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Chapter 1950: High Sorcerer
Shadow Slave

Some time later, Sunny let out a shaky breath and sprawled on the floor. His mind felt like it was on fire, and there were a myriad of thoughts swarming in his head.

He had been right!

Using an incarnation to augment a Memory was, indeed, a game changer. The act of fusing with a Memory gave him an entirely new level of understanding of how its enchantments functioned, and how its spellweave caused those enchantments to exist.

It was one thing to see the tapestry of ethereal strings, but experiencing it as a part of himself was completely different.

Before, Sunny could study a weave and make logical conclusions about how its elements functioned, as well as what role each string played in the tapestry. By observing the structure and guiding principles of countless weaves and comparing them to each other, he could deduce the purpose of some of the patterns and weave Memories by recreating them. That was how his career as a sorcerer had started... and he had made great strides since then.

Sunny had steadily increased the repertoire of patterns he could weave. Eventually, he was even able to understand the principles behind these structures, which gave him the ability to change and modify them. Finally, he reached a point where he could weave new patterns and thus create somewhat original enchantments, all by himself.

However, Sunny had always remained blind to the true essence of weaving. He had discerned how many weaves worked, but he never understood why. In other words, he had only observed the guiding principles of weaving without ever knowing the underlying reasons for why they were that way.

His experience as a sorcerer had been purely empirical, lacking the theoretical understanding of the inner workings and causality of the sorcery he practiced. He was an alchemist at best, not a chemist.

Now... all of it could change.

Of course, Sunny had not fathomed the elaborate underlying laws of weaving yet. But he had obtained a tool to observe them now — to personify them now — which meant that, given time, he would be able to comprehend and learn them. When he did...

A soft chuckle escaped Sunny's lips.

If he did manage to grasp the "Why" of weaving instead of only just "how," then he would not need to rely on imitation to create enchantments. He would not need a repertoire of weaves and patterns anymore — because he would be able to solve any problem by simply knowing the rules of solving it.

Of course, that would not make Sunny an omnipotent sorcerer in an instant. After all, having the tools necessary to solve a problem was not the same as mastering them. Otherwise, people would have been able to resolve... well... something terribly complicated in mathematics immediately after formulating the rules of arithmetic.

To his shame, Sunny did not know enough about mathematics to come up with an example.

"Why am I even thinking about that?"

Right... he was thinking about it because he had decided to rest a little after his brain almost melted as a result of experiencing the fusion with Silver Bell.

Still.

He had rested enough, already. Hadn't he?

Sitting up, Sunny shook his head energetically.

"Let's see what mysteries you're hiding!"

and summoned the Extraordinary Rock.

Sunny did not say that. The Extraordinary Rock said that.

But in the next moment, Sunny had become the Extraordinary Rock. Immediately, he shuddered.

Somewhere far away, the Lord of Shadows slammed into a pillar while walking out of the Nameless Temple. Elsewhere, a hidden shadow let out a frustrated sigh, making Rain stir a little in her sleep.

"Let's continue."

Sometime later, Aiko returned to the basement, carrying a tray of food. Her boss was sprawled on the floor in a disheveled state, staring at the ceiling with glassy eyes.

She cautiously nudged him with the edge of her shoe.

"Hey, boss... Uh... you're alive?"

Sunny turned his head and looked at her with a frown.

"Which me are you asking? Also, define the meaning of alive. Also... define the meaning of you."

He blinked a couple of times, then shook his head.

"Never mind. Yes, I'm alive. But what are you doing here?"

Aiko let out a sigh and put the tray on the floor near him.

"Here, have some food. I thought you'd be hungry."

Sunny tilted his head a little.

"Huh? Why would I be hungry?"

The petite girl shrugged.

"I mean... you've been locked in the basement for three days without ever stepping out..."

He stared at her for a few moments, then looked down at the food.

It did smell very appetizing.

"It's been three days already? Wow. That's crazy."

Pulling the tray closer, Sunny grabbed the nearest plate and shoved a spoonful of fragrant soup into his mouth.

"Has Nephis returned to the camp, by any chance?"

Aiko watched him eat with a dubious expression, then shook her head.

"Not yet. She's still en route... inspecting the extermination outposts or some such, from what I hear. She'll probably be here in a couple more days."

Sunny nodded.

