Sunny was enjoying a hot shower. After their short conversation, Master Jet had sent him to clean himself, saying that he "reeked of Nightmare." The unnatural slumber of the Spell slowed down the body's metabