Fanfic Shadow Slave - All god (Regression)

On the last day of classes, Sunny and Nephis had their final lesson with Julius, who was constantly giving them one last piece of advice. Nephis left first, leaving Sunny alone with the teacher.

"Young man, is there anything I can help you with?"

Sunny shifted, a little nervous.

"Professor, I wanted to ask you a favor. It's not complicated, but I need you not to say anything about what happens here."

The professor smiled warmly and patted his chest.

"Go ahead. If I can, I will—and don't worry, I'm a vault."

Sunny smiled and spoke with more confidence.

"Could you circulate your essence? My aspect lets me copy others, and I think it could help me on my visit to the Dream Realm."

Sunny wasn't lying; he just didn't tell the whole truth. The professor didn't ask many questions, nodded, and began to circulate his essence.

Using the serpent method, Sunny began to circulate the essence weakly, copying the way the professor did it, which was easy—he had done this hundreds of times in his life and far more complicated things.

[You have unlocked the second step of the Shadow Dance]

The corners of his mouth rose; he looked at the professor and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you so much. This has helped me a lot."

Julius returned the smile.

"It's nothing. I enjoy being of help."

Sunny said goodbye to the professor for the last time, left the classroom, and headed to his room; he couldn't wait any longer.

Aspect Legacy: [Shadow Dance]

Shadow Dance Mastery Level: [2/7]

First Relic: [Claimed]

Second Relic: [Claim]

Third Relic: Not obtained

Fourth Relic: Not obtained

…

'Claim.'

[You have received an Aspect Legacy relic.]

[You have received a Memory.]

He opened his memory runes quickly.

Memories: [Silver Bell], [Rebellion], [Puppeteer's Shroud], [Ichor Drop]

Memory: [Ichor Drop]

Rank: Unknown

Type: Unknown

Description: [Before, there was only an eternal, boundless void. From that dark abyss the Unknown were born. Like chaos itself, they were endless and timeless, vast and ever-changing. Then came desire, and with it direction. From there the gods were born.

When the gods appeared, the void was no longer eternal.

When the gods appeared, darkness was no longer infinite.

When the gods appeared, chaos no longer seemed unordered.

The gods appeared and brought war with them. This drop of divine blood was shed by Shadow on one of the battlefields of that war, before the void was bound.]

He wasn't much surprised by the description; he already knew what it said and what it meant.

He stood in the middle of his room and invoked the memory; the shadows around him moved erratically and chaotically, as if excited.

Several golden sparks began to float before Sunny, increasing in number until they ceased to be sparks and became torrents of gold gathering before him.

This went on for a minute until a perfect golden drop formed in front of him. It gave off an incandescent glow yet still illuminated the entire room. Meanwhile, the room's shadows had grown deeper and unfathomable, as if the mere presence of the drop made them stronger.

'This is the power of a god's remnants…'

Sunny had achieved something similar as Supreme and Sacred: the shadows deepened in his presence. But this was terrifying—only one drop of Shadow's blood was enough to do what he achieved at his peak.

'I still have much road to travel.'

He focused on the golden drop and, as if answering a spell, spoke.

[You have acquired an Ichor Drop. Do you wish to consume it?]

He looked at the drop coldly; if he had done everything right, his heritage should be able to assimilate the Ichor Drop; if not, better not think about it—it would probably wreak havoc in his body.

"Yes."

"As you wish."

The golden drop flowed toward him—more precisely, toward his soul. It sank into his body and Sunny closed his eyes tightly, expecting pain, but instead a warm, strange sensation enveloped him, similar to awakening but much weaker.

The warmth rose from his soul and spread throughout his body.

Sunny did not intend to endure more pain—Shadow Weave had that feature: it devoured and absorbed lineages. Since Sunny had already undergone the initial change, he no longer experienced pain.

[You have acquired a new attribute.]

[One of your attributes has evolved.]

[One of your attributes has evolved.]

Sunny raised his hands and clenched them; he would no longer have to bear that inhuman pain in his life.

