dueling the Fire Keepers had not satisfied his thirst.

    …Of course, the clash between him and Nephis was much more furious and destructive than the previous fight. After all… he was a Trasncendent Terror, and she was a Transcendent Titan. Neither was using their Aspect to augment themselves, but their power was still terrible enough to devastate their surroundings.

    Luckily, the Nameless Temple was very hard to destroy. It would not have remained standing from the dawn of the Age of Gods to this day otherwise… granted, Sunny had found it in a rather sorry state, and had to perform plenty of repairs to make this ancient Citadel presentable.

    In any case, he wasn't worried that it would be seriously damaged… not unless either Nephis or him decided to unleash their full power.

    'Now… how do I lose without having Nephis realize that I threw the fight…'

    There were two problems.

    First, Nephis was too good of a swordsman, so weaving any kind of pretense in front of her was not easy.

    And secondly… Sunny was having too much fun.

    He didn't want their fight to end so quickly.

    'Shall… shall we make it more interesting, then?'

    Grinning behind the mask, Sunny suddenly shifted his weight and switched to an entirely new technique. The battle style of Clan Valor was sharp, domineering, and fatal. But this new technique… it was flowing, unpredictable, and supremely adaptable.

    It was the battle style taught to Nephis by her family, and then by Nephis to him.

    'There. Finally!'

    The mask of indifference that she wore finally cracked a little, and he could feel her blade waver for a split second.

    That split second was all that Sunny needed.

    Breaking through Neph's defense, he delivered a swift strike. And yet, no matter how swift his attack was, she still managed to compose herself and evade it by disengaging.

    Nephis took a step back, and the tip of the black odachi hissed angrily past her breastplate, separated from the polished white steel by no more than a centimeter.

    She lingered for a moment.

    "...Who taught you that style?"

    Her voice was even, but Sunny knew Nephis well enough to recognize a somber undertone within it.

    He pulled his odachi back and answered in an even tone:

    "Nobody."

    With that, Sunny lunged forward once again.
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    1. Offline
      Аман Алинур
      Аман Алинур
      + 27 ⋅ 2 -
      1618 Trancendent Battle Art

      What was a battle style?

      Depending on the practitioner, the answer varied.

      At the lowest level, a battle style was nothing more than a comprehensive collection of movements and steps aimed at giving the practitioner sufficient competence to engage in battle. A set of practices meant to encompass all possible combat situations, and arm the warrior with tools to solve them.

      There were countless battle styles, some taught to groups of people, others formed from the personal habits and quirks of talented combatants. Some styles emphasized strength and strived to overpower the opponent, some emphasized speed and precision, some emphasized solid defense and waiting for a perfect moment to counterattack.

      There were solid battle styles created with deep insight, and poor battle styles that were concocted without a real understanding of the fundamental laws of combat.

      But that was only the most shallow layer of a true battle art. A person could practice a battle style without truly understanding its essence, but they would never be able to master it.

      At a higher lever, a battle style was not only a set of movements, but also a formative philosophy. It concerned not only the body, but also the mind. A person who truly mastered a style had to possess a certain level of insight into the governing laws of combat. Knowing why each of the elements had been created and what its purpose was, they were not beholden to a predetermined repertoire of actions. Instead, they could freely improvise an actionable response to each situation..

      If all movements could be improvised, then what was the difference between the various battle styles? It was their philosophy. The school of thought and the dominant intent, a unifying principle that guided the shape and direction of these improvised moves.

      Therefore, even among those practitioners who had mastered both the body and the mind, there were still those who fought with domineering strength, swift precision, patient caution, or any other type of guiding intent.

      These were the true masters of combat.

      Sunny had become one of them — and one of the absolute best among them — a long time ago.

      But now that he was a Saint, a whole new horizon had opened up before him.

      Because there was a third layer above the body and the mind, available only to a few chosen existences.

      It was soul.

      She has changed…

      While clashing with Nephis in a ferocious dance of steel, Sunny couldn't help but feel amazed. She had always been a true genius of the sword, and since he knew her better than anyone, he had expected this fight to be a tough one.

      After all, just like him, Nephis had four long years to perfect her technique. As the vanguard champion of Valor, she had gone through countless battles. She had also come into her Transcendent power, learning to wield it as naturally as she breathed.

      A Saint was a different kind of beast, and the difference between them and their lessers was not only a question of raw power. Sunny had already glimpsed that chasm when he and Nephis fought Dire Fang, but only now that he was a Transcendent himself did he truly understand the reason it existed.

      The further a human walked on the Path of Ascension, the more intricate their control of soul essence became. Masters were already very proficient in using it to deliberately and efficiently augment their bodies in combat, but Saints were capable of elevating these rudimentary essence techniques to a completely new level.

      Therefore, a comprehensive essence technique was an integral part of a truly transcendent battle art. And since each Transcendent warrior possessed a unique Aspect, each essence technique had to be tailor-made for a single user. The difference that mastering such a technique could make was truly striking, and therefore, that alone made Saints vastly more deadly on the battlefield.

      But that was not the end of it.

      Since each transcendent battle art was unique and tailored to a single user, there was an additional step to be taken. And that was to seamlessly incorporate each Aspect Ability into the combat technique, making it truly complete.

      A transcendent battle art demanded the complete integration of body, mind, and soul into a combat technique.

      ...Losing his True Name made it much harder for Sunny to advance in mastering Shadow Dance, so he had been concentrating on developing such a personal transcendent battle art for himself in the past four years. He had already formulated its principles, and was now tempering these principles in battles against powerful opponents.

      And, in the process of it…

      He thought that he might have glimpsed what the next level of mastery was.

      Saints did not exist in and of themselves, as sovereign beings. Their souls were vaster than their bodies, coming into contact with the world and the underlying laws governing it. Some parts of the world welcomed them, while others repelled them. That was why Transcendent beings were able to absorb the spirit essence of the world, as long as they were in their element.

      For Sunny, that element was shadow. For someone like Saint Tyris, it was the sky, or perhaps storm clouds. For someone like Nephis… he couldn't guess. It might have been light, or flame, or something more esoteric, like inspiring longing in the souls of other beings.

      Therefore… he guessed that what came after the body, the mind, and the souls was the world. Incorporating the world itself into one's battle art would probably make it a supreme battle art. That said, Sunny was not sure if it could even be called a battle art, at that point, let alone how to actually achieve something like that.

      In any case, he was voraciously curious to witness and experience the battle styles of other Transcendent warriors. To learn from them, and maybe even gain more understanding about the path to supremacy.

      Which was why fighting Nephis was a boon to him.

      So… he definitely wasn't prolonging their clash simply because he missed her.

      Why would he cut this duel short if humanity's premier sword savant was graciously allowing him to steal her achievements?

      'I see… I see. No, I don't see…'

      Deflecting a barrage of almost instantaneous attacks, and at the same time desperately preventing these attacks from dictating his next moves to avoid the countless traps Nephis constructed for him on the fly, Sunny carefully observed her movements, the flow of her essence, and the form of her shadow.

      Pretty soon, he had to admit something to himself...

      'What the hell has she been doing for the last four years? It's… damn incomprehensible!'
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      1. Offline
        ZEXOS
        ZEXOS
        + 9 ⋅ 3 -
        Вы тот Аман из тиктоке который ест галактики на завтрак?

        For the ones disliking this bro, what he did wrong?
        Me myself posted like this when @Pro100zver25 was an og here, so just hit a + button, be a good person dudes
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