Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1428

Chapter 1428 Searching Reflection

Sunny waited for a moment... then waited some more. He was back on the deck of the Chain Breaker, surrounded by flowing mist. A slight tremor ran through his body.

'I'm tired.'

He straightened slowly and stared into the fog. It was time for him to take a break, but... Sunny wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do. His companions were just as useless as far as resting was concerned - none of them had given him a single good idea.

Well... except for Jet. She had looked at him for a few moments, chuckled, and told him to take a good nap.

Which was not a bad piece of advice. As a government officer who had always looked overworked and suffering from sleep deprivation, she would know best.

That said...

Even though this revolution was supposed to be his day off, Sunny still had to rescue Jet. Relaxing while she was being killed by Undying Slaughter did not sound restful at all. He couldn't bring himself to even think about skipping this step.

'Ah...'

Glancing at Nephis and Cassie, Sunny walked over to Nightmare and climbed into the saddle. Neph looked at him questioningly.

"Sunny? What are you doing?"

He couldn't be bothered to explain things properly.

"Leaving. Don't worry, I'll be back soon. Until then... just stay here."

Leaving the two bewildered young women behind, Nightmare leaped into the mist.

As the familiar scenes flew past him, Sunny summoned the Mirror of Truth and studied the reflection of Nephis on its mercurial surface. After hesitating for a few moments, he activated the [Searching Reflection] enchantment.

At the same time, he imagined a pure white flame and thought:

'Soul Flame.'

A small crack appeared on the silver mirror.

Suddenly, Sunny felt very strange. It was as if his soul, which had always been still and silent, was in motion... rolling, billowing. Burning. It was not painful, just unfamiliar.

[Soul Flame] Ability Description: "Your soul burns with the purest of flames. That flame can both restore and destroy, and is both a blessing and a curse."

'How peculiar.'

Sunny had gained Nephis's Dormant Ability. It was then that he realized an important detail - possessing something and being in control of it were two different things. He should have expected that much, though. After all, it took him some time to learn how to use his own Aspect.

For the rest of the way, Sunny kept trying to manifest Soul Flame. As he did, more tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the Mirror of Truth. Judging by the rate at which the Memory deteriorated, he could borrow a Dormant Ability for about half a day.

He suspected that an Awakened one would destroy the Memory in a few hours, while an Ascended one would not last for more than one. A Transcendent Ability might shatter the Mirror of Truth in mere minutes, while anything greater... perhaps just a few moments would be enough.

Still... it was sort of exhilarating.

Eventually, a small black flame appeared on his palm. Sunny stared at it incredulously.

'...It's black?'

He had expected to see the pure white flame, just like what Nephis could summon.

But it made sense. Soulflame was just that... flame produced from one's soul. Nephis's soul was pure and incandescent, while his was lightless and dark.

Sunny also felt that his black flame was much, much weaker than hers. It was reasonable, too - although the [Flame of Divinity] and the potency of his Ascended soul fueled it, he lacked Nephis's lineage Attribute, [The Fire]. That Attribute granted her unmatched affinity to flame and, among other things, empowered her soul.

Also... Sunny lacked the innate resistance to fire it granted her.

"Ouch!"