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Chapter 2332: Payday
Shadow Slave

Sunny chuckled.

'Actually, I haven't felt this weak in a long while. It was a good reminder, though - I was beginning to grow arrogant.'

Kai stared at him incredulously for a bit.

',Beginning? Did you say 'beginning' to grow arrogant?'

Sunny gave him a reproachful look and laughed.

'Ah, right. Your first impression of me was meeting the Lord of Shadows. Don't let it deceive you, though - that haughty guy is merely one of the roles I played. The real me is not nearly as conceited.'

He scoffed.

'I mean, why does someone as incredibly wealthy, unimaginably powerful, and unbearably handsome as I even have to be conceited?

Kai blinked a couple of times.

'In, deed. I think I understand. I had to play the role of myself for a long time, too, back when I was a singer. I guess you had your reasons.'

He paused for a moment, then asked curiously:

'But what is the real you like, then?'

Sunny shrugged.

'The real me? Oh… I am a modest man with modest goals. All I really want is to run a quaint cafe, make a little money on the side by selling Memories, become a god, and go on romantic dates with my girlfriend from time to time.'

Kai stared at him silently for a moment.

'Excuse me? What was that in the middle?'

Sunny smiled brightly.

'What, becoming a god? Isn't that a given? One can't even run a cafe in peace these days without becoming a god first… it is honestly annoying. Plus, my angelic girlfriend is a tad ambitious, so I have to keep up!'

Kai coughed a few times.

Sunny, meanwhile, glanced at the pile of soul shards the Obsidian Wasps had dutifully put in front of him. The shards shone gorgeously, dispelling the deep darkness of the Ash Castle…

His eyes glinted.

'Look at that, Kai. Dozens of Supreme soul shards! Can you even imagine how much this pile costs? That is… at least a crapton of credits right there!'

Kai glanced at the radiant shards, remained silent for a moment, then smiled with a hint of wistfulness in his mesmerizing green eyes.

'Oh. Indeed, You reminded me of someone just now, when you said that.'

Sunny glanced at him briefly.

'You mean Aiko? Right, she used to work for you at one point, didn't she?'

Kai nodded.

'Yeah. She was my manager after I Awakened. But we haven't seen each other in a while. How… is she doing?'

Sunny let out a laugh.

'Aiko? Oh, she is having a blast. It is a bit funny - she used to run a gambling den in the Bright Castle, but now she pretty much runs the entire Dark City. She also manages Shadow Clan's network all over both worlds… running a secret organization of that scale is a complicated affair, so she spends a lot of time in Bastion.'

Kai let out a quiet sigh.

'That's good. I'm happy that she's happy. Although, to be honest… I am a little surprised. We went our separate ways because I wanted to follow the Path of Ascension and use my power for a noble cause, while she wanted nothing to do with causes after the Forgotten Shore. I thought she wanted to be a civilian. So, I didn't expect her to end up as a Sovereign's personal assistant.'

Sunny scratched the back of his head.

'Well, it just ended up like that. I didn't set out to exploit her that way - initially, I simply hired her to help me run a Memory shop. But one thing led to another, and before I knew it, she was in charge of my entire operation.'

He blinked a couple of times.

'Come to think of it… wait, have I been conned? Did she hoodwink me into bankrolling her shady underground empire with my fortune?'

Kai laughed.

'No, no. I am sure you are exploiting a mere Awakened like her, Supreme Sunless, and not the other way around. Definitely.'

Sunny grinned.

'Yeah… yeah, naturally! Obviously.'

Finishing enjoying the view of the soul shards, he turned to several piles of crystal fragments instead. The Obsidian Wasps had chosen only the suitable ones, separating them into several large piles by form and size.

He picked one up and traced his finger along its edge, His jade skin was instantly cut… which was impressive enough.

No blood seeped out of the cut, and a few seconds later, it had already healed itself.

'Wonderful.'

The soul shards would become the anchors for weaves of the Memories he wanted to create, but the remains of the Crystal Wasps could serve as an excellent medium for the enchantments.

After all, Memories had to be crafted from something, and materials harvested from Great Nightmare Creatures were superior to permanently manifested shadows. These crystalline shards were especially sharp and durable, making them perfect for crafting arrowheads.

Actually… there was someone here who was quite amazing at crafting arrows from similar materials. Slayer had spent thousands of years making her own weapons from what she could find in the Shadow Real, and the most readily available resource there was obsidian.

Sunny glanced at her and raised an eyebrow.

'Hey. How about helping me with this?'

She stared at him chillingly, which made him clear his throat.

'Oh. Right…'

It was time for another payment.

