Sunny entered his Soul Sea, it had grown vaster since before. There were now a lot more rows of Shades. And his cores were more brimming compared to before.
In a different part of his Soul Sea, stood a lone stone statue. A space reserved for Echoes he had received.
He called upon the Echo of Saint, her short yet graceful stone figure materializing from golden sparks.
The Spell's voice echoed out:
[Convert Echo to Shadow? 100/100 Shadow Fragments]
'Yes'
Sunny felt it.
A faint connection that had established with the Echo and one of his soul cores.
'I wonder…'
He could feel the shadow fragments about to flaw out of one of his outer cores and into the echo.
He pulled on the connection, willing it to morph its path to his primary soul core. His will was met with no resistance as the subtle connection temporarily detached from his outer core and attached to his central core that contained the most ancient and strong fragments.
As the fragments of darkness flowed into the echo, her very existence began to change, where there were previously diamond strings giving her a semblance of life, was now a sea of vast darkness.
The spell's voice resounded in his soul sea,
[You have created a Shadow Monster: Stone Saint.]
There was a faint smile on his face as he summoned his runes,
Name: Sunless
True Name: Lightless Heir
Rank: Supreme
Shadow Core: Titan
Shadow Fragments: 96,409
Clearing a path to Antarctica had been a boon far greater than he had anticipated. The influx of Shadow Fragments had been far greater than he expected.
He looked down further, and there they were, his shadows.
Shadows: [Soul Serpent], [Slayer], [Marvelous Mimic], [Gralk: Gorilla], [Fenrir: Wolf], [Stone Saint]
Divine Shadows: —
'Soon…' he thought.
Soon he would have enough fragments to form his first Divine Shadow.
He focused on the runes for the Stone Saint…
Shadow: Stone Saint.
Shadow Rank: Awakened.
Shadow Class: Monster.
Shadow Attributes: [Battle Master], [Stalwart], [Spark of Divinity].
Shadow Description: [Shadow Saint was created by the treacherous Lost From Light in the cursed darkness of the Forgotten Shore.]
[Shadow Fragments: 0/200.]
'Oh right…'
After having spent years without the Spell, he had completely forgotten about this function. But that wasn't really something to worry about, after having slain far too many Nightmare Creatures, he had amassed quite the arsenal of memories.
"Hey there buddy!" He spoke cheerfully. "Hope you're hungry." while summoning a weapon memory he had recently received.
---
"Now… onto discussions."
Even as he spoke, Sunny was slipping into a different self, one of sovereignty.
He let his gaze fall on the corpse of Gunlaug, now respectfully shrouded and pushed aside by the reverent tide of shadows.
"I am no tyrant," he said, voice echoing softly through the silence.
His crimson eyes returned to the hunters, still pinned to their seats by the sheer gravity of a Sovereign's will.
"I will not kill you for your defiance. Instead, I offer you a choice."
A ripple of murmurs fluttered across the hall—swiftly strangled by fear, not resolve.
"As I've said before… I am Sovereign Sunless, of the Shadow Clan." He paused, gaze sweeping the crowd. "But few truly understand what that means."
His eyes briefly caught Seishan's. She was smiling, as if privy to something the others were only now beginning to grasp.
"It means I climbed higher than high. I transcended Transcendence itself."
The words fell like stones in a still pond.
"I am one of humanity's four Supremes."
This time, the whispers were louder—but again, they faded under his presence.
"But do not be mistaken."
His voice rose, layered with something heavy and vast.
"Of the four, I am the strongest. I do not stagnate. I walk the path of godhood while the others slumber in power they no longer grow."
He let silence draw itself thin and sharp.
"If I willed it, I could end them—without taking a single step from this hall. That is the strength I command. That is the strength I offer… should you swear yourselves to me."
Seishan's face was no longer smiling wryly.
With a slight curl of his lips, he leaned back into the throne of shadows, casual and regal, as if seated not on darkness, but on inevitability itself.
"As for your choice…"
His smile returned, slow and cool.
"You may leave this land of death after I carve a path to the gateway. Or…"
He leaned forward slightly, letting the words fall like silk-wrapped daggers.
"…you may apply to become part of the Shadow Clan."
A beat passed.
"Any questions?"
A hunter's voice rose from the crowd—Jubei, the one from the outer settlement who'd once challenged Andal.
"Well… how will the screening process work for the Shadow Clan?"
Sunny regarded him with a half-smile.
"It'll depend on one thing. Whether I believe you're a good fit."
Another voice, this one from a Bright Castle refugee.
"When will we be able to leave via the gateway?"
Sunny thought for a moment, then spoke.
