Shadow Slave - Paralyzed Demon

Morpheus sat cross-legged on his bed, beginning to merge the soul fragments within himself. He recalled the sensation when Will had forcibly created soul cores. Forming the core itself was easy for him—he had over one hundred and twenty thousand soul fragments. However, holding back and not creating all the cores at once was more difficult at the moment. He could do it, but he felt that if he did, he would cease to exist. The real challenge wasn't forming the core but rather consuming the piece that would come from his Echo once the core was created.

He forged the soul core, and an overwhelming pull toward the soul sea overtook him. Within the vast expanse, a piece from his Echo was coming toward him—brighter than before. He closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the digestion process.

Whispers and screams surrounded him. Voices begged him to open his eyes. He could feel countless gazes fixed upon him, watching his every move. Their numbers had increased since his last time here.

"As I progress, the danger grows as well," he thought. But he ignored the voices and continued absorbing the fragment, seated in the middle of the blood river.

After a long while, he heard the voice of the piece he had consumed:

"You are now a Robot. Act like one."

Morpheus understand that the new power came from Will's world. He also realized that the dangers in that world far exceeded those of his own. However, since those outer gods did not exist here, he had no reason to worry about them. For now.

He checked his status:

Name: Morpheus

True Name: God Slayer

Rank: Dreamer

Soul Core: Titan

Soul Fragments: [124256/3000]

Sequence: 8

Sequence Name: Robot

The name of his new sequence felt strange to him. What did it mean to act like a robot? His movements were already unnatural enough—did he have to make himself even more of a joke? What exactly was a robot, and how was he supposed to mimic one? He decided not to dwell on it now. He would understand it better once the digesting process was fully complete.

Upon inspecting his new powers, he found that the abilities he had obtained from Monster had strengthened even further. Meanwhile, the enhancements from Robot had bolstered both his body and mind. At first glance, this might seem like a minor improvement, but to Morpheus, it was invaluable. His body often suffered injuries due to the strain of blood manipulation. If his body grew stronger, so too would his control over it.

Leaving the soul sea, he noticed that night had fallen. He also felt hungry. Standing up, he made his way to the throne room, where the others were gathered around a map, discussing their plans. Not wanting to interrupt, he decided to go hunting.

While out hunting, he gathered food not just for himself but for the people in the castle and the outer district. He slaughtered dozens of beasts effortlessly, collecting the edible ones and distributing them among the people. Then, he prepared meals for himself and those in the throne room.

Once the food was ready, he returned to the room. No one noticed him at first—they were too focused on their discussion. But when plates landed in front of each of them, they finally turned their attention to him.

"Let's eat. Explain your plan to me while we do," Morpheus said.

Everyone nodded and began eating. Gunlaug was the first to speak:

"To reach the gateway, we need to enter the Crimson Spire. Previous lords have attempted this—or died trying. We've gathered clues from them. To enter the Crimson Spire, we need keys. We believe these keys are contained within massive statues. Our plan is to retrieve the keys, then use them to access the Crimson Spire and reach the gateway. However, this will take a long time, and we'll suffer heavy casualties. That's why we're uncertain about the plan."

Morpheus listened silently as he ate. Then, he spoke calmly:

"I can fly you to the keys, but I won't help you retrieve them. I'll only take you there."

He continued, "You don't need to worry about casualties. Even if your head gets cut off, you won't die unless I allow it."

Gunlaug and his men shuddered, recalling their first encounter with Morpheus. Nephis joined the conversation. "Then we should start retrieving the keys as soon as possible."

Morpheus shook his head. "No. If you leave now, this place will be defenseless. The others will be attacked by monsters—they will either die or be gravely injured. First, you will ensure this place's security and stockpile enough supplies to last through the journey. Only then will we proceed with the plan."

Everyone agreed, nodding in understanding.

As they finished their meals, Gunlaug and his men awaited Morpheus to say something. Effie, Sunny, Cassie, Caster, and Nephis were also watching him. Finally, Seishan broke the silence:

"Thank you for helping us."

The others nodded in agreement. They understood that Morpheus was pushing them, forcing them to grow stronger. His methods might leave some traumatized, but they couldn't deny his impact.

Then, Seishan asked the question everyone except Sunny was wondering:

"But why are you helping us? You can go alone."

Morpheus froze. Sunny, on the other hand, smirked, already knowing the answer. He stared at Morpheus, watching as his face turned red. Then, he burst into laughter.

"Where did you learn to make friends like this? Do you think threatening people with death is how you make friends? Hahaha!"

Morpheus's face grew even redder. "Hey! What do you know?! As if you had any friends before me!" he snapped at Sunny.

"You have to be joking, right?" Effie said, stunned.

Gunlaug and his men stood frozen in disbelief. "There's no way. This has to be some kind of sick joke," they thought. The man who had effortlessly ripped off their arms wanted to be their friend? But at least now they understood why he hadn't killed them.

Morpheus lowered his head, his face burning with embarrassment. Just as he was about to leave, Gunlaug stood up and called out to him.

"Our first meeting was… unusual, to say the least. But you've helped us so much. You've given us hope again. I'd be honored to be your friend."

Morpheus turned back to face him. His expression remained blank, but his eyes gleamed with emotion. It was clear he was happy. He reached out and shook Gunlaug's hand.

"Thank you for being my friend, Gunlaug. I'm glad I didn't kill you."

Gunlaug shuddered at the words but forced a smile. "Y-yeah… me too."

One by one, the others had similar exchanges with Morpheus. The only exception was Seishan, who was more open and familiar with him than the rest.

Before leaving, Morpheus warned them: "Being my friend doesn't mean I'll go easy on you. So don't slack off."

Everyone nodded.

With that, Morpheus bid them good night and returned to his room, trying to sleep with a rare feeling of happiness.