"Alright. Let me know when that happens. I'll just stay here in the basement until then."

Then, thinking about it, he suddenly pierced her with an intense gaze.

"Wait. How's our war profiteering business coming along?"

The petite girl flinched.

"What?! What war profiteering? There's no war profiteering whatsoever happening here! Just a completely benign, officially sanctioned Memory redistribution program, for the glory and benefit of the great Sword Army."

Sunny waved a hand.

"Yes, yes. Whatever. You should already have at least a small stockpile of Memories in inventory, right? Waiting to be... redistributed. Lend them to me for a few days. Oh, also! Tell the Fire Keepers that since I have free time, I can modify some Memories for them, free of charge. There should be at least a few of them still in the camp, right?"

Aiko blinked.

"I refuse."

Sunny froze for a moment.

"What? Why?"

She crossed her arms and scowled sternly.

"Free of charge? What's that? Our services are both exclusive and top-notch, so why should we provide them for free? Dream on!"

Sunny stared at the petite girl for a few moments, then waved a hand.

"Fine, whatever, just get me some Memories — the more, the better!"

Grinning in satisfaction, Aiko told Sunny to enjoy his meal and flew out of the basement... literally.

He smiled.

"Good."

Being banished from the Spell, he couldn't directly transfer or receive Memories. Each had to be modified slightly before he could give them away or claim ownership — if the other party was willing, of course.

So it would actually take some effort on Sunny's part to get the Memories from Aiko.

It was worth it, however, because if he did...

He would be able to augment and study them freely, instantly gaining more fuel for his current research.

Aiko's uncompromising avarice aside, Sunny should have been paying the Fire Keepers for free access to their soul arsenals, instead. But, no matter.

He hungrily attacked the tray of food, grinning from ear to ear.

"I've made good progress, already."

In a day or two more, he would probably be ready to put his new knowledge into practice and test the first results of his recent breakthrough.

Therefore, it would be time to weave some Memories.

Shadow Slave
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Comments 21

  1. Offline
    YoUrBrUh
    YoUrBrUh
    + 5 ⋅ 6 -
    Aiko is a Jew
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    1. Offline
      wotpe
      wotpe
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      BrUh
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    2. Offline
      Avidreaderman
      Avidreaderman
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      Based....
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    3. Offline
      Doktor Faust
      Doktor Faust
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      Come on man
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  2. Offline
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    Uchia-Madara-Pathway
    + 10 ⋅ 1 -
    The chapters come later and later everyday.
    Won't be long b4 they skip a day💀
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  3. Offline
    JOEMUDA
    JOEMUDA
    + 13 ⋅ 1 -
    Bro why is it in every two three or four chapters someone has to start an argument, and when there's none for a while someone comes in charged with insults and trashing on the novel. Shadow Slave is a far cry from what it could have been, matters of fact I only read it because I've spent much time already on this but bash it with respect for the people reading this.
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    1. Offline
      EVOLT
      EVOLT
      + 13 ⋅ 1 -
      We need some drama oru2x. But yeah I honestly I think it’s just ppl wanting attention as most of the comments I’ve read recently are almost if not identical to some I’ve seen in the past (during the beginning of the 3rd nightmare) when hating on the novel. Ppl don’t really have patience I guess
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    2. Offline
      Doksoo
      Doksoo
      + 12 ⋅ 1 -
      if they had at least normal, adequate and logical complaints, I would understand, but no, they have this whole whining and complaints like "why didn't he just kill her?, why is the main character so "weak"?, why is she so strong?, He had to humiliate them". 0 reading comprehension.
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  4. Offline
    drodyakov
    drodyakov
    + 25 ⋅ 0 -
    1951 The Nuances of Proper Grammar

    It was going to take Aiko some time to prepare the new Memories for Sunny to peruse. In the meantime, he hesitated for a while, looking at the shimmering runes with a bit of trepidation.

    By now, he already explored those of his Memories that he had either personally crafted or altered. Two more remained, though.. Weavers Mask and Shadow Lantern.

    Sunny was a little afraid of them.

    He had already seen their weave, after all — and it was unlike anything he had ever witnessed. Even the most powerful Memories he had possessed in the past, Estuary Key and the Crown of Twilight, seemed like toys meant for an infant when compared to the unfathomable complexity of the weave hiding within the Divine Memories.

