Back when the creepy shadow appeared, it lost the staring contest to the gloomy shadow. The haughty shadow, however, did not seem impressed even a little bit. It was as though the very thought of looking away was beneath it.
So, the two of them just continued to drill holes into each other with disdainful stares, unperturbed.
Sunny groaned, then covered his face with a hand.
'Oh, gods… there's two of them now!'
***
Observing the staring contest, Sunny sighed. He was beginning to miss the happy shadow, that hopeless fool — something that had never thought he would ever feel.
Shaking his head, Sunny looked away from the shadows and summoned the runes.
The familiar symbols shimmered in the air in front of him:
Name: Sunless.
True Name: Lost from Light.
Rank: Awakened.
Class: Devil.
Shadow Cores: [4/7].
Shadow Fragments: [0/4000].
A tired, but satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
With a fourth core, his power would increase significantly… his essence reserves had grown, the range of Shadow Control had expanded, and most importantly, he now had an additional shadow to augment either himself, his Memories, or his Shadows. He could increase his physical prowess fivefold, or send one each to Saint, Serpent, and Nightmare while leaving one for himself.
And that was not all.
The Soul Serpent evolved its Class when Sunny did, so it should have become a Devil, as well. That would make it the most powerful — at least in terms of pure status — Shadow of his.
Not wasting any time, Sunny summoned the Serpent's runes. Somewhat tense, he read:
Shadow: [Soul Serpent].
Shadow Rank: Ascended.
Shadow Class: Devil.
Shadow Attributes: [Shadow Guide], [Soul Weapon], [Soul Beast].
Sunny was both glad and worried. Glad because his Shadow had attained a new Class, but worried because he did not see any new Attributes. The transformation to a Devil was supposed to gift creatures terrible and unnatural powers… however, the Serpent was a bit strange in that regard. It had received a new Ability out of order when rising to a new Rank… so would it receive anything now?
Luckily, he was wrong to fear. Looking lower, Sunny saw a few new runes among the Serpent's abilities.
Shadow Abilities: [Serpentine Steel], [Soul Reaver], [Grace of Shadows], [Formless].
The [Formless] one was new.
Sunny concentrated on it and studied the description curiously.
...A moment later, a strange sound escaped from his lips.
The runes read:
[Formless] Ability Description: "When in the Soul Beast form, the Serpent can assume the shape of any shadow contained within its master's soul, inheriting all powers and abilities. The shadow must be of the same or lower Rank and Class than the Soul Serpent for the transformation to take place, and won't be consumed in the process."