Shadow Slave

Some time later, Sunny left the house and sat on the porch by himself.

His thoughts were in disarray.

So much had changed, so much had happened. So much was going to happen in the next few days, as well. His life was inevitably going to transform… hopefully, for the best.

However, there were many obstacles he was going to have to overcome and many decisions he was going to have to make in order to avoid being destroyed by the changes instead. Although Sunny had grown considerably stronger, and obliterating him was not as easy anymore, there were still threats out there that he did not dare to face.

He sighed, and looked down.

'I am a Master.'

The knowledge rested in his mind, but he was yet to truly comprehend it. Ascended had seemed so distant and glorious to him, once. Not quite demigods, but also not mere mortals anymore. But now, he was one of these venerated beings himself. He could feel inhuman power coursing through his veins.

That was something he couldn't process that fast.

And yet, time waited for no one. Sunny knew that there would be no opportunity to properly get used to his swiftly shifting circumstances. He had a lot to do, and he had to do it now.

'Just take it one step at a time.'

What did he have to do immediately?

Call Aiko, for one. He had to let his business partner know that he was back and get an update on how Rain was doing.

Then, discover a way to contact the White Feather clan and find out about the fallout of the destruction of the Night Temple… although Cassie could handle that.

Finally, get in touch with Master Jet. For better or worse, she was his handler and his point of contact with the government. If things turned from bad to worse with the great clans, the authorities were the only force influential enough to shield him… for a price, no doubt.

Sunny grimaced.

'Not yet… I need to collect my thoughts first.'

He leaned back and studied the familiar, peaceful landscape of the terrace district.

Despite the fact that the Great Clans possessed incredible powers, it was not too easy to deal with Sunny and the other members of the cohort anymore. All four of them were Masters now, and exceptional ones at that… not only had they conquered the Second Nightmare, but they had also done it at an abnormally young age and after entering the Seed one measly year after Awakening.

The survivors of the Forgotten Shore were already famous, and this latest accomplishment was bound to stir up a real storm, both in the media and behind closed doors. Sunny would not be able to remain fully under the radar anymore.

Not to mention that each of them received extremely powerful Abilities.

Effie's was, perhaps, the most remarkable in how useful it was. Sunny had expected the huntress to receive another combat Ability, but instead, her new power appeared to bolster her allies as long as they could see her. It was as though they were receiving a part of her phenomenal, comprehensive physical augmentation.

Sunny had experienced that enhancement himself when Effie enthusiastically activated her new Ability, and had to admit that it was… powerful. Not comparable to what the young woman herself could accomplish, but still significant.

What was even more amazing, it could be effortlessly shared with any number of people as long as they maintained the line of sight with the huntress, without an additional cost in essence. That basically meant that any cohort, any force, and even any army could benefit tremendously from having Effie fight in their ranks.

Of course, Masters usually acted alone. There were simply not enough Masters and too much for them to do to form full cohorts of Ascended. However, that did not mean that one could not build supporting teams of Awakened or even mundane soldiers around them. Sunny had seen exactly that when Master Jet arrived to contain the Gate ahead of the government forces.

So… Effie was about to get very, very popular among the great powers of humanity.

Kai was in a similar situation, although for different reasons.

His Ascended Ability was… strange, and a little bit frightening. None of them, not even Kai himself, had the chance to explore the full range of its capabilities. However, the potential of what it could achieve was vast.

Basically, Kai's voice acquired a supernatural quality that compelled people who heard it to follow his commands. The result and the consequence depended on how much essence he poured into the compulsion and the target's resistance, as well as some other factors that no one understood.

Direct commands were hard to force on people with strong willpower or high resistance to mind attacks. For example, if Kai commanded another Ascended to drop their weapon, they would be able to refuse the compulsion.

…However, their grip might grow weaker, and their attacks might grow slower.

The same principle worked the other way around, too. The compulsion did not have to be aimed at an enemy. Kai could call upon his allies to fight with more fervor or to hold their ground no matter what. He could invoke any feeling he wanted in large groups of people, or lure them to their deaths like a siren.

That Ability made him incredibly valuable for those who held power, as well. The government propaganda machine especially was going to lose its collective mind over Nightingale and his enchanting voice.

And there was more… Kai's Aspect had evolved after he had faced and slain the Ivory Dragon. Instances like that were known to happen, but were also incredibly rare. His Awakened Aspect was now Ascended, which made his previous Abilities more potent, and maybe even introduced new facets to them.

The archer had no time to explore these changes yet, so his friends had no idea what the evolution entailed. They only knew that their friend had grown stronger, although perhaps in a way that few would notice.

And then there was Cassie.

Her new Ability was perhaps the most obscure and esoteric. The blind girl herself described it as being able to perceive the world from a different perspective.

In other words, she could now use someone else — or something else — to substitute her senses. She could smell through someone's nose, feel through someone's touch… and see through someone's eyes.

While Cassie herself was still blind, she was able to look upon the world again, and see what the recipient of the connection saw. The connection could be established with several mediums at the same time, as long as she had the mental capacity to withstand the flood of input.

What was more disturbing was the fact that the medium did not necessarily have to acquiesce to the connection, or even be aware of it — although it took much less essence to sustain a connection with a willing recipient.

Despite not being too flashy at first glance, that was an insidiously formidable Ability. After all, knowledge was the origin of power, and Cassie could potentially become a vortex of it. There were a lot of uses for such an Ability, from becoming the connective tissue between the commanders and the soldiers during a large-scale battle to establishing an invisible and undetectable spy network.

Additionally, Cassie's first Ability expanded once again, now allowing her to perceive not only Attributes and Aspect names, but also Aspect Abilities of other Awakened.

In short, she would be a boon to any clan, great clan, or branch of the government. However, Sunny knew that the blind girl was deadset on remaining independent and continuing to lead the Fire Keepers.

Perhaps she would even get a chance…

In light of all these revelations, his own Ascended Ability, Shadow Manifestation, seemed to have paled in comparison.

…But that was just if one did not look closer.

Sunny suspected that his new Ability was much more versatile, insidious, and powerful than that of the other three.

And speaking of that…

Wasn't it time to get to know it better?