    Sunny had almost killed himself a couple of times by witnessing more than mortals were meant to perceive — like the endless tapestry of fate that Weaver's Mask could show him.

    He had not been harmed by merely looking at the weave of Divine Memories, sure. But there was a vast difference between taking a look at them and becoming one with them — fusing with the Silver Bell was already a shock, so Sunny was hesitant to do the same with either Weaver's Mask or the Shadow Lantern.

    Still, the temptation was too strong.

    Finally gathering his courage, Sunny sighed and summoned the Shadow Lantern. Soon, a palm-sized lantern appeared in his hand. It was made from a black material that felt like stone, but wasn’t stone, engraved with intricate patterns that resembled the scales of a serpent. A short chain was attached to a metal ring at its top, similarly black.

    The lantern's gate was carved from glossy black morion—needless to say, there was no light shining through it. Instead, the darkness around Sunny suddenly seemed to grow deeper, colder, and more impenetrable.

    Shadow Lantern was beautiful, but unassuming—not at all like a relic left behind by a god. Then again, maybe it was exactly the kind of thing that the elusive Shadow God would leave behind.

    It also only had a single enchantment... which was both quite simple and dealt with such absolute concepts and endlessness and infinity—

    Enchantment: [Gates of Shadow]

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

    That enchantment had served Sunny well in the past. In fact, it was one of the most useful and irreplaceable tools in his arsenal.

    He remained motionless for a while, studying the dark Memory, then sighed again and controlled his gloomy incarnation to wrap itself around the serpentine stone lantern.

    In the next moment...

    Sunny let out a horrified yelp and tossed the lantern away. Of course, that did not do anything, so he belatedly remembered to separate himself from the Divine Memory by allowing his trembling shadow to dash away.

    The Shadow Lantern fell on the floor and rolled a few times, its chain ringing in the silence.

    "Ah... goddammit..."

    Sunny found himself laying on the floor, having hit it hard with his forehead. Of course, his head was quite sturdy, so he wasn’t even bruised... the Marvelous Mimic, however, seemed to have received some damage. The floorboard was cracked, slowly repairing itself.

    A brick cottage could not really express emotions, but somehow, Sunny felt that he was surrounded by an aura of resentment.

    He let out a shaky breath.

    "Yeah... I'm not doing that again any time soon."

    Just as he had expected, fusing with a Divine Memory was not something a mere mortal like him was meant to do. His mind was too small, fleeting, and fragile to contain the vastness of the Shadow Lantern's weave, the weight of its enchantment, and humbling scale of its unseen expanse. The Divine Memory might have appeared no larger than a palm on the material plane, but truly... its essence was far too immense to fathom.

    Sunny slowly sat up and let out a low groan.

    "At least I didn't start with Weavers Mask."

    Shadow Lantern was a Divine Memory of the First Tier, while Weavers Mask... it was a Divine Memory of the Seventh Tier. It had more than one enchantment, as well, woven by Weaver’s own hand.

    Sunny was suddenly thankful that he was a little scared of his mask, having been traumatized by its [Where is my eye?] enchantment a long time ago. He had used it on several occasions — the last time already as a Saint, to see if he was really free of the Strings of Fate and disconnected from its tapestry. Remembering those times consistently made him shudder.

    Of course, fusing with Weavers Mask would be far more merciful than witnessing fate without the privilege of looking away. His mind would not melt, shatter, and collapse under the pressure... it was just that becoming one with something so much greater than himself posed a high risk of his sense of self being substituted by that thing entirely.

    Sunny had no plans of spending the rest of his life believing genuinely that he was in fact not a person, but a wooden mask instead.

    He had come really close to being irrevocably convinced that he was an intricate stone lantern, already.

    Shaking his head, Sunny closed his eyes for a moment, then threw a dark look at the Shadow Lantern.

    "That was close."

    The experience of fusion with the Divine Memory had indeed been perilous... but not entirely useless.

    Slowly, Sunny's expression changed.

    That said, it had not been useless.

    Remembering that short moment of being one with the Shadow Lantern, he scrutinized his feelings intently.

    He had not really managed to fathom the nuances of the spellweave of the Divine Memory, but he did become briefly aware of its true essence. That impression, although momentary, imparted a much deeper understanding of the Shadow Lantern to him.

    And of its single enchantment.

