Shadow Slaves
Chapter 16: The Rebirth
Sunny felt something awaken inside her. With a startled cry, he clutched his chest and gazed into the darkness, trying to understand what was going on. The feeling was neither painful nor pleasant, but not like he had ever experienced. It was as if his soul was shaken, infused with a strange new energy.
However, that energy did not come from an outside source. Instead, it came from within, as if it was always there, sleeping.
Energy fills every fiber of its existence. Sunny felt her emotions getting clearer and sharper. Then, his body also began to change. He felt as if there was a burning mini star in the middle of his chest: a heat wave emanating from him, 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 rebuilt and revitalized. Sunny felt like she was reborn. He became stronger, faster, healthier.
That's very happy.
With each second, the transformation becomes more profound. New confidence settled in Sunny's heart. He was no longer a weak and fragile street child. He was not vulnerable to anyone who wanted to bully him like he had in the past.
With his awakened strength and his will forged by the horrors of the First Nightmare, he is now someone you do not want to pass through.
After some time had passed, the burning star in his chest finally cooled down. The heat is replaced with a cool feeling. The chill swept over Sunny's body, relieving all the pain and discomfort that had accumulated there over the years. Then it rose, reaching his brain and, finally, his eyes.
His vision strangely doubled.
He could still see the void inhabited by endless star patterns. But he could also see something different.
The silent and calm dark sea was illuminated by the desolate black sun.
From his previous knowledge, Sunny knew that this was the so-called Sea of Souls. But he also knew that it should look very different.
For starters, it should be much more alive. The star hanging above the visual representation of the soul's core was supposed to light up with a bright light, filling the Soul Sea with a warm and dazzling radiance.
However, Sunny's soul was dark and without light.
‘It's weird.’
He saw the black sun. On closer inspection, it turns out to be transparent. It was just that, with no other major light source in the surroundings, the star looked as pitch-black as its surroundings.
Also, no one should be here except him. After all, it was his soul! But Sunny had a bad feeling that somewhere just beyond the limits of his vision, hidden in the darkness, formless forms were constantly moving. No matter how he looked, he could not see them clearly. But the feeling did not go away.
Not wanting to waste any more time on this now, Sunny returned to the black sun and finally saw two balls of light orbiting around it, as if trapped in a gravitational well of the soul core. A subtle smile appeared on his face.
These are His Memories: Silver Bells and Doll Shroud. Later, there would be dozens of such fields here. If he was lucky, he would even get an Echo or two!
The voice of the Spell suddenly pulled him out of the Sea of Souls.
[Awakening Aspect Capability.].
‘This is it. Moment of truth,’ thought Sunny.
Divine Aspect or not, his immediate future still depended on the first Aspect Ability he would accept. His role in the Dream Realm would be based on his characteristics. If it was a fighting ability, he would be very useful in the front line of a bloody battle against the Nightmare Beings. If it was related to magic, he would likely be a strong yet fragile long-range fighter.
If it had anything to do with utility, he would be a very important part of the behind-the-scenes work of the Dream Realm. Utility skills are also highly valued in the real world, where Awakened performs many tasks that keep it going.
If he was lucky, he could even become a healer. Healers are very rare, and therefore, specialists are sought after.
[Ask Ability gained.]
[Name of Aspect Capability: Shadow Control.]
Sunny hurriedly called out the runes. He wanted to immediately go to the description of his new ability, but then decided to look at his overall information first.
Real Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Dreamers.
Shadow Core: Inactive.
Shadow Fragment: [12/1000].
‘What? What is it?’
Where his soul core rank was supposed to be written, the mysterious “Inti Shadow” appeared instead. Sunny looked at it, blinking. He had never heard of anyone having a different kind of core before. Is she that unique?
This enigmatic shadow core would definitely explain why his Soul Ocean looked so strange. And also He turned his gaze down, paying attention to the counter “Fragmen Shadow”. Usually, there should be an indicator of the number of soul fragments consumed. But it is invisible.
‘Do I .. do I really have a completely different progression path from all that is Awakened?’
The idea is both exciting and frightening. Not having to fight for resources with others is a tremendous advantage. Most of the human society in the Dream Realm was built around the acquisition of soul fragments. If he did not need to gather them to evolve not only would he be able to become stronger at incredible speed, he would also be completely independent.
On the other hand, he did not know how to obtain these shards of shadows. However, he had already gotten twelve of them somehow: so whatever he had to do, he had already done it in the First Nightmare.
“I have to explore this carefully.”
Satisfied with this decision, Sunny continued to study the runes.
Memories: [Silver Bells], [Falter Shroud Cloth].
Echoes:
Attributes: [Fated], [Mark of Divinity], [Child of Shadows].
Aspect: [Shadow Boy].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Ability: [Shadow Control].
Description Ability Aspect: [Your image is more independent than most. It was an invaluable helper.]
‘What does that mean?’
Sunny held her breath and began to read the description again, but at that moment, a series of new runes appeared right below her. Simultaneously, the sound of the Spell echoed in the black void.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Defect.]
[Your disability is: ]
Sunny read the rune, and his eyes widened in horror.
‘Oh no. No no no...’