Sunny did not summon her immediately.
The instinct to avoid that conversation — if it could even be called a conversation — was overwhelming, and he had long since learned that charging blindly into emotionally volatile situations rarely produced favorable outcomes. Instead, he steadied his breathing, forced his racing thoughts into something resembling order, and reopened the runes hovering before his eyes. If Tingyun now existed as one of his Shadows, then the Spell would have recorded the details of her new state just as it had for Saint, Serpent, and the others.
His gaze settled on a newly appeared entry.
Shadow: Tingyun.
Shadow Rank: Dormant.
Shadow Class: Beast.
Sunny exhaled slowly through his nose. At least that much was expected. Becoming a Shadow wouldn't change her Rank or Class. The classification of Beast should have meant limited intelligence and autonomy. The fact that she had screamed — and spoken — suggested that her case might be far from typical, but the Spell had a habit of categorizing things according to rigid rules even when reality proved more complicated.
His eyes moved downward.
Shadow Attributes: [Heliofox], [Temptress], [Pathstrider], [Kindler], [Awakened].
Sunny blinked, then leaned forward slightly, his earlier fatigue momentarily forgotten. Two of those Attributes were familiar from her Echo entry, but two were entirely new. The replacement of [Foxian] with [Heliofox] was particularly concerning, and the presence of [Kindler] hinted at something possibly connected to her newly unlocked Aspect.
He focused on the first unfamiliar entry.
[Heliofox] Attribute Description: "This Shadow is from a long-life offshoot of humanity known as Foxians, granting her enhanced reflexes and agility, along with keener senses and a greater wit. Furthermore, Tingyun has spent a considerable amount of time as the host to a powerful Heliobus — a parasitic species that resides within a creature's nervous system. Her mind has been altered slightly, for better or worse."
Sunny's jaw tightened.
Even now, long after her death and transformation, Phantylia's influence lingered like a stain that refused to fade. The Heliobus had been the instrument of her possession, the invasive entity that had hollowed Tingyun out from within and turned her into a puppet for a Lord Ravager. Now that corruption had been codified into her very nature, transformed into a permanent trait rather than a temporary affliction.
Even in death, Tingyun couldn't escape Phantylia's grasp.
The thought sharpened into something colder, something more purposeful. If nothing else, it added another entry to the long list of reasons he intended to settle accounts with Phantylia when the opportunity finally presented itself.
He shifted his attention to the next unfamiliar Attribute.
[Kindler] Attribute Description: "This Shadow has a relentless flame in her heart — one that can both warm and consume others."
Sunny studied the description for several seconds, brows knitting together in thoughtful concentration. The wording felt different from the species-based Attributes, more abstract and personal, as though it described something intrinsic to Tingyun herself rather than a trait inherited from biology or circumstance.
If [Heliofox] was a mix of racial traits between Heliobus and Foxians, and [Temptress] was an Innate Attribute that was a constant in Tingyun's being — much like [Fated] is to Sunny — then [Kindler] had to have been connected to her newly unsealed Aspect.
Sunny moved on, though his curiosity was rapidly intensifying. He skipped over the [Awakened] Attribute, recognizing it as the same thing Kurt had, which would allow Tingyun to use Memories. Though, why was it an Attribute for Tingyun but an Ability for Kurt?
Shadow Description: [A poor fox had been caught in the endless entropy of Destruction, only to be purified by the mercy of Shadow. As a chimera between three species, who else would abuse her talents other than the treacherous Lost From Light?]
He scowled immediately.
'Treacherous, again? What did I even do to you?'
The Spell, naturally, did not respond. It never did, content to deliver its cryptic commentary without clarification or apology.
Still, the mention of her being a chimera was not entirely surprising. She was now a composite existence — the Shadow of a Foxian woman whose body had been altered by a parasitic Heliobus and then reshaped by the authority of Shadow. Three distinct influences intertwined into something that had never existed before.
Sunny prepared to dismiss the runes and summon her at last.
Then he noticed something that made his breath hitch.
There were more entries.
Not the usual information associated with Shadows, but something far more familiar — a set of runes that had no business appearing here at all unless the subject possessed the same fundamental nature as an Awakened human.