He opened his runes to view his new attributes.

Attributes: [Predestined], [Divine Spark], [Master of Shadows], [Shadow Weave], [Herald of Death]

Sunny opened his eyes, surprised; he had expected Divine Mark to evolve, but not Child of Shadows, and he least expected a new attribute.

He already knew what his two existing attributes said, so he focused on the new one.

Herald of Death Description: [As Herald of Death, your shadow is deeper and stronger than the others', and your blade cuts beyond its norm since you wield Shadow's will.]

'So now I am officially Shadow's Heir.'

He found it quite interesting: it said first that his shadow was now stronger and that his will was too; this should further enhance his innate ability.

He didn't want to wait any longer and ordered his shadow to envelop him; he felt himself grow stronger, capable of easily smashing rocks with his fists—the increase made him at least three times stronger.

Since he was already a very strong Sleeper—perhaps the strongest in history—with the boost from his shadow he was perhaps as strong as an Awakened.

'When I fight I'll be even stronger…'

He was excited; he would be much, much stronger on his first visit to the Dream Realm.

Later that day, Sunny was speaking to someone on his communicator.

"So, tell me, how have things gone?"

A serene voice answered on the other end.

"Anvil bought the excuse of increasing his influence in the government; he doesn't suspect Morgan at all."

Sunny nodded; they had a complicated plan to increase the government's forces. Jet and Morgan would form an alliance to research and mitigate Nightmare Gates; it was simple but a perfect cover so that Morgan, Jet, and in the future Seishan could orchestrate the downfall of the two great clans.

"And has Song made any move?"

"Yes. Ki Song felt pressured and ordered to join the alliance; she sent Beast Master and Night Singer with us."

Sunny sighed in relief; everything was going just as they had planned. Obviously there were many other moves behind the scenes, but this was what mattered.

"The House of Night hasn't joined—they've watched but stayed on the sidelines, just as we predicted. By the way, do you have the Shadow lineage?"

Sunny became excited and spoke a little breathlessly.

"Yes! I got it a few hours ago. You may proceed with negotiations."

She let out a sigh.

"Thank goodness. I'm on my way to meet Bloodwave."

"All right, I have to go meet the other Sleepers."

After those words, neither spoke for a while; finally Sunny broke the silence.

"I guess I'll see you later."

Jet laughed and spoke with a serene voice, not worried about him.

"You say that as if it's certain you'll come back from that hell."

"Ha, you know you don't have to worry about me."

"All right, see you in about a year, more or less."

After that she hung up; Sunny sighed and stood.

He headed to the cafeteria, ordered a coffee, inhaled its aroma as he had in his past life—now drinking coffee on his birthday.

'Last day on Earth…'

He took a sip of the coffee; now accustomed to its bitterness, he enjoyed it until it was time to go join the other Sleepers.

'I hope Jet achieves what we planned.'

---

Elsewhere in NQSC, a PTV stopped in front of a large building made of cement and alloy plates, with several parts painted dark blue—this was the House of Night's headquarters.

Jet got out of the PTV; instead of her usual government tracksuit, she now wore a formal raven-black suit with an ice-blue tie. Passersby around her stared, hypnotized by her beauty.

Soon a well-dressed young man approached to receive her, took her inside the building to one of the upper floors, and stopped in front of a room with a large golden plaque above that read "Bloodwave."

She entered without much decorum; even after living a long time she had never bothered to learn etiquette or manners.

The room was almost completely empty, except for a large glass table in the center and a water dispenser in one corner.

At the table sat a man, tall and broad, his skin like a dwarf's, his eyes blue; he emanated a powerful aura.

Jet sat across from him without asking permission.

Bloodwave looked at her with a frown, tapping his pen on the table several times.

"Santo Cor had already told me about your proposal, and we said we weren't interested, yet you insisted on meeting, so… surprise me."

Jet leaned back in her chair and spoke, ignoring the pressure the saint exerted.

"I'm not here to speak on behalf of the government; I speak as an individual."