Sunny used the same shard of crystal to slice open his forearm - this time, the cut quickly swelled with blood.

Slayer finally moved, lowering herself to one knee beside him under Kai's startled gaze.

She put her hands together and placed them under his arm, allowing his blood to flow into them. When the chalice of her hands was nearly full, Sunny stemmed the bleeding and watched as she raised them to her veiled lips.

A few moments later, the blood was gone. Slayer did not really drink it - instead, it was simply absorbed into her ebony skin, disappearing forever behind the veil.

Her dark eyes were distant, full of some vague, indescribable emotions for a heartbeat.

Then, the hint of emotion was replaced by the familiar, cold malice.

Kai stammered.

'W - what was that?'

Watching his cut heal, Sunny chuckled and glanced at him with a smile.

'That?'

He shrugged.

'That was payday.'

Shadow Slave
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Comments 51

  1. Offline
    Mercy
    + 8 ⋅ 0 -
    Hmm i think slayer will be the first shadow creatures in Sunny's 6 Shadows.
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  2. Offline
    Ethan
    + 12 ⋅ 0 -
    Kai needs to stop asking how Aiko is and go see her himself, go to your girl bruh 😭😭
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    1. Offline
      Mr.S
      + 4 ⋅ 0 -
      Morgan >
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      1. Offline
        LustyReader69
        + 1 ⋅ 0 -
        both
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  3. Offline
    pixities
    + 13 ⋅ 0 -
    So Slayer is becoming more corporeal and human every time she drinks Sunny’s blood right? Not sure why no one has commented on this yet, it’s been so sus of her to want to drink Sunny’s blood. Even tho he’s technically a shadow now. So she’ll be a special humanoid Shadow of Sunny’s in future or maybe some special soldier or ally if she becomes too human.
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    1. Online Offline
      Rãōõñ
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      I am not sure what sunny is thinking giving a daemon blood to a unloyal shadow
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  4. Offline
    Pro100zver25
    + 13 ⋅ 0 -
    Chapter — 2333: Pit Stop.

    Slayer seemed satisfied with her payment. Of course, it was a little tactless of her to demаnd his blood when they were imprisoned in a lethal daemonic realm — but actually, she was being unexpectedly considerate.

    After all, it did not escape Sunny's attention that the murderous Shadow had foregone their usual duel. He had fully expected that Slayer would attack him as soon as there was a chance, but she seemed to have decided against it.

    This was the first time Slayer spared him the hassle of beating her into submission.

    «I guess we're making progress.»

    Tossing the crystal shard back onto the pile, Sunny pointed to Kai's bow.

    «Give that here.»

    Receiving it, he studied the weapon thoughtfully. Unlike the arrows, he was not planning to turn the bow into a Memory — doing that would have required imbuing it with permanence, which would weaken it. But that did not mean that he could not enchant it.

    Sunny had created plenty of enchanted items that were not Memories, after all, like various implements for thе radiant Empоrium and the Beast Farm. The fundamental weaves shared by all Memories, and which therefore defined what a Memory was, were so ingeniously designed and useful that there was usually no reason not to bestow them on a weapon or a piece of equipment. But that did not mean that they were necessary. It was just that the spellweave had to be woven a bit differently for an enchanted item that was not a Memory.

    For example, Awakened usually needed to activate the enchantments of their Memories with essence, and only the essence of the person to whom the Memory belonged could do the job. The Memory itself was a concept moored to the master's soul, while manifesting it turned their soul essence into matter — so there was an innate connection between Awakened and their Memories. An enchanted item was different, since it was inherently ownerless. So, Sunny had to either weave the identity of the master into the enchantments or change their activation principle entirely, allowing them to accept anyone's soul essence.

    The latter offered a sea of possibilities.

    Sunny was especially concerned about Kai's reserve of essence — the charming archer was merely a Transcendent Beast, after all, so his essence capacity was one seventh of what Sunny himself possessed as a Saint. The enemies they faced, meanwhile, were immensely powerful…

    Kai would need as much firepower as he could get to fight them effectively, but truly potent enchantments would burn through his soul essence in moments. There would be no time for him to fully replenish it either, considering that they might need to enter battle twice a day.

    Sunny had to strike a careful balance between potency and sustainability — if the bow could accept anyone's essence, however, he could assist Kai by using his own.

    He could even make the bow an essence vessel and saturate it with powerful Supreme essence in advance.

    «Hmm…»

    Sunny sighed.

