Shadow Slave

Sunny decided to take a look at the Dark Wing first.

'Let's see what my Shadow brought me.'

He looked at the glimmering runes.

Memory: [Dark Wing].

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Tier: I.

Memory Type: Garment.

Memory Description: [This cloak is as light as a dragonfly's wing… and as durable.]

Sunny stared at the description, his eyes twitching.

'Cloak? Another damn cloak?! And what does the Spell mean, as durable as a bug's wing? Those aren't durable at all!'

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and read at the runes again.

'Well… maybe it has an incredible enchantment.'

Memory Enchantments: [Glide].

Enchantment Description: [Allows one to levitate slightly above the ground and slowly move in any direction, or glide down softly from any height.]

Sunny frowned slightly, thinking about whether that Memory could be useful. Then, he dove into the Soul Sea and summoned the sphere of light containing the Dark Wing to take a look at its spellweave.

The descriptions provided by the Spell were not always very informative. It was better to study the thing himself.

At first glance, the ability to fly was nothing short of incredible. Amazing, even! Sunny had heard that there were Memories that gave their owners literal wings, but never expected to encounter one before becoming an Awakened, or even a Master. However, their usefulness differed from case to case.

There were questions of height, speed, and control. No Memory could have given someone the ability to fly as fast and as unrestrained as Kai could. But some came close…

However, as far as these Memories went, Dark Wing turned out to be of the lowest standard. It seemed that it only allowed a person to levitate or hover a couple of meters above ground and move with a very, very modest speed.

Sunny could achieve pretty much everything that such an ability provided with the help of the Prowling Thorn and its invisible string — and do it better, too. Of course, he couldn't fight while using the kunai to swing around on the string. In that regard, this new Memory was better.

However, after imagining himself fighting while using the Dark Wing to hover above ground or even worse glide in the sky, Sunny shuddered.

The beautiful transparent cloak indeed looked like a pair of dragonfly's wings. It was extremely thin a brittle. The slightest strike would rip it apart, causing the wielder to plummet down. So, unless Sunny wanted to die, using this Memory in a battle was out of the question.

In short, it had little utility value compared to the Prowling Thorn and couldn't be used for aerial fights.

Sunny glanced at the Stone Saint.

'Should I feed it to her?'

But after thinking about it for a couple more seconds, he shook his head.

No, despite all its flaws, the Dark Wing was still a real boon. The ability to glide alone was priceless. With it, he did not need to be afraid of falling down from deadly heights.

Like from the height of an ancient walking colossus, for example.

'...I'm keeping it.'

The thing would only give his Shadow one fragment, anyway.

Looking up, Sunny noticed a transparent cloak that looked like a pair of dragonfly wings suddenly appear on Cassie's shoulders. The sunlight refracted through it, making the wings glimmer slightly with all the colors of the rainbow.

With an expression of wonder on her face, the blind girl made the wings move. A moment later, they disappeared into a blur, and Cassie suddenly hovered a few centimeters above the ground. She giggled.

…So, the Quiet Dancer had earned her the same Memory his Shadow had earned him. This was good. While the weak levitation ability was mostly useless to Sunny, to the blind girl, it would be of tremendous help. The terrain of the Forgotten Shore was often uneven and treacherous, so being able to float above it was a true gift for someone who could not see.

Sunny smiled softly and looked away.

'It's nice that she still knows how to laugh.'

A moment later, his expression darkened. Closing his eyes, Sunny sighed heavily and turned his attention to the second Memory he had gotten.

'Don't think about it.'

Memory: [Blood Blossom.]

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Tier: II.

Memory Type: Charm.

Sunny's heart skipped a bit. Charms were a rare type of Memories that took the form of a small accessory — most often an amulet or a talisman. Unlike weapons, armor and tools, they obviously had no practical value. However, charms made up for it by possessing unique and powerful enchantments.

Among the elite Awakened, these were the Memories everyone hunted for the most.

…And now he got one!

'Please be good, please be good…'

Memory Description: [No matter how much blood was spilled, her hunger only grew.]

Sunny blinked.

'...Creepy.'

Memory Enchantments: [Flower of Evil.]

Enchantment Description: [This beautiful charm imbues all Memories and Echoes of its wielder…]

As Sunny read the description, the runes suddenly changed right before his eyes. After a moment, a new one appeared between them:

[This beautiful charm imbues all Memories, Echoes, and Shadows of its wielder with an unquenching thirst for blood. They receive an overall enhancement when used against a bleeding foe, and grow more powerful the more their prey bleeds.]

Not even paying attention to the way the Spell changed the runes on the fly, Sunny froze.

'Aura… it's an aura enchantment.'

Aura enchantments were an extremely rare thing. Unlike the usual enchantments, they affected not only the wielder, but everything that fit their target criteria in a certain radius.

…No need to mention how precious such things were. And Sunny didn't just get an aura charm, but also one that provided a comprehensive augmentation to the power of all — all! — his Memories, Echoes and Shadows, as long as his enemy bled.

And the more they bled, the stronger that augmentation would grow.

"Beautiful…"

Sunny was so stunned that he accidentally whispered that word out loud.

A moment later, he suddenly shuddered and quickly glanced around to make sure that Effie wasn't anywhere near him when he had said it.

To his relief, the huntress was on the opposite side of the platform, working on the map of the Forgotten Shore.

Sunny exhaled and furtively wiped the sweat off his forehead.

'Phew. That was close!"

Then, a wide grin slowly appeared on his face. With a satisfied sigh, he rested his head on the stone and thought:

'Sorry, Saint. Today, you shall remain hungry…'