Bloodwave's frown deepened; he said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"I bring a different proposal: the fall of the Sovereigns."

When he heard "Sovereigns," he let his pen drop on the table and pressed his weight down on Jet, who didn't flinch—she had faced worse, after all.

"Girl, you're treading dangerous ground."

He maintained his pressure for a few seconds, but seeing her unconcerned, he eased up and motioned for her to continue.

"I won't go into detail about why I seek the Sovereigns' fall; I'll only tell you the plan and what your benefits will be."

Bloodwave raised an eyebrow; he was a little interested in the master's attitude toward him.

"If you help me, I can give you two guarantees."

The man tapped his hand on the table several times.

"And they are?"

Jet smiled.

"The first is the Shadow lineage."

The man stopped tapping his hand and opened his eyes wide; they had spent years searching for that elusive lineage, and now a simple master was telling him who had it—he wasn't even telling him how to find it.

"Though he is now a Sleeper, I assure you that when he returns you will understand."

The blue eyes narrowed a bit—he was somewhat disappointed.

"And the second guarantee?"

Jet gave him a smug look.

"Well, more than a guarantee, consider it an advance payment… natural supremacy."

This time, the man almost fell out of his chair; the master not only claimed to know the Shadow lineage but also a way to reach supremacy without entering the Fourth Nightmare.

"Look, you don't have to decide now; you can think about it for a while, and if you decide, tell me."

She was cut off by the man's loud voice.

"And the Sovereigns? What will they do if they discover we seek to achieve supremacy?"

Jet stretched out, relaxed.

"That's not a problem; they won't even notice until you're Supreme."

Bloodwave looked at the water dispenser in his corner; for a long time they had to bow before the Sovereigns—they were very strong, and they were powerless. Despite being one of the three great clans, they really couldn't do anything, and that bothered him a lot.

Silence held for a few moments until the saint spoke again with a clear, strong voice.

"Tell me your plan."

The corners of Jet's mouth rose.

'Bingo.'

"Well, first I want you to know the alliance is just a façade…"

Jet spent several minutes telling him her plan; of course she didn't reveal everything, only the parts where they would participate and other things they needed to know so that no problems would occur later.

The saint stared at Jet intently, looking for lies or flaws in her demeanor, only to be met with her mocking smile.

"What—"

"What what?"

"What is the method to achieve supremacy?"

Jet stopped smiling and then spoke seriously; she told him about the Nascent Domain and the Prime Element. Bloodwave was nothing less than impressed by her knowledge; he only knew that the Sovereigns grew stronger with the cities and people under their rule—this new understanding opened his eyes.

"Well, that's the easy part. Now you only have to do the hardest part: an act of defiance."

He seemed confused; Jet amused herself at that.

"Basically, you have to achieve something impossible, like defeating a very powerful creature or something similar."

"That's it? Doesn't sound very hard."

After all, he and all the other Awakened achieved impossible things constantly.

"Yes, well, it isn't that simple. I know the story of someone who reached natural supremacy, and to achieve it… they had to commit suicide."

After those words, the saint's face seemed to freeze in time.

---

Sunny sneezed; he was sitting on the edge of his capsule.

'Is someone talking about me? Wait, isn't that some kind of bad omen?'

Sunny prayed it wasn't so.

In another room, a silver-haired girl stared at the floor, bored, awaiting the moment to return.

In one chamber, a Legacy clenched his jaw as he whispered certain words repeatedly.

In another room, a yellow-haired girl tried to smile, her hands trembling and tears running down her face.

Sunny looked at his shadow and smiled.

"Soon the others will be with us; this time it'll be more of a stroll, at least for me."

His shadow simply shook its head in disappointment, as if to say, "Now you're arrogant?"

Sunny got into his capsule to sleep with a strange grin; he was excited.

'First trip to the Dream Realm—let's hope it goes well.'

Sleep claimed him, and he fell easily into slumber, then he heard the spell's voice.

[Welcome to the Dream Realm, Sunless!]