    Now that he had become the ruler of the Ash Domain — which was reduced to a single volcano — he felt like a pauper again. His tens of thousands of shades were gone, and the seemingly boundless river of spirit essence that constantly flowed into his soul had run dry. Compared to what he usually enjoyed, there was merely a trickle. So, he couldn't go all out and supply Kai with an ocean of his essence. Additionally, Sunny did not know how to make his essence follow the charming archer's commands. It was an interesting challenge, though… he was not sure that he could solve it, but he felt like he could cheat it somehow, at least to some degree.

    «Yeah… that solution might work. This one, too. I just have to be modest in my ambition.»

    He could not replace Kai's essence with his own, but he could at least supplement it.

    As for enchantments themselves, Sunny was no stranger to crafting bows and arrows. He had gone through the process of designing the optimal combination both for Rain and fоr Slayer, so all he had to do was adjust a few things with Kai's Aspect in mind.

    For example…

    Unlike most archers, Kai could see through solid objects. So, wouldn't it be prudent to design him an arrow that could phase through matter?

    «Wait. Such an arrow would be amazing in the hands of any skilled archer!»

    Why had he not made one before?

    Well… it was probably because making things pass through matter was not that easy. He could potentially play with tangible and intangible states, possibly even use an altered version of the [Unseen] enchantment of the Moonlight Shard, but there were a few obstacles to overcome.

    Making an arrow pass through solid matter was easy in theory, but in practice, there was no such thing as easy matter in the Dream Realm. All materials had their own mystical properties — especially so the bodies of living beings.

    So, as much as Sunny wanted to make an arrow that would phase through the armor of an Nightmare Creature and strike directly at the tender flesh beneath, he couldn't, for now. Making an arrow that could phase through a mass of rock and strike an adversary hiding behind it, though?

    That was a possibility.

    «Oh, my… I'm inspired…»

    Summoning four shadow hands, Sunny lamented the absence of Weaver's Needle and got to work.

    He would work on the bow first, then the quiver, and finally craft a few arrows.

    Kai needed some kind of melee weapon, as well. The weapon could be crafted from the larger pieces of shattered crystal left behind by the slain Wasps… there were Supreme materials and Supreme soul shards at Sunny's disposal, so he would be able to create something truly destructive.

    The only limit was time. He had until sunset to prepare Kai for battle, so he had to be modest in his ambition.

    «That's alright… I can take it one step at a time.»

    He could weave a basic enchantment for the bow and create a couple of arrows today. Then, he could continue to improve the bow and add new arrows to Kai's arsenal after each battle. There would be more dead abominations and more materials for him to work with, as well… his Beasts would continue to grow stronger with each day.

    His army of shades would continue to grow in number, as well.

    Which was a good thing…

    Because, at the end of it all, they would have to face the Snow Tyrant.

    «We are going to need all the power in the world to kill that thing, for sure…»

    Sunny became engrossed in weaving.
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    1. Offline
      Pro100zver25
      + 10 ⋅ 0 -
      Chapter — 2344: Bitter Solitude.

      As Sunny worked, Kai remained silent for a while, resting. It did not seem like he was ready to sleep, and there was nothing really for him to do on the barren volcano.

      The charming archer glanced at the walls of the crumbling fortress for a while — or rather, through them. He was observing their enemies, most likely.

      The remaining Crystal Wasps, the snow worm, the clockwork giant…

      «Stop staring at the frightening Nightmare Creatures, Kai. That will only wind up more, not help you recover.»

      Kai slowly glanced away from whatever horror he was observing and focused on Sunny.

      Eventually, he asked:

      «That is a strange form of sorcery. I don't think I've ever seen anyone enchant something in that way before.»

      Sunny nodded.

      «I don't think there's anyone else capable of performing this form of sorcery in the world, anymore. I'm the only one.»

      Kai had to have an idea of what his Aspect Abilities were. So, he would know that creating Memories was a skill Sunny possessed, not an Ability. The charming archer glanced at him with interest.

      «How did you learn it?»

      Sunny responded without looking up, his six hands forming the spellweave inside the black bow, one string of shadow essence at a time.

      «Oh. One of my Attributes allows me to see the spellweave of Memories, while another one allows me to touch it. One time… I was in a pretty desperate situation. So I figured out how to create a rudimentary Memory to escape it.»

      He smiled faintly.

      «Then, it was just a lot of research, study, and experimentation. I slowly taught myself how to do more by watching what the Spell does.»

      He glanced at Kai briefly.

      «What about you? You seem to be perfectly suited for Shaping, with that Aspect of yours. Have you not tried to master it?»

      Kai chuckled.

      «Oh… I tried. I seem to be a special case, though. Some people have a talent for Shaping, while some people don't. What I have, however, is negative talent.»

      Sunny raised an eyebrow.

      «How so?»

      Kai shrugged with a smile.