    Suddenly, Sunny's eyes widened, and he stared at the glossy morion gate of the stone lantern in utter disbelief.

    "No... it can't be."

    And yet, it could.

    He was paralyzed by shock.

    "The Gates of Shadow?"

    Long ago, soon after receiving the Shadow Lantern, Sunny had wondered how it was able to contain a literal infinity of shadows. Where did the shadows he sent into the Lantern really go? He had even sent one of his own shadows inside, learning very little as a result.

    He had also tried to store the Fragment of the Shadow Realm in the small stone lantern, attempting to test if its capacity was really infinite. The Fragment could indeed be sent into the Shadow Lantern — sadly, no matter how hard Sunny tried, it could not be retrieved.

    There was no reason Sunny knew why the Shadow Realm's Fragment would not return from inside the Lantern, like all other shadows would, but that was what he had discovered on Alethea's Island. The discovery had crushed his hope of being able to move his piece of a Divine Domain freely wherever he wished.

    But now... now, Sunny had a strong suspicion about what the reason was.

    It was because the name of the single enchantment of the Shadow Lantern was much more literal than he had thought.

    Gates of Shadow... not of the Shadows, but of Shadow.

    "Made pale and feeble by the radiance of day. Shadow laughed and rose from the ground."

    That was what the Nightmare Spell called Shadow God in the description of the Lantern.

    So, the Gates of Shadow were really the Gates of Shadow God.

    Where would the Gates of Shadow God lead?

    Sunny stared at the small stone lantern and its tiny morion door with an expression of horror.

    There was only one logical answer.

    They would lead to Shadow God's Realm.
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    1. Offline
      drodyakov
      drodyakov
      + 20 ⋅ 0 -
      1952 Choice Paralysis

      'It just doesn’t end today!'

      Sunny stared at the Shadow Lantern with a strange expression. Today, he had discovered the key to mastering the next step of Shadow Dance, elevated his sorcery, and now, found out that the door to the Shadow Realm had been in his pocket the entire time!

      Well... technically, these revelations had unfolded over several days, as Aiko so helpfully reminded him. Still, how was his heart supposed to handle so many stunning discoveries? 'Who cares about my heart? I have six spare ones, anyway!'

      Standing up, Sunny carefully picked up the Shadow Lantern and studied it, a deep frown forming on his face. He was fairly sure his theory was correct. In that brief moment of fusion with the Divine Memory, he and the Shadow Lantern had become one and the same. In that instant, he’d glimpsed a bit of what the Shadow Lantern truly was, as well as what lay hidden beneath its surface.

      Although he couldn’t fully comprehend it, he was certain of one thing — the gate of the Shadow Lantern led directly to the Shadow Realm. This would explain why it could hold an infinite number of shadows, as well as why the Fragment of the Shadow Realm could be stored but not retrieved. That Fragment had been torn from the Shadow Realm when a dreadful being escaped it, and by returning the Fragment, Sunny was, in a way, mending a rift in the Shadow Realm itself.

      And there was no chance he could pull an entire Divine Domain out of the Lantern, after all.

      Just thinking about all of this made Sunny feel incredulous. The Shadow Realm... His gaze grew distant, his mind wandering to the implications.

      Out of the six Divine Realms in existence, only the Seventh — the Shadow Realm — remained. When the Dream Realm was born, it slowly consumed the mortal realms, absorbing them into itself, along with five of the six Divine Realms... or so Wind Flower had told him. Sunny strongly suspected that the Stormsea had once been the Divine Realm of the Storm God. Godgrave had likely belonged to the Sun God. The Burned Forest may have been the Divine Realm of the Heart God. As for the Beast God, fragments of its realm lingered in the Song Domain. Finally, Earth seemed to have once been the Divine Realm of the War God, humanity’s patron deity.

      While five Divine Realms had been accounted for, the Shadow Realm had always remained a mystery. Where was it? Had it been swallowed by the Dream Realm? If so, where in this nightmarish world were the remains of the Shadow God’s Realm?

      Sunny had never seen or heard of a place resembling the Realm of Shadow. So he’d always wondered where it went. And now... he could go find out.

      The thought made him shudder with a sense of profound dread. Could he? Should he?

