Shadow Slave - Paralyzed Demon

Sunny had climbed onto a long stretch of land, escaping the creature that had tried to devour him in the water. Once his initial fear had subsided, he finally realized his situation. He was naked and drenched. Without hesitation, he summoned his memory. A pitch-black armor enveloped him, shielding him from the cold.

The night was dark, and he couldn't see anything. He commanded his shadow to wake him if anything happened, then tried to sleep. The sound of the waves helped lull him into rest.

A few hours later, his shadow woke him up.

"Danger!"

His shadow was warning him of an approaching threat. Sunny immediately opened his eyes and sat up. The sky had brightened slightly, allowing him to see his surroundings.

In front of him, a young man sat motionless on a crimson throne. He had short, white hair and a tall frame that reminded Sunny of Caster. But the most striking feature was his eyes—serpentine, golden-yellow, and radiating danger.

Something was dripping from the throne, only to return to it moments later.

As soon as the young man noticed Sunny looking at him, a smile formed on his lips. However, it wasn't a normal smile—it was eerie, almost demonic.

Seeing that expression, Sunny instinctively moved to take a combat stance, but the stranger's words stopped him.

"What do you think of the throne? I find it quite comfortable. My father had one too, it didn't look comfortable. But now, I understand why he sat there."

Hearing these words, Sunny realized this person was not a creature. His tone of speech confirmed it. He relaxed a little.

"Who are you? And why are you smiling like that?"

"What's wrong with my smile?" the young man asked, then reached up to touch his face. "Seems like I still have work to do," he muttered before stopping his control over the blood on his face. His features returned to normal.

"My Flaw prevents me from moving my body. I use a memory to turn my thoughts into sound."

Sunny was surprised. It was strange for someone to reveal their Flaw so easily.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked. "Aren't you afraid I might use it against you?"

The white-haired youth chuckled. His face remained unchanged, making the laughter seem even more menacing.

"If you're not blind, you can see my Flaw already. Besides, it looks like we'll be staying together for a while… unless you'd rather be alone here."

At that moment, Sunny remembered something. The day he arrived at the Academy, he had seen this person passing by in a wheelchair.

"I didn't think you would survive," he murmured.

He still didn't fully trust the stranger, but he wasn't as wary as before.

"Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Morpheus. I can control blood," the young man said, extending his hand.

Sunny hesitated for a moment before shaking it. "I'm Sunless. I have an affinity for shadows. I can use my shadow to track things."

As they shook hands, Sunny found himself staring at Morpheus's arm, wondering how he was able to move it.

"I'm trying to regain full control of my body by manipulating my blood," Morpheus explained, noticing his gaze. "It's much harder than it seems."

Sunny wasn't sure what to think about him. But one thing was certain—this man was strong. Having him as an ally would be beneficial.

Just then, the sound of the ocean changed.

Both Sunny and Morpheus stepped to the edge of their perch and looked down.

The sea was retreating.

Sea creatures were rushing away, as if fleeing from the sunlight. The water level continued to drop rapidly.

At that moment, sharp crimson blades began piercing the dark surface of the ocean. As the sea receded further, it was as if a crimson forest was slowly rising from the black depths.

The "trees" resembled coral, chaotically entwining into one another and stretching toward the sky.

They were colossal, with jagged protrusions interlocking and merging together. The labyrinth formed by this eerie reef extended as far as Sunny could see, interrupted by occasional cliffs, sudden chasms, and other natural features.

Half an hour later, Sunny stared downward in utter shock.

The sea was completely gone.

If not for the black seaweed hanging from the wet rocks and the towering scarlet coral pillars, he might have doubted whether the ocean had ever been there at all.

The small circular island he had stood on was now the peak of a bizarre, towering, irregularly shaped cliff.

Looking down, he felt his head spin.

By then, the night had fully retreated, allowing morning to take its place.

"What a sight," Morpheus said calmly.

Sunny could only stare in awe.

Morpheus controlled his blood-forged throne and lifted it into the air.

"I'm going to look around. I won't go far. I'll be back soon," he said before soaring away.

As he glanced back at where he had been standing, he noticed something.

"A statue, huh?"

It was an ancient, colossal statue at least two hundred meters tall. Its sheer scale was mind-boggling.

"I need to improve my blood control quickly. I wonder what kind of smile I gave?" Morpheus murmured. Though honestly, just his smile being strange would have been fine. His eyes, his blood control, and that throne…

"That steady platform wouldn't have worked either. It would've looked too strange. Was I supposed to just stand stiff like a mannequin? Or should I have made a simple chair? But that wouldn't have looked dignified either—"

Morpheus had always thrown himself into training. When exhausted, he would lock himself in his room, reading books or manga until he fell asleep. Because of that, he hadn't interacted with many people outside of his sparring partner and his sister. If that even counted as friendship.

That's why, with Sunless, he felt odd.

He wanted to leave a good impression.

He scanned the surroundings carefully and used his blood control to search for movement.

There were the corpse of the giant shark-like creature. Around the corpse, hundreds of smaller monsters were scurrying, tearing away and devouring its flesh bit by bit. They looked like crabs.

At first, Morpheus considered eliminating them.

But then, an idea struck him.

"Sunless doesn't seem to belong to a clan. He's not a master of any martial art either—his stance had way too many openings. I could use these creatures to train him. That way, maybe he'll forget the awkwardness."

Deciding to return to the statue, he turned around and flew back.

He paused, realizing something.

He felt strange.

He had never noticed how much he wanted companionship before.

Perhaps it was because of the loneliness he had suffered in his Nightmare.