      «Because of my Aspect, the True Names I invoke are extremely powerful. In exchange, however, it is especially difficult for me to master them… Lady Nephis thinks that it's the way for the world to balance things out.»

      He sighed.

      «I can't even speak the Names as a human — at least nоt yet. I can invoke them pretty easily as a dragon, though, almost as if a dragon's maw is meant to bellow them. But it's of no use, really, since I can barely keep the Names in my mind. Even after years of effort, I've only mastered a meager few.»

      Sunny contemplated his words for a few seconds.

      «I'm not buying that someone like you is not meant to be a Shaper. Maybe you just have not met the condition to master the Sorcery of Names, yet. Things will probably change dramatically when you reach a higher Rank. Alternatively… it might be connected to your Aspect Legacy. Or not. You have not received it yet, have you?»

      Kai shook his head.

      «No. But I don't see how an Aspect Legacy can help me become a better sorcerer. Aren't Legacy Relics usually just powerful Memories?»

      Sunny chuckled.

      «Usually, уes. But not always. Oh, and technically, Legacy Relics do not need to be powerful — they just need to complement your Aspect greatly.»

      He pointed to himself with one of his forty — two fingers.

      «Take me, for example. My Aspect Legacy is actually a… skillset, of sorts. I developed it myself, but the Spell had helped me take the first step — or rather, take it faster. It also used to reward me with Relics when I reached certain milestones. Then there is Nephis, whose Aspect Legacy is based in understanding, and who is rewarded for it with nothing except knowledge.»

      He returned to weaving the strings of shadow essence.

      «So even though most Aspect Legacies are indeed Memories, or more rarely Echoes, not all of them are.»

      They remained silent for a while. At some point, however, Kai studied him with a neutral expression and asked tentatively:

      «Sunny… can I ask you something?»

      Sunny nodded while keeping his focus on the black blow.

      Kai hesitated for a few seconds.

      «Before… you told me that my survival would depend on my companions, while their survival would depend on me. That no one survives in the Dream Realm alone.»

      Sunny raised an eyebrow.

      «So I did.»

      Kai lingered for a while.

      «But you were living in Godgrave all alone when we met. A solitary Saint, all alone in the world. Did… did you speak from experience, or was it simply common wisdom?»

      Sunny smiled faintly.

      A Saint… a Saint was someone who had braved the Dream Realm and conquered three Nightmares. As far as Sunny knew, there was only one person who had conquered the Third Nightmare alone — the Princess of War, Morgan of Valor.

      Kai seemed to be curious about his previous solitude.

      He sighed.

      «I spoke from experience. I had someone to depend on, too, in the past. I had companions.»

      «You were one of them, dummy.»

      Kai glanced at him mournfully, not saying anything… and yet, it seemed like he wanted Sunny to say more.

      Sunny chuckled.

      «Well, it did not end well.»

      He picked up one more soul shard and placed it into the weave, carefully anchoring innumerable strings of essence to it.

      «It did not end well because I betrayed my companions, and lost them. I want to say that I had a good reason to abandon them… maybe I did… but in the end, it was a selfish reason. I am a very selfish person, Kai. I am a very greedy person as well. My selfish greed was my undoing.»

      What would have happened if Sunny had stayed with his cohort and faced the First Seeker with them? If he had made a different wish? Would it have been for the best? Or would he have spent the rest of his days living in regret? Had he made an unforgivable mistake? He did not know.

      He did know that he regretted losing his companions bitterly, though. Some days, it felt too bitter to endure.

      Kai shook his head slowly.

      «You do not look like someone who is undone, Sunny.»

      There was some truth to that, Sunny was a Sovereign, after all.

      He glanced at Kai and smiled.

      «Looks can be deceiving.»
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      1. Offline
        PhantomGira
        + 2 ⋅ 0 -
        Sunny is NOT okay
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  5. Offline
    Mando_03
    + 1 ⋅ 4 -
    i need discuss sunny shadows(his 6 avatars/ shadows of himself) tranasformation ability cuz i think there is some kind of paradox or hole here (imo)

    first the a ability came from spell after the 4th nightmare right? so spell give sunny anilioty to allow his shadows/avatar to take sunny human*** form(white skin, dark hair)
    but here when sunny kill him self and become real shadow not a human how can his sahdows(incliding him) still be able to transform into his human form ?
    as if he could transform his avatars to his real form even if he himself a shadowhe should be able to allow his shafows to transform into their origin bodies real form( not just balck shadow figure)
    and of he coulf then it all conflict with shadow source(nature) itself
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    1. Offline
      kaibutsu
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      I'm not sure if I understood what you meant correctly, but if I did, then:
      chapter 2279
      It wasn’t like he couldn’t change his appearance if he wanted to. He was the Shadow now, and Shadows were inherently mutable. He could look however he wanted — tall or short.

