Once again, Sunny found himself in the endless void between dream and reality, surrounded by stars and woven silver threads of light. With the eyes of the Weaver, he glimpsed the intricate design of the Spell — a sight too overwhelming, too dangerous to behold.
Turning away, consumed by sorrow and rage, he cursed everything — the Spell, Morpheus, the world.
But most of all… Cassie.
"Curse her…"
After everything he had done for her — protecting her, guiding her — she had repaid him with betrayal. She had exposed his secret. His True Name. Something he had guarded with blood and pain.
She was supposed to be his friend. She was supposed to understand.
And yet, that blind, ungrateful girl had shackled him again — not with chains, but with obedience. Not nameless slavers this time, but Morpheus.
He hated them all. Loved them, maybe… but hated them even more.
The emotional storm was too much for someone who had lived most of his life numb and alone.
Time passed strangely in the void, and the Spell remained silent, as though letting him process it all.
Then, it spoke:
[Your shadow is overflowing with power.]
[Your shadow is taking shape.]
[Your shadow is complete.]
Agony erupted inside him as the transformation continued. Without the [Soul Conduit] to suppress it, his saturated Shadow Core finally evolved.
The pain was soul-deep and nearly unbearable, but eventually, it faded, leaving Sunny stronger than ever before.
He checked his body, feeling powerful — unnaturally so.
But when he looked down, he froze.
His shadow wasn't alone.
Two identical shadows stood beside it — one sulking, the other cheerful, both staring silently back at him.
Sunny stared at the two shadows in disbelief.
"Am I… seeing things, or are there two of you?"
They didn't answer — no vocal cords. But the sulking one gave him a look of pure contempt, while the friendly one just shrugged shyly.
'What the hell is going on?'
Frowning, Sunny dove into his Soul Sea. The tranquil, dark waters were back to normal with the [Soul Conduit] gone. Shadows stood silent, and above them… he looked up — and froze.
There were two Shadow Cores.
'Two…? Why are there two of them?'
That wasn't possible. Humans only had one. Only Nightmare Creatures could have more.
But he could feel the truth. The Spell's earlier words clicked into place — not one shadow transforming, but a second shadow forming. And with it, a second core, built from the thousand shadow fragments he'd gathered.
Curious, he ordered both shadows to augment him.
The sulking one rolled its eyes; the friendly one practically bounced with joy.
As they covered his body, Sunny's strength doubled.
…Then tripled.
Too much power. Almost unbelievable.
He experimented — sending one shadow back, one to his blade, then to the Puppeteer's Shroud. The results were the same: dual augmentation.
Two shadows.
Two augmentations.
Two Memories enhanced at once.
"Holy hell…"
This wasn't just rare. It was unheard of.
The true strength of his Divine Aspect was finally beginning to show — and if there was a second core, there could be a third. A fourth.
He remembered Morpheus's power and summoned the runes.
He needed to know.
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamer.
Below that, new runes were shimmering in the darkness. Sunny's eyes widened.
Class: Monster.
Shadow Cores: [2/7].
He stared at the glowing runes, his face calm, his heart engulfed by a dark fire.
…Monster. Two out of seven.
He was right, after all. His progression path was indeed different from all of humanity. It was harder, larger... but also so much more promising.
The promise of it was as vast as it was frightening. He was reluctant to even try to imagine the pinnacle of what he would potentially be able to achieve.
The possibilities were simply limitless.
What would a human with seven cores and the might of a titan be capable of? What obstacles would they be unable to conquer? Who would dare to stand in their way?
...Who would dare to call them their slave?
Of course, the road to creating five more cores would be long and arduous. It would take him years, if not decades. If he even manages to live that long. In fact, the magnitude and scale of such an ambition were nothing short of insane. After all, the stronger he grows, the stronger enemies he would have to face to collect their shadow fragments. It seemed all but impossible.
...Almost.
Was he really going to try?
After some time, Sunny lowered his gaze and continued to read the runes. His face looked like that of a madman — there were simultaneously a deep frown and a wide smile somehow coexisting on it, making for a strange sight.
But then, the wide smile disappeared, leaving only the frown behind.
There was something even more important waiting for him in the glow of ethereal runes. Something even more frightening.
Reaching the lowest part of the field of runes, he read:
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.]
Right beneath it was the description of the part of the Aspect that had cursed his life, turning it into a nightmare:
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.]
…However, the runes describing Shadow Bond were grey and lifeless, as though the Ability was now inactive.
'...Makes sense.'
He had a master now, after all. He wasn't free to walk around without one anymore.
And speaking of it…
Right below, new runes were now shining in the darkness:
Master: God Slayer.
Sunny stared at those three words for a long time. He had learned Morpheus's True Name long ago but didn't belive it was about a real god. But now, he was about to witness the true power of his master.
Name: Morpheus
True Name: God Slayer
Rank: Dreamer
Class:Titan
Soul Cores: [2/7]
Soul Fragments: [124256/3000]
"Wha—" Sunny was at a loss for words.
Morpheus was a Titan.
