Chapter 3069 — Chapter 3069 Shadow of Flame

The moment Sunny saw the fallen Children of Nether — all of the Great Rank — he could not help but think about the connection between them and Saint.

And his own connection to them, as well. He was wearing the Jade Mantle — a Memory of one of the seven suits of armor the Demon of Choice had crafted for his most cherished creations. Because of that armor and because of Saint, who was one of Sunny's swordsmanship teachers, he had always shared a connection to the Children of Nether.

That connection had culminated in the battle against the Puppeteer, allowing him to assume the form of the Jade Titan — a Supreme Titan form of a Stone Saint.

So, Sunny instinctively thought about assuming that form again.

But what was the point? He could use Shadow Dance to mimic some of Saint's traits, but he could not mimic her authority over elemental darkness. True darkness and shadows were too diametrically opposed, after all, preventing him from embodying that facet of his taciturn Shadow.

And without mastery of true darkness, he would still be blind and powerless even if he turned himself into the Jade Titan. However, the idea of using Shadow Dance to escape this deadly predicament felt like the right solution, in and of itself. After all, with most of his Abilities suppressed and no shadows around him, the only shadow at his disposal was his own — and that was all he needed to perform the steps of Shadow Dance.

What really made Sunny think about it, though, were the fallen Stone Saints themselves.

He had always assumed that Saint wielded power over true darkness and nothingness simply because that was the innate path of evolution for those of her kind. In his mind, the Stone Saints all started off wielding no mystical powers, and then gained the same ones as they climbed the Classes. Perhaps there was variety in how they expressed that affinity, but the foundation was the same.

Witnessing these seven Great abominations, however, had proven him wrong.

Each of them controlled a unique element: heat, cold, water, stone, space, time... nothingness. Only Saint wielded two — nothingness and true darkness. Remembering the peculiar nature of how she had reached higher Classes, a bold theory surfaced in his mind.

...What if Saint had evolved after slaying certain opponents not because that was the only way she could evolve, but because... she chose them?

Humans possessed Aspects, while Nightmare Creatures gained profane powers that were innate to their tribes. What about the Stone Saints, then? The Stone Saints did not possess Aspects... but what if they could design and assemble their own approximations of Aspects?

That was why, as the Stone Saints grew in power, each of them ended up wielding a unique set of Abilities. They were innately capable of accommodating different source elements, and even if their kind shared an innate affinity to some of them, they could consciously develop any affinity they wanted over time.

He could not explain why these seven abominations all possessed drastically different powers otherwise — especially because only one of them was a Devil, which meant that the rest were not supposed to have any profane powers at all.

So, then...

How did that help him in the current situation?

Sunny was about to find out if it did.

With just a split second remaining before the crushing blow descended upon him, Sunny exhaled and focused on channeling the essence of the Jade Titan.

He was very familiar with Saint and her powers, having fought side by side with her for a dozen years — and having felt what it means to be her on top of that. So, he shadowed Saint, while at the same time reshaping his Will to resemble hers. Channeling the concept of the Jade Titan through himself.

However, this time, Sunny took it a step further.

If his theory that the Stone Saints could build a semblance of Aspects within themselves — and that Saint had chosen to contain dual source elements within herself — Sunny did the same.

The first source element he embodied was obvious — it was shadows.

The second, though... the second one was more peculiar.

It belonged to someone whom Sunny knew even better than he knew Saint. Someone whom he had known longer and closer than even his most loyal Shadow.

It was Nephis.

Sunny knew Nephis better than anyone else. She had been his first teacher, laying the foundation of his future swordsmanship. It was in a battle against her that he had mastered the first step of Shadow Dance. He had been healed by her flames... he had been burned by them, as well. Most importantly, he shared a bond with Nephis — the Shadow Bond.

Because of Shadow Bond, Sunny had been able to augment Nephis and learn how it felt to be her. He had been augmented by her flames in turn, learning the taste of their ferocious power.

In fact, he had known that taste for a long time. Many years ago, locked in the endless revolutions of Aletheia's Island, he had used the Mirror of Truth to mirror Neph's [Soul Flame] Ability. He remembered that experience well.

And his lightless soul, too, burned with the Flame of Divinity.

So, even if he did not possess [The Fire], nothing prevented him from trying to shadow her Aspect.

To shadow [Soul Flame].

And that was what Sunny did.

Channeling the concept of the Jade Titan, he imbued it with the dual power of shadows and light.

In the next moment, his human form collapsed into a torrent of shadows and reformed anew, turning into a towering stone colossus.

His body became stonelike and impossibly durable, the Jade Mantle encasing it like an impregnable carapace. His blood turned into ruby dust. His heart became an immolating furnace that contained brilliant divine flame.

But that was not all.

A moment later, a blinding white radiance blazed from beneath the visor of his helmet, spilling through the cracks of his armor. That radiance pushed away the darkness, casting deep shadows on the cracked stones of the vast square.

Sunny saw his enemy — and the sharp beak of the war hammer flashing through twisted space to crush him.

A moment later, he caught the head of the hammer with an iron grip.