Shadow Dance… was both the Legacy of his Aspect and a battle art Sunny had invented. That battle art was insidious, shapeless, and ever-changing… its purpose was to steal that which made the enemy strong and use it to destroy them.
The first step of Shadow Dance was the foundation of this ability. Sunny had mastered it during his bitter battle with Nephis, whom he knew all too well. It allowed him to peer into the very essence of the enemy’s battle style and gain an almost supernatural understanding of what they would do, as well as the ability to mimic it.
The second step was a continuation of the first. It was the same in all aspects except for scale. Assuming the persona of Mongrel, Sunny had battled countless Awakened and absorbed their styles in order to make his ability more ubiquitous. He had mastered it during the final battle of the Dream Tournament, facing Morgan.
That breakthrough deepened his understanding of the fundamental, governing principles of battle, which in turn allowed him to shadow unfamiliar and sophisticated battle styles much faster, and with greater ease. He also gained the ability to intuitively sense the unique ways in which his opponents utilized their soul essence to make those styles possible.
The third step was different. It expanded on the first two, broadening the scope of Shadow Dance by redefining what a battle style was. Outwardly, that simply meant that Sunny had begun including Nightmare Creatures in the ranks of enemies he shadowed. Inwardly, however, the distinction was much greater. The third step had more to do with Sunny himself than with his enemies.
After plunging into the alien and perverse minds of various abominations in the Red Colosseum, he still found himself falling short of an epiphany. That was because Sunny had to let go of his own sense of self to truly be able to shadow things that were innately different from him. He had to become more like the shapeless, formless shadows. He had managed to pass this impossible test because of the battle with Nightmare.
The third mastery vastly broadened and improved his ability to shadow his enemies, as well as giving him the ability to perceive the flow of essence within them clearly. However, it also made Shadow Dance a double-edged sword — Sunny had found it easy to get lost in the form of an adversary, forgetting himself forever.
The best defense against this risk was his True Name, which served as the anchor of his soul.
…And now, there was the fourth step.
‘It is even more dangerous.’
Sunny still felt the lingering remnants of the Azure Serpent paint his perception of the world. After delving into the form of the mad beast so deeply, he struggled to shake it off.
The fourth step was also a continuation of the previous one. A logical progression that both completed and transformed the perilous gift of the third step. The third step was about breaking the rigid constraints of Sunny’s mind to make it as shapeless and adaptable as a shadow. The fourth step… was about allowing Sunny’s physical form to follow suit.
The key to mastering it was Shadow Manifestation. In the dreadful crucible of Antarctica, Sunny had invented Shadow Shell and Shadow Incarnation, which gave him all the tools he needed to reach the fourth mastery. But it wasn’t until the battle with Daeron of the Twilight Sea that he hammered all these elements together into a cohesive whole.
Thinking about it, he shivered.
Any form, any shape. The ability to not only grasp the essence of, but also become any creature he truly came to know. The prospect of such an ability seemed… limitless.
But so was its danger.
‘What will I become if I use the fourth step a lot?’
There was an even more frightening question. If the fourth step of Shadow Dance was already so incredible and daunting, then what would the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh steps look like?
Sunny felt that he needed to be careful, but he also knew that he was not going to let go of this power. He needed it.
With a sigh, he thought back to the battle with Daeron of the Twilight Sea and started going over every moment of it, absorbing the feeling of becoming a great serpent into his bones.
With every minute that passed, he felt the moment where everything would click together drawing closer.
***
The waters of the Great River were already dimming by the time Sunny opened his eyes. He let out a deep sigh and remained motionless for a few moments, contemplating his progress.
‘I’m so close…’
It was probably a matter of days, a week or two at most, before he mastered the fourth step of Shadow Dance — and received the fourth Legacy Relic. Excited, Sunny wondered what it would be.
A Shadow? A Memory? Or something else entirely, like another drop of ichor?
‘Whatever it is… I hope Blood Weave doesn’t gobble it up again!’
Suddenly bitter, he glanced at the horizon, and then hurriedly summoned the Crown of Twilight back.
Soon, the seven suns rose from the depths and chased away the impenetrable darkness of the night. The dim twilight of dawn enveloped the ketch for a brief period of time.
At that moment, Sunny felt a flood of essence rush into his cores.
‘Amazing.’
The rate of recovery was indeed greatly enhanced. Sunny had five shadow cores instead of one, so it took five times as long for him to recover all his essence — without the aid of the Shroud of Dusk. With it and the [Legacy of Twilight], though, it felt as though he would be able to replenish his reserves fully in the span of a single day.
Half at dawn, and another half at dusk.
If he was even slightly frugal, he would practically never run out of essence.
Feeling encouraged, he glanced at the frail figure of Ananke, then turned to Nephis.
Sunny silently pointed to the serpentine band of black metal on his head.
It was time to ask more questions.
