The endless black void was different from what Sunny remembered, this was because he no longer had Weaver's Eye, but still, the bright stars amidst the darkness showed the nexus of the spell, although he could distinguish that amidst the threads of light, black lines also passed between one nexus and another.
[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: glorious. Your treachery truly knows no bounds.]
[Dreamer Sunless, receive your boon!]
It took a while for the spell to finish its listing.
'Well, everything looks the same.'
The same result as last time, from the description of what the nightmare had been like, to his Aspect, Shadow Slave.
Innate Ability: [Shadow Bond].
Ability Description: [Find a worthy master and let them know your True Name. Once they recite it out loud, you will be bound to their will, unable to disobey any command. It is improper for a shadow, let alone a divine one, to walk around without a master.]
The moment Sunny could read the description, he felt a tightness in his chest.
'You better not let me down, i mean, not let yourself down.'
[The First Seal is broken.]
[Awakening dormant powers...]
He felt it again, that quiet, vast sensation like a sun stirring beneath his skin. His soul trembled. Not in fear, but in awakening. The once star-speckled horizon had gone black, and where light should have risen, a dark sun now crowned the void.
The spell messages droned in the background, listing the awakened properties of his Aspect, but Sunny barely registered it. He had other priorities. Striding across the still, reflective surface of his soul-sea, he approached the gently glowing spheres that held his memories
The Silver Bell, the Puppeteer's Shroud, and something else.
A small box.
His eyes narrowed.
It sat without ceremony, a plain cube of polished wood, smooth under his fingers, the grain sealed in resin. No lock. No latch. Just a box.
[You have acquired an Unassuming Box]
The words barely faded before it materialized fully in his hand.
He didn't hesitate. He activated it.
The lid clicked open.
And the world recoiled.
A torrent of shadows exploded upward, striking him full in the face like a scream made flesh. The box tumbled from his hands as the darkness spread, crashing through the ocean of his soul. The water rippled under their weight. It was like watching a storm swallow a world.
"What the hell?!"
Panic scratched at the edge of his thoughts, 'Is this how it was supposed to go?'
The shadow-flood coiled like a living tide, spiraling, devouring, merging into itself. A massive pulse of ink-black surged toward the sky, and fell.
"Crap!" Sunny covered his face instinctively. But the shadows didn't strike. They poured, gentle and suffocating, like a waterfall of silk.
Then silence.
[An Attribute has evolved.]
In the space where the storm had ended, something glinted on the ground.
A shard.
Cold recognition flashed through him. He had seen one just like it, after killing the Mirror Beast. A creature born of Mordret's aspect.
'That wretched bastard...'
Could this be a trick? A hidden infection? But no, this wasn't Mordret's craft. It came from his memories, from his soul. Which meant only one thing.
He reached for the shard.
As his fingers closed around it, it shattered into light.
[You received an Echo: Name Holder]
His breath caught.
An Echo?
And not just any, an answer. A lifeline.
But how?
He focused.
Echo: Name Holder
Echo Rank: Dormant
Echo Class: Beast
Attributes: [Mirror Image], [Speak]
Description: [Seeking freedom, a boy did things he deeply regretted. Now, the only worthy master appeared before him.]
The shard reformed in front of him, coalescing into shape. When the light particles faded, a mirrored version of himself stood before him, identical in form, but carved from what looked like black jade. Unmoving, unreadable, like a perfect statue of shadow.
Then it spoke.
"Lost from Light."
The words rang out not with volume, but weight. They pressed into the walls of his soul, filled the hollows of his being. Sunny staggered. Something stirred within him. Recognition. Completion. As if a door long locked had been opened.
This was the truth of his fate.
But now... it belonged to a shadow.
Understanding dawned in a flash.
He couldn't create human life. Even when he was god. But this Echo, a perfect mirror, could carry what he could not. The possibility.
He laughed. A low, tired sound.
"You know..." He whispered to the empty sky of his soul. "This is really stupid."
But stupid or not, it worked.
The moment passed. He dismissed the Echo with a flick of will.
His heart calmed.
For the first time since returning to this cursed timeline, Sunny breathed without the fear of that name pressing against his ribs. He wouldn't have to hesitate anymore.
No one would ever become his master again.