Sunny stared at the two shadows, dumbfounded. After a while, he said in an uncertain tone:
"Am I… am I seeing things, or are there two of you?"
The shadows, of course, did not answer. They had no vocal cords, after all. However, the sulking one looked at him with contempt and shook its head in derision. The friendly one, meanwhile, looked down shyly and slightly shrugged.
'What is going on?'
Frowning, Sunny lingered for some time, and then dove into the Soul Sea. With the [Soul Conduit] Attribute gone, it was back to its usual, tenebrous appearance. The surface of the water was tranquil and still, and hundreds of motionless shadows stood silently in the darkness. Above him, shining spheres containing the Memories were circling around the…
Sunny raised his head, then flinched.
Where the black sun of the Shadow Core had once loomed above the quiet sea, there was now… two.
Two identical Shadow Cores hovered in the dark sky, shining with lightless black radiance.
He blinked.
'Two… there's two of them.'
A few minutes passed, or at least something that felt like a few minutes.
'There's two… I have two cores… why do I have two cores?'
Humans only ever had one soul core. That was a fact. Only Nightmare Creatures had more...
Sunny looked down at his hands, then made them into fists, feeling newly gained strength course through his muscles. Then, he scowled and looked up again.
"Your shadow is taking shape, your shadow is complete…"
So the Spell was not speaking about the bad-tempered shadow that had accompanied him for so long. Initially, Sunny had assumed that the shadow — and his core — were going through a transformation due to the acquisition of the thousandth fragment, perhaps evolving or even Awakening. But the Spell actually meant to say that his second shadow, and thus a second Shadow Core, were complete.
They had been assembled from the thousand shadow fragments he had collected.
Making him a… what?
Sunny hesitated for a bit, then ordered the shadows to wrap themselves around his body. The sulking one seemingly rolled its eyes before obeying the command; the friendly one seemed extremely delighted to do as he asked.
Both flowed up and covered his body. Immediately, Sunny felt his already considerable strength double…
And then triple.
His mouth hung open.
'Too powerful… this is too powerful…'
This was incredible!
To experiment further, he commanded one of the shadows to return to the surface of the tranquil water. A moment later, he had a shadow once again, but still enjoyed the familiar augmentation, even if it grew weaker, returning to its previous strength.
He then summoned the Midnight Shard and ordered the second shadow to wrap itself around its blade. Now, both his body and his sword were augmented. Then, he sent the sulking shadow to join the friendly one. His body was not enhanced anymore, but the austere tachi felt much sharper, more lethal, more... deadly.
Finally, he commanded one shadow to leave the Midnight Shard and cover the Puppeteer's Shroud.
Two Memories were augmented at the same time.
'Holy hell...'
This was just too good. Sunny stood silently for a while, staring into the distance.
So this was it… this was the most unique, most powerful side of his Aspect. A Divine Aspect, after all, was not necessarily more powerful than a lesser one.
But it had much more potential.
With the second core and a second shadow, the gap between Sunny and the other Awakened was going to increase. And if he was right about it… if he was right, this was only the beginning. Because if there was a second core, there would most like be the third one, and then the fourth…
Suddenly, it all made sense.
Why Nephis never seemed to be able to saturate her soul core, no matter how many shards she absorbed, no matter how many Nightmare Creatures and humans she slew. Why she had been incapacitated after killing Gunlaug. Why she was so much stronger, faster, and more powerful than him, even at his peak.
...It was because her Aspect was Divine, just like his. But she had discovered its secret much sooner than him.
As a dull pain appeared in his heart, Sunny banished the image of Changing Star from his mind and summoned the runes.
He had to make sure that his guess was right.
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: Changing Star.
Sunny stared at those three words for a long time.
Who knew that just three words could bear such a crushing weight?
Such a vast and complicated meaning...
Finally, he shook his head slightly and concentrated, making the runes shine brighter, new ones appearing out of nowhere as he watched:
Name: Nephis.
True Name: Changing Star.
Rank: Dreamer.
Class: Demon…