That explained why he was so powerful… and yet, Sunny still couldn't help but be stunned. How had he gathered so many soul fragments? And the fact that he had two Soul Cores…
Sunny had two as well, but Morpheus was a Titan — while he was just a Monster.
Morpheus was simply… built different.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Sunny turned his attention back to the runes, eager to examine the rest of the information.
Sequence: 8
Sequence Name: Robot
"Sequence?"What was that supposed to mean?
Sunny frowned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the unfamiliar word.
He had never heard of anything like that before. Not in the Academy, not in the Dream Realm, not even in the countless scattered remnants of ancient knowledge he had stumbled upon along the way.
It was something entirely new.
And then there was the word "Robot."
What in the world did that have to do with Morpheus?
He couldn't make sense of it. No matter how hard he tried, the connection between the terrifyingly powerful Titan and something as mundane — almost laughable — as a robot simply eluded him.
But after a moment of pondering, Sunny sighed and moved on.There were more important things to understand right now.
Memories: [Will's Wine Chalice] [Extraordinary Sword] [Shark Scale Armor] [..]...
Sunny remembered the chalice from before. Morpheus had dripped his blood into it, and it was producing an endless supply of blood. It was a memory worth envying. Then, upon seeing the Extraordinary Sword, his own memory came to mind: Ordinary Rock. He checked the details of both memories.
Memory: [Will's Wine Chalice]
Memory Rank: [********]
Memory Type: Tool
Memory Description: The chalice of a god.
Memory Enchantments: [*******][***********][***********][**************]
"What the hell is going on?" Sunny jumped to his feet. The description he saw shook him. "A real god's chalice... How did he get this—" Before he could finish the sentence, the true name came to his mind—God Slayer.
Memory: [Extraordinary Sword]
Memory Rank: Divine
Memory Tier: XX
Memory Type: Weapon
Memory Description: A sword that was used to tear apart the heart of a god.
"Damnation," Sunny started to sweat.
Memory Enchantments: [Will][Blood Sucker][Soul Extractor]
[Will]: "This sword reflects its wielder's will. If they tell it to cut, it will cut—even through a god. If they tell it not to, it won't even slice paper."
[Blood Sucker]: "Whenever this sword injures an enemy, it absorbs a portion of their blood."
[Soul Extractor]: "When its wielder slays an opponent, it automatically extracts their soul essence."
"He's really done it. That crazy bastard! He really killed a god!! How the hell did you manage that?!?"
Despite how excited he was, Sunny kept reading. He wanted to know everything.
Echos: [Snake of Mercury] [Plagued Charger]
Sunny hadn't seen the one with the snake. He looked at its description.
Echo: [Snake of Mercury]
Echo Type: [********]
Echo Core: [********]
Echo Attributes: [Monster][Robot][************][*************][**************][**********][***************][*********][*****][****************]
Echo Description: A god who swore to protect the legacy of his friends… yet failed to keep that oath.
"...A god, this is fucking insane! The god you killed, this one!!" Sunny was on the verge of losing his mind. The person who had trained them along the way, their friendly companion, had killed a god and turned it into his Echo. Morpheus was a maniac. He was a monster. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed the Echo's attributes. "Robot." Wasn't this the same as his Sequence? It seemed like these were connected.
Trying to calm himself in the face of this overwhelming information, Sunny took a deep breath and, after a moment, continued reading.
Attributes: [Fated] [Edge of the Blade] [Reborn in Blood] [Wheel of Fortune] [Against the Divine]
[Fated]: "Due to an agreement between two great beings of Fate, Fate takes a special interest in you."
[Edge of the Blade]: "You were made to cut."
[Reborn in Blood]: "You drowned in blood, you suffered and died, but through blood, you were healed, restored and reborn."
[Wheel of Fortune]: "Wheel of Fortune was slain by your hands. You are now destined to become it."
[Against the Divine]: "You were losing your soul and body to kill the god. Gods are your arch enemies."
As Sunny learned more details, his excitement grew even more. Morpheus had drowned in blood, been reborn, and endured great pain. But he had killed it and woken up from his Nightmare.
Aspect: [The Last]
Aspect Description:[You are a blade forged by #######. You must always be the last one standing, defeating all who stand before you. You killed a god using yourself, devoured its flesh, and drank its blood. Who could stand against you now?]
Aspect Rank: Divine
Aspect Ability: [Blood Manipulation]
Aspect Ability Description: [You can control blood freely.]
Innate Ability: [Blood River]
Ability Description: [You drowned in a god's blood and consumed its heart. Now, blood is your second self.]
Flaw: [Paralyzed Body]
Flaw Description: "You cannot move your body."
When Sunny saw Morpheus's Flaw, he started laughing as if he had seen something really funny. "The thing that should have destroyed him actually helped him reach a much better level of control. Puhahahahhaha!" Sunny now understood why he had received this Flaw.
What he had seen made him forget his slavery. He wanted to think about it more.
However, the Spell spoke again, its voice filling the black void with melodious whispers:
[The Second Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers…]
'Oh, crap! I almost forgot!'
Sunny stared into the void with wide eyes.
He was about to Awaken.
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This chapter mostly from original. Sorry about that. If you see something wrong, please tell. Enjoy!