Shadow Slave

Summoning the runes, he glanced at a particular cluster.

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Midnight Shard], [Ordinary Rock], [Prowling Thorn], [Endless Spring], [Blood Blossom], [Dark Wing], [Moonlight Shard], [M… Un…old], [Weaver's Mask], [Broken Oath].

The last one, [Broken Oath], came from the twisted simulacrum of one of the seven ancient heroes of the Forgotten Shore, the Lord. Even though the coral golem had turned out to be just an Awakened Monster, Sunny had high hopes for this Memory.

But before he concentrated on it, Sunny stared at the rest of his arsenal.

'One, two, three…'

Twelve. After a year of constant battles and bloodshed, he only had twelve Memories. Of course, he would have had much more if not for the need to feed Saint. The taciturn creature demanded a vast amount of resources to get her to the two hundred shadow fragments, which was one of his goals.

If not for that, he would have made a real windfall. Sunny already considered himself wealthy thanks to the contribution points Teacher Julius was going to arrange for him. But if he had a dozen or two extra Memories to sell… well, he would have been not just wealthy, but extravagantly so!

Enough to buy several houses, if he wished to.

Maybe he still could sell some…

Looking at his trusty weapons and tools, Sunny hesitated.

Now that he could use Shadow Step to blink from one place to another, he didn't need to enhance his mobility that much. So, Prowling Thorn and Dark Wing were potential candidates to be auctioned off… maybe? They still had their uses, though.

The rest he couldn't even imagine selling, at least not before finding better alternatives. Even the Silver Bell, which wasn't really all that useful, but had something of a… sentimental value.

The little bell was the first Memory he had ever received, after all. And its description was, sort of… it touched something in his heart…

'Curses, I just used the stimulant. Why is my mind so scattered?'

With a frown, Sunny finally concentrated on his new Memory.

Memory: [Broken Oath].

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Tier: I.

Memory Type: Charm.

His eyes widened slightly.

'Jackpot!'

Another charm… such luck! Excited, Sunny read further:

Memory Description: [They made a terrible oath to destroy the curse, or be consumed by it. Those who have broken the oath were consumed by the curse, and those consumed by the curse have broken their oath. In the end, none could escape their promise.]

'Huh… morbid. I guess... I guess that's how the carapace legion was born?'

He looked at the next string of runes:

Memory Enchantments: [Oathbreaker].

Enchantment Description: [The Broken Oath erodes souls of all those who approach it.]

Sunny held his breath for a few moments.

'A soul attack!'

Both the Nightmare Creatures and the Awakened had many ways to destroy their enemies. Kinetic damage — called physical for simplicity — was the most common, but there were many others. Among them, soul damage was the rarest and hardest to defend against.

It was no coincidence that Soul Reaper Jet, whose Aspect allowed her to strike directly at the soul, was so feared.

And now, Sunny had a soul attack of his own in the arsenal.

There was one problem, however…

'Wait… erodes souls of all who come near? Will it affect me then, as well?'

A deep scowl appeared on his face.

Sunny hesitated for a while, then sighed, and summoned the Memory into existence.

Soon, a glistening gem made out of polished crimson coral appeared in his hand. A second later, he suddenly shuddered and groaned.

As soon as the Broken Oath appeared, a sickening sensation permeated his entire being. It was as though someone was slowly draining the very life out of him… not only that, but he also felt weaker.

Looking down, Sunny saw his shadows ripple and react. The surly one stared at him with outrage and waved its hands in the air angrily, while the friendly one was hugging itself pitifully and pacing.

'Damnation…'

He had recognized the debilitating feeling that the gem produced. It was the same aura that had weakened him when he fought the coral golem. It was also the infinitely weaker version of the annihilating soul attack of the artificial sun.

Gritting his teeth, Sunny dismissed the Broken Oath. Only when it disappeared completely could he breathe freely again.

"Crap…"

That was one serious side effect. How was he supposed to use his new charm if it would be slowly killing not only his enemies, but also Sunny himself? Drop it on the ground, use Shadow Step to blink away, and hope for the best?

Sunny sat quietly for a while, thinking. Then, a tentative smile appeared on his face.

'Wait… that should work, right?'

Turning away from the runes describing the soul-destroying gem, he concentrated on the description of his loyal Shadow Demon.

Shadow: [Marble Saint]

Shadow Rank: Awakened.

Shadow Class: Demon.

Shadow Attributes: [Battle Master], [Stalwart], [Spark of Divinity].

Shadow Abilities: [Weapon Sage], [Underworld Armament].

Shadow Fragments: [80/200]

Concentrating on the [Underworld Armament] Ability, Sunny read:

[Shadow Saint's armor can accommodate a charm Memory to inherit its enchantments.]

His smile widened.

'Good... that's the first part...'

Looking a bit higher, he found another string of runes:

Attribute: [Stalwart].

Attribute Description: [The Stone Saint is highly resistant to all forms of damage, as well as being fully immune to mind and soul attacks.]

Fully immune to mind and soul attacks…

'Yes!'

Sunny let out a satisfied sigh. The Broken Oath was pretty useless by itself, but when combined with Saint's special Ability and Attributes, it would make his Shadow even more lethal.

That was because Saint was a very special kind of demon. One whose will couldn't be intruded upon or shaken. Both her mind and her soul… well, the shadow that inhabited her body instead of a soul… were utterly indomitable.

He only had to make sure to not be anywhere near the living statue while she had the crimson gem set into her armor.

Tricky, but doable.

And speaking of armor…

He was not done exploring his Memories yet.

In fact, he had left the best for last.

Looking at the shimmering runes, Sunny concentrated on a particular string. One that looked broken and incomplete:

Memory: [M… Un…old].

Now that he was Awakened, he could finally restore the broken onyx armor he had bought from Stev for a measly handful of soul shards.

The Ascended suit of armor of the Sixth Tier — the most powerful Memory he owned.

Or seen, even…

Summoning the [M… Un…old], Sunny strained his muscles and, with some effort, managed to place it on the floor in front of him. Even now that he was an Awakened, the weight of the stone Memory was not something he could endure easily without using both of his shadows or wasting essence to enhance his strength.

Breathing a bit heavily, Sunny studied the damaged Memory.

The suit of ancient plate armor was jet black in color. Its design was intricate and solemn, radiating a feeling of dark resolve and stalwart, adamantine grace. Its glossy surface seemed to absorb and devour any light that fell on it. All parts of the armor were perfectly fitted to one another, creating an almost seamless barrier of impenetrable steel.

Well… not steel, yet. Stone.

The ancient armor looked extremely similar to the one Stone Saint had worn, and now that the Shadow was a demon, they were even more alike. The onyx armor in front of Sunny was still more impressive, though. More… regal. As if created for a being of a higher status.

And just like the armor worn by the Saint, it would only transform from actual stone into the miraculous stonelike alloy if risen from its passive state.

It couldn't be done yet, though, because its spellweave was damaged. To repair it, the self-restoring properties of the broken Memory had to be activated by an infusion of essence. Which no one back on the Forgotten Shore could do.

Now, however, things were different.

Now, Sunny was an Awakened. Not only could he control the flow of shadow essence inside his body, he even had the Soul Serpent to help him guide it.

Placing his hands on the cold surface of the onyx breastplate, Sunny closed his eyes…

And sent the essence into the onyx armor…