      But his original form felt the most natural. Plus, he liked the way he looked — his body was fine. Actually, it was kind of cool.

      as I understand it, his transformation ability after losing his main body allows him to become any creature of flesh, the form of which he can imagine.
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      1. Offline
        Lrb
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Sim ele pode, mas o problema é o mesmo do por que ele nao evoluiu na dança das sombras, quando ele ta aprendendo a "assumir" a sombra de algo ele tem que literalmente virar aquele algo incorporando seus pensamentos jeitos e costumes, ele nao tem mais seu nome verdadeiro pra se lembrar de quem é quando se perde nas sombras. fora isso ele tem as "formas" que ele ja era bastante familiarizado como o demonio de 4 braços, o corvo e se nao me engano ele consegue se transformar em formas simples de sombra, tipo um gato domestico, mas nao um gato "pesadelo", pois a estrutura e "misticismo" é muito complexo pra ele agr
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      2. Offline
        Mando_03
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        no that no what i mean i mean true form like if he for example could take kai form he shoud be able to get his green eyes and so on that what i means
        so if he could do that then he could transform really into anyone** any shape if possible but here he only transform in any thing but in black figure not true identity
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  6. Offline
    JDS
    + 3 ⋅ 0 -
    Quote: alex silent
    his

    He is using his shadows as avatars, so when he uses shadow incarnation he is having a real body with blood and everything
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  7. Offline
    alex silent
    + 9 ⋅ 1 -
    Sunny is just a shadow. He has no blood, his blood is just a manifestation of shadows. Technically he can give her any part of his body, since it's all the same shadow.
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    1. Offline
      Mando_03
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      so how can he have kids if he cant mmmmm yo know
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  8. Offline
    KisaraxD
    + 15 ⋅ 5 -
    Ngl, want I really wanted was to have slayer actually suck Sunny's blood like a vampire... That would've been good
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    1. Offline
      Spider-Guru🕷️
      + 6 ⋅ 0 -
      Bruhhh 👀
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    2. Offline
      chocolatey
      + 10 ⋅ 0 -
      lecherous bastard
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      1. Offline
        Bandupkyy
        + 2 ⋅ 0 -
        This shouldn’t have made me laugh as much as it did lmaooo, but nah fr straight to horny jail.
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      Lost from star
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      Agree like biting his forearm or some it would have been kinda intoxicating
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  9. Offline
    redsky2009
    + 14 ⋅ 0 -
    Gonne have start stacking now for my gcse 💔
    i would say i hope i don't miss any good events but the pase at which guilty3 is going at he might still not have mind weave when im done 😭😭
    first time not reading Shadow Slave daily for like a year as well.
    thats probably why i got a 3 in my music mock last year 💔💔
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    1. Offline
      thedaddyman
      + 8 ⋅ 0 -
      good luck with your gcse's man it only gets better. Im 21 and I aint having to learn 9 different subjects anymore, its great. Lock in for a while and your sorted. Unless you end up doing alevels which is even worst. Uni is easy though. Keep reading as a reward id recommend.

      Thought id say something because i was totally miserable during that time period and it reminded me. Aim a little higher than a 4 though, i only really tried after gcse's were already over, but I did immediately got better grades for a levels. You definitely have the power, you got this.
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      The.gunner
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      You've got this.
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    3. Offline
      Cleanupcrew
      + 2 ⋅ 0 -
      Gooduck with your GCSEs bro I finished mine last year and it honestly isn't as hard as you think nor daunting, well done for being able to last this long and trust me like the other guy said, it's only going to get easier from then on, if you ignore uni or A-levels, I'm currently doing A levels and it's stressful but yk we always have better days to look forward too, Onwards young soldier and do your thing.
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    4. Offline
      Earthly Desert Fox
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      On the same team my friend, I'm graduating from college this summer, cheer up.
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      1. Offline
        Lostmysight
        + 0 ⋅ 0 -
        Why is y'all so nice ☺
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  10. Offline
    Smash_Venerable
    + 13 ⋅ 1 -
    I hope Mind Weave could allow him to talk to his Shades, I really wanna hear Saint and Slayer.
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    1. Offline
      orangetanktop
      + 1 ⋅ 0 -
      it would probably just reduce the burden on shadow sense and increase his resistance to mental attacks and make him think faster
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    2. Offline
      Mitch
      + 0 ⋅ 0 -
      That’d be cool. I think slayer will eventually talk in the future regardless tho
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