Aspect: [Scarlet Vixen].
Aspect Rank: Transcendent.
Sunny rubbed his eyes and looked again, half convinced that exhaustion or lingering shock had caused him to misread the text. The runes remained unchanged, glowing steadily before him as if daring him to deny their existence.
When he had received Kurt the Echo, there had been no such information. Echoes were remnants, static imprints that could not grow or evolve, and therefore the details of their Aspects were irrelevant. But Tingyun was no longer an Echo. She was a Shadow Beast with the capacity to develop, to accumulate Shadow Fragments, to change.
Which meant her Aspect mattered.
Transcendent Rank, no less.
That was an extraordinary classification, far beyond the norm for newly Awakened individuals. Most people received Dormant Aspects, modest abilities that required years of struggle to refine into something truly formidable. A Transcendent Aspect, by contrast, was the kind of gift that could reshape a person's entire destiny overnight.
If she had Awakened naturally and revealed her Aspect Rank, major factions would have been willing to fight, coerce, or commit any other number of crimes just to have her on their side.
The Xianzhou Alliance in particular would never have allowed such a valuable asset to slip through their fingers.
Another reason to keep his own Divine Aspect hidden.
If knowledge of it ever spread beyond a tightly controlled circle, the consequences would be catastrophic. Nations might wage war over the chance to secure his allegiance, while others would consider eliminating him preemptively rather than allowing a rival to gain such an advantage.
Human ambition, he had learned, was often more terrifying than any Nightmare Creature.
Sunny forced those thoughts aside and focused on the Aspect itself.
Aspect Description: [A fox reborn from cinders carries within her a hunger that is both borrowed and her own. The fire that once hollowed her out now answers her call, clinging to her like a faithful revenant that feeds upon echoes of what has been lost. Those touched by her warmth may find themselves invigorated or consumed, for the blaze within her recognizes neither friend nor foe — only fuel.]
Sunny read the passage twice, then a third time, trying to parse its meaning. The themes were clear enough: rebirth through fire, parasitic influence transformed into power, an existence defined by repetition and lingering echoes of what once was. It was unsettling, poetic, and deeply tragic all at once.
He continued downward.
Innate Ability: [Backup Dancer].
Ability Description: [When surrounded by shadows, Tingyun's flames intensify further.]
Sunny huffed softly despite himself. The name was oddly whimsical compared to the grim tone of everything else, but the effect made perfect sense given her new nature. As a Shadow, she would almost always operate within environments saturated with darkness, especially when acting in concert with Sunny himself.
Aspect Abilities: [Fiery Caress].
Ability Description: [This Shadow can create flames that stem from her emotions. These flames can ignite the hearts of others, which can be either a blessing or a curse.]
'That sounds… dangerous.'
Sunny pursed his lips, imagining the potential consequences of emotionally driven fire in the hands of someone who had just been resurrected from death under traumatic circumstances. Emotional volatility combined with supernatural ignition was rarely a stable combination.
Then he reached the final entry.
Flaw: [Past To Ash].
Flaw Description: [This Shadow's flames use her memories as fuel.]
Sunny's expression fell into grim stillness.
Of course there was a cost. There was always a cost.
He leaned back slowly, eyes fixed on the runes as the full implication settled in. Every time she used her power, she would be burning pieces of herself away — not physically, but mentally, eroding the memories that defined who she had been. Over time, she might forget her past, her relationships, her identity, until nothing remained except a hollow shell animated by instinct and whatever fragments of emotion survived the conflagration.
A second death… just slower.
For a long moment, Sunny did not move.
Somewhere within his Shadow Core, Tingyun existed in a state of suspended awareness, newly reborn into a form that granted power at the cost of self.
…They were strangers, really. Sunny had never met Tingyun before Phantylia possessed her — hell, maybe Phantylia had gotten her before he was even born. Their current relationship was that of a murderer and his victim, a master and his slave.
Eventually, he closed his eyes and released a long, weary breath.
"Well, no point in putting it off forever."
His hand lifted slightly as he created a set of clothes made of shadows, uncertain whether he was about to face an ally, a victim, or something that could no longer be neatly categorized as either.