"When applications for the Shadow Clan close."
Another voice followed, cautious but firm.
"What do we gain if we join? What are our duties?"
Sunny nodded, pleased.
"Fair question. First—your only duty is loyalty. Your responsibility is strength, and the protection of humanity's best interests. In return? You will receive the finest gear, hand-woven by my own self."
He chuckled under his breath. Crazy had gone overboard. Standard-issue Shadow Clan sets were practically overflowing in his soul.
Jubei spoke again, tentative now. Respectful.
"Can I apply?"
Sunny's grin turned sly.
"Well… that depends. Do you have any dark intentions about joining?"
The hunter blinked, honest.
"No… but how would you know?"
Sunny gestured without a word to Kai.
Kai met Jubei's eyes and simply said, "He's telling the truth."
Sunny looked back and gave a nod.
"That's how."
Then he turned to Nephis, seated beside him on a throne of light.
"You got anything to say?"
She held his gaze. Her voice came low, near private.
"Not to them. To you."
Sunny tilted his head. "Go on."
"Can I join?"
He blinked. Once. Twice.
'Huh?'
He hadn't expected that.
Caught by his own flaw, he answered honestly.
"…Well, yes."
But before he could elaborate, she cut him off with a smile.
"Good, then." She turned back to the audience without another word.
He might've said something more—if not for Cassie's voice cutting in.
"Can I join too?"
Sunny smiled.
"Of course you can."
His eyes shifted toward Kai and Effie, both of whom wore expressions that spoke volumes.
He smirked.
"Yes, yes. You two can join too."
And just like that, the royalty of shadows had begun building a kingdom.
---
"What kind of cooperation?"
Bloodwave's voice was calm, but there was iron beneath the surface—old pride, and the weight of generations. His expression had turned grave. As clan leader, he stood at the intersection of tradition and survival. He dared not offend a Sovereign, not openly… but neither could he allow his people to become pawns in another's hand, no matter how gilded the offer.
The ocean behind him shimmered like liquid obsidian, waves pulsing gently, as if listening in.
There were only two outcomes to such a meeting. In one, he died, and the clan was broken. In the other, they gained an ally—perhaps even the strongest they'd ever known.
Sunny didn't move for a moment. Then, with a smile as faint as moonlight reflected in blood, he spoke.
"I would appreciate your assistance in helping spread my name in a positive manner in Antarctica."
The Sovereign's smile lingered, polite but cold, like winter pretending to be spring.
Bloodwave blinked. That was… all?
"Is that really all you want from us?" he asked carefully, almost too carefully.
And Sunny's smile wavered.
Not much. Just a flicker. But it was enough.
A momentary crack in the mask—a prideful grimace beneath the stillness.
His pride as a Sovereign—formless, immense—had been touched. Not struck. Just… brushed.
And that alone made the air grow colder.
"It's not that that is all I want from you."
His voice was calm, but now it carried a deeper chill, an edge honed on countless battles, countless betrayals.
He stared at Bloodwave—no longer as a possible ally, but as a being being measured. Weighed. Found wanting.
"It's that such cooperation is all you have to offer."
The words landed like a blade driven through stone.
Bloodwave stiffened, but said nothing. There was wisdom in silence.
Sunny's gaze lingered for a heartbeat longer, then softened just slightly.
A sigh escaped him—more for himself than for the clan leader.
"And I have a debt to repay."
He didn't explain. He didn't need to. The weight of that statement settled over the water like fog.
But before Bloodwave could ask more—before curiosity could undo the thread of restraint—
Sunny rose to his feet.
Suddenly. Smoothly.
A shadow standing where a man had been.
The clan leader tensed, instincts screaming.
"What's wrong?" he asked, carefully keeping his hands relaxed, unclenched.
Sunny looked down at him, his expression unreadable, carved from night and old battles.
"Nothing much. Just a shoal of Corrupted Creatures."
He turned his head toward the horizon. The waves had grown restless. The deep groaned with something ancient and hungry.
Only partially perceived by others, Sunny felt it clearly—the subtle pull of Nightmare Gates beneath the ocean's surface, trembling open like wounds.
His presence had already accelerated the nightmare cascade across Antarctica. Now, even the depths stirred.
The old ocean was bleeding monsters.
And to Sunny?
Perfect.
A smile returned to his lips—wider this time, darker. Not a mask, but a glimpse.
He felt it in his soul—the gnawing hunger of his cores, the pulse of fragments accumulating like the silent calm before a storm.
He was close.
So close.
'Soon', he thought, gaze fixed on the swelling tides.
Soon, he would forge his first Divine Shadow.