Shadow Slave

Sunny remembered his first clash with Morgan very well.

Back then, he had been a mere Awakened. Nevertheless, as far as Awakened went, he had considered himself to be somewhat of an outlier in terms of personal power and combat skill... he had even entertained the idea of winning their duel.

Sunny had been blessed with the powers of a Divine Aspect, trained by Changing Star of the Immortal Flame clan and tempered in the ruthless crucible of the Forgotten Shore, and possessed of an Aspect Legacy.

So, there had been a reason for his confidence.

The streak of easy wins he had achieved in the Dreamscape also played a role. Even though some of the opponents he had faced were challenging foes, none managed to make him feel seriously threatened.

Sunny had involuntarily grown a little arrogant.

...Morgan had destroyed that arrogance.

She had been the first Master he crossed swords with, and not just any Master at that. The heiress of the great clan Valor was at the absolute pinnacle of what an Ascended could be. Being utterly crushed by her in less than forty seconds had hit him like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing whatever nascent hubris Sunny could have developed.

Her oppressively flawless skill, her overwhelming physical prowess, her crystal-clear killing intent... all of it made a lasting impression on him.

Sunny had returned with two valuable gifts from that battle. The first was a breakthrough in his mastery of Shadow Dance. The second was a stark reminder of how many crouching tigers there were among the Awakened. Yes, he was outstanding and powerful... but he was not the only outstanding, powerful person out there.

Ever since that battle, Sunny had been instinctively comparing every Master he fought with Morgan.

So far, no one had made the cut - not in the waking world, not in the Dream Realm, and not in the Second Nightmare.

Which was why he was very curious to see how he would compare to her now that they were both Ascended.

Sunny was not the same person who had met Morgan in the Dreamscape. He had lived through too many tribulations since then - the Night Temple, the Red Colosseum, the gauntlet of nightmares, the Temple of the Chalice, the Ivory City... and the Antarctic Center, from the quiet dread of LO49 to the cold despair of Falcon Scott.

Each of these trials had left scars on his soul, but also made him a much more experienced and deadly fighter.

'That is true...'

But Morgan must not have remained stagnant, either. Saint Tyris had once said the Anvil's daughter was too young and inexperienced to challenge the Third Nightmare... which had to mean that she had been actively earning the necessary experience all that time.

So, this spar of theirs was bound to be interesting.

"Sure. I was looking forward to it."

She nodded with satisfaction, then gestured for Cassie to take a seat.

Then, Morgan walked to a case containing a multitude of training swords - all fashioned to withstand the intense pressure of being wielded by Masters, and thus insanely expensive - and looked at them thoughtfully.

"What weapon would you prefer to use? Swords, spears, something more exotic? Not weapons at all, perhaps? Oh... I forgot to ask. Are you going to be fighting as is, or assume that pseudo-transformation of yours?"

It did not seem like she particularly cared, as if it was of no concern whether she would face a human or a towering fiend.

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"No transformation. It only serves as a force multiplier... if the underlying skill is not there, using it is pointless. Not to mention a drain on the essence. I mostly activate it when there are too many enemies around, to reap the benefit of having four arms. As for the weapon..."

He pulled on a shadow cast by a support pillar and formed it into a blunt, featureless black tachi.

"That would be enough."

Morgan smiled.

"Neat trick."

With that, she took a simple straight training sword from the case and walked to the center of the dojo. Stopping there, she pierced Sunny with a sharp look of her vibrant vermilion eyes.

"I would have suggested using our Aspect Abilities freely, but that would probably destroy a large part of this level of the compound. So, sadly, we will have to limit ourselves to our Dormant and Awakened powers. I hope you don't mind."

Sunny shrugged.

He did not mind. It would have been a shame if he had not learned what Morgan's Ascended Ability was already, but he had - in fact, he not only observed her for more than a month and came up with a solid theory, but had also asked Cassie for confirmation.

The blind girl was now able to see both the Attributes and the Aspect Abilities of those near her, after all. She was a priceless source of information... an almost limitless well of it, really. Thanks to her, Sunny now knew a lot about many people, including the likes of Whispering Blade and Beastmaster.

With Cassie's help, Sunny had finally confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that those of the Valor bloodline - Anvil and his children, at least - carried the lineage of War God in their veins.

As for Morgan's Aspect Abilities...

Her Dormant Ability allowed her to passively enhance the sharpness of anything she touched. Her Awakened Ability was a comprehensive physical augmentation with an emphasis on resilience - basically, her body could become as durable as tempered steel.

Her Ascended Ability was a strange one, though. It allowed her to assimilate enchantments into her body and soul, inheriting their effects. As a Master, the number of enchantments she could absorb was limited to three, and they could be switched freely for different ones at any point in time.

Considering how powerful, versatile, and unpredictable such an Ability was, Sunny was more than willing to forego using Ascended Abilities today.

Standing opposite of each other, the two of them studied the opponent for a while in silence. Sunny was remembering the thirty-six seconds he had managed to hold out against Morgan the last time they fought.

Morgan was probably studying his posture and expression, as well as replaying the scenes from the battle against the titanic horde in her mind.

After all, she didn't know that this was not the first time the two of them faced each other holding swords in their hands.

...Slowly, a smile of anticipation appeared on Morgan's beautiful face.

Her vermilion eyes glinted, and her crimson lips parted, revealing pearly white teeth.

"Prepare yourself, Master Sunless..."

Sunny almost rolled his eyes.

'Is there really a need to announce her atta...'

He did not get to finish that thought, however.

Suddenly, Morgan was beside him, and her sword was falling down like the inescapable blade of a guillotine.