Prologue

(A/n: I've never written anything even close to as complex as Shadow Slave so please be patient when it comes to the ridgness of my writing.

Also, if you notice any spelling or grammatical errors please point them out so I can fix them.)

***

"I guess it's all coming to an end…"

A dark-haired boy mumbled tiredly as he watched the writhing body of the Mountain King slowly grow still, paying no mind to the hundreds– if not thousands of corpses strewn around the beast as he quietly sat on the black temple steps.

His hollow obsidian eyes looked almost bored as he watched the awakened tyrant die, perhaps wondering what was next.

After all, he knew that it was only the beginning.

[You have slain an awakened tyrant, Mountain King.]

He stood up to retrieve its soul shards but was halted by the spell's next word.

[Wake up, Sunless! Your nightmare is over.]

Before any further action could be taken, the world around him collapsed. 

The spell spoke again.

[Prepare for appraisal…]

In the next moment, Sunny found himself in a space between dream and reality. It was an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars. Between those stars, countless strings of silver light were woven into a beautiful and inconceivably complex net, forming various nexuses and constellations.

Somehow, Sunny understood that he was seeing the inner workings of the Nightmare Spell. He also couldn't help but think that it looked a lot like the celestial equivalent of a neural network, but didn't feel the need to entertain the thought.

'How Beautiful…'

When compared to the dreary slums he had lived in his whole life, almost anything seemed beautiful. But looking at the tapestry of stars before him, he couldn't help but feel proud of his achievements. Treating the view as the first of many rewards he'd receive for his hardships.

Unfortunately, he was broken out of his reverie by a whisper.

[You have received a Memory: Puppeteer's Shroud]

The first reward he received seemed to have nothing to do with the appraisal but instead acted as a reminder of the Tyrant he had just slaughtered. It was from the Mountain King.

He felt a small smile tug at his lips as he summoned the memories runes. Wondering if killing the beast was worth the effort.

Memory: [Puppeteer's Shroud].

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Type: Armor.

Memory Description: [A worm of doubt once found its way into a righteous king's heart. With time, the king was devoured from the inside and became its puppet. A lifetime later, the Puppeteer Worm escaped from the king's dead body, leaving behind a cacoon of black silk. No one knows where it went; however, once people dared to approach the silent castle, they found the silk among the mountains of gnawed bones and fashioned it into armor.]

'An armor type, huh...' Sunny smiled with satisfaction.

Throughout his senseless slaughter, he had received a few armor-type memories, but most were too weak to do anything significant and were destroyed just as fast as he acquired them.

But now, with this new addition, he could finally say that he didn't have to dodge every attack that came his way. And could instead afford to take some minor hits to preserve his stamina.

After a few more seconds he was done inspecting the memory, and just on time the spell spoke again.

[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]

[A nameless slave ascended the Black Mountain. Both heroes, monsters, and slaves fell by his hand in a senseless slaughter. Unbroken, he entered the ruined temple of a long-forgotten god and spilled his blood on the sacred altar as he held his ground against the relentless pursuits of both man and beast. The gods were dead, and yet they listened.]

[You have defeated one-hundred-twenty-seven dormant beasts: Mountain King's Larva.]

[You have defeated seven-hundred-ninety-four dormant humans, names unknown.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Auro of the Nine.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Aster of War.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Loveland.]

[You have defeated an awakened human: Damian.]

[You have defeated an awakened tyrant: Mountain King.]

[You have received a fragment of the Shadow God's Divinity.]

[You have stolen a fragment of the War God's Divinity.]

[You have moved against the Weaver's Web.]

[You have achieved the impossible!]

[Final appraisal: Unachivable. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]

A satisfied smile appeared on his lip.

His eyes glowed with pride at the appraisal, his smile growing with expectation.

[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]

[You have been bestowed a True Name: Lost from Light.]

He faltered.

'A true name?!'