      The first question was simple — yes, he could. His shadow had entered the Shadow Lantern back when he first acquired it. Now, with Shadow Incarnation and the ability to control his shadows directly, he could do it himself. In fact, he probably could have done it even before becoming a Saint, simply by using Shadow Step to assume an incorporeal form. The only issue had been the unknown inside the Lantern, and that there would be no one to summon him back.

      But now, one of his avatars could hold the Lantern while another ventured inside. He could maintain at least two avatars indefinitely, and Shadow Step no longer drained his essence passively.

      The possibility was certainly there. But should he?

      The reason for caution was obvious. Venturing blindly into a fallen Divine Realm was asking for trouble. Godgrave, Stormsea, and Burned Forest were all deadly, representing some of the most nightmarish corners of this harrowing world. Sunny had no reason to assume it, but somehow, he felt that the Shadow Realm might be the most dreadful of them all.

      Yet, there was a compelling reason to explore it, too — his missing Titan Core. His Aspect had always made it harder to saturate his soul, and that difficulty seemed even greater now that he was a Saint, especially given the absence of Shadow Creatures to hunt.

      Wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume there were plenty of them in the ruins of the Shadow Realm? Entering the Shadow Realm was the most certain way he could think of to become a titan.

      If Sunny managed to become a Transcendent Titan, he’d gain another core, another shadow, and another avatar — and Serpent would also ascend. That would allow Serpent to take on the forms of titans Sunny had slain, like the Fallen Titan Goliath or the Winter Beast. Such a power would add a valuable trump card to his arsenal, and he desperately needed those, especially with the Sovereigns to face.

      A long sigh escaped Sunny’s lips.

      "Damnation..."

      He had so much to do already! Crafting Memories was his immediate plan, but there was also the looming war, his need to learn about the Sovereigns before facing them in battle, and Nephis was finally coming back to camp. That meant he could finally see her again.

      Now, exploring a dead god’s lightless realm had been added to his list of things to accomplish.

      Sunny covered his face with a palm and groaned.

      “What the hell?”

      With seven bodies, how was he busier than ever? Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling.

      For now, the only question was... what was he going to do first?

      Sneak into the Shadow Realm or make a breakthrough in weaving?
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      1. Offline
        Royalty Ducky
        Royalty Ducky
        + 3 ⋅ 0 -
        Thank you for the chapters, they release later and later every day
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      2. Offline
        DanielPlay
        DanielPlay
        + 11 ⋅ 0 -
        It must probably be very dangerous, we cannot forget that the shadow realm also served as a prison for several terrible creatures, but at the same time it is very tempting... 😬😬😬
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        1. Offline
          Dummybaron
          Dummybaron
          + 3 ⋅ 1 -
          I have similar thoughts and the most scary one of them is Gods.
          If Gods are dead where are they?
          Chapter 14
          [The gods are dead, and can not hear you.]
          [Shadow God stirs in his eternal slumber.]
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          1. Offline
            Chaos_WarGod
            Chaos_WarGod
            + 2 ⋅ 1 -
            Death is created by shadow god
            So it falls under his domain
            Then maybe in shadow realm
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      3. Offline
        Lrb
        Lrb
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Shadow era tipo um diretor onipotente de uma prisão eterna, muito foda
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      4. Offline
        Ryuk
        Ryuk
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        waku waku
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      5. Offline
        samy dakiche
        samy dakiche
        + 3 ⋅ 0 -
        Now I remember [Where are my eyes?] and [Definitely not me], doesn't the sense of naming seem similar to Weaver? This sounds really amusing (normally I would have come up with some theories but I remembered that Sunny who is interested in Weaver's secrets might inadvertently acquire some similar traits - like a son and his father - assuming they are the same bloodline)
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      6. Offline
        IzuChukwu
        IzuChukwu
        + 7 ⋅ 0 -
        If Sunny managed to become a Transcendent Titan, he’d gain another core, another shadow, and another avatar.


        Something tells me the 7th Shadow is going to be intelligent, with a "scholar" vibe.
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        1. Offline
          ZEXOS
          ZEXOS
          + 15 ⋅ 0 -

          type shi
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            The Priest of Negari
            The Priest of Negari
            + 4 ⋅ 0 -
            HAHAHAHAHAHA YOU MADE MY DAY
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  5. Offline
    Deathseeker
    Deathseeker
    + 9 ⋅ 0 -
    I will just say stay in basement oru2x
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