Although he had an inkling that his first nightmare was harder than most, receiving his True Name from it was significantly outside of his expectations, throwing him off quite a bit.

'Well, I'm not complaining…'

[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]

Sunny raised an eyebrow slightly at the question, but continued regardless, "Yes".

[Dormant Aspect Temple Slave is evolving…]

[New Aspect acquired.]

He crossed his fingers.

[Aspect Rank: Divine.]

Sunny froze as he felt his heart stop.

[Aspect Name: Shadow Slave.]

***

'Divine… it's Divine.'

Sunny was standing on his knees, stupefied. The shock was so great that for a second there he lost all control over his limbs and fell.

'It said "divine"... right?'

As if to ensure he wasn't wrong, he quickly summoned his runes.

Aspect: [Shadow Slave].

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Description: [You are a miraculous shadow left behind by a dead god. As a divine shadow, you possess plenty of strange and wondrous powers. However, your existence is empty and lonesome; you mourn the passing of your former master and long to find a new one.]

Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].

Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]

As he read through his runes he slowly regained his composure and his previously exited face turned almost grim.

'It's a double-edged sword.'

Considering that his aspect ranked as highly as it was, he doubted his abilities were as simple as they were described, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if it was worth it to lose his freedom in return for that power.

'I guess I can just hide my true name.'

He quickly turned his attention away from the runes, knowing that he would be stuck with his new abilities regardless of whether he liked it or not, and instead focused on the continuation of his appraisal.

[The First Seal is broken.]

[Awakening dormant powers…]

His eyes glowed.

'Finally.'

In the next moment, energy filled his entire being.

Sunny felt his emotions becoming clearer and sharper. Then, his body began to change, too. He felt as though a miniature star was burning in the center of his chest: waves of heat were radiating from it, slowly reaching his stomach and shoulders, then his arms and legs, then his hands and feet.

Under that heat, his bones, muscles, organs, and blood vessels were being rebuilt and revitalized. Sunny felt like he was being reborn. He was becoming stronger, faster, healthier, even more attractive.

It was euphoric.

But the spell wasn't finished.

[Awakening Aspect Ability…]

'This is it... The moment of truth,'

[Aspect Ability acquired.]

[Aspect Ability Name: Shadow Control.]

Gleaming very little from the Ability's title, Sunny summoned the runes that described his ability, only to become annoyed at another one of the spell's cryptic descriptions.

Aspect: [Shadow Slave].

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Abilities: [Shadow Control].

Aspect Ability Description: [Your shadow is more independent than most. It is an invaluable helper.]

Sunny sighed

'I'll have to test it later…'

And now, Sunny had finally reached the part of the appraisal he feared the most.

His flaw.

[All power has a price.]

[You have received a Flaw.]

He held his breath.

[Your Flaw is: Clear Conscience]

'Not good.'

He frowned at the name of his flaw and summoned his runes.

Flaw: [Clear Conscience].

Flaw Description: [You cannot lie.]

His expression crumpled.

'No no no no no, this can't be real!'

Sunny stared at these three simple words, feeling like there was a bottomless abyss opening right beneath his feet. The Spell, which was usually frivolous with its descriptions, decided to be straight and on point this time. There were only three words. They left him no room to maneuver.

'I'm doomed.'

Although Sunny was pretty confident in his combat abilities after living his entire life in the middle of a conflict-driven slum. Lying and deception was one of his greatest tools that allowed him to survive.

And now it was gone.

Taken away by the spell.

But almost as if not give him the time to lament over his flaw, the spell just continued to speak. 

[You have gained an Attribute.]

[You have gained an Attribute.]

[Your Attribute has evolved.]

[Your Attribute has evolved.]

'What?'

Genuinely confused, Sunny momentarily forgot his dissatisfaction with the spell and could only gawk at the series of messages.

'Was that a glitch?'

But once again, before he could summon his runes, the spell made one final announcement.

[Wake up, Lost from Light!]

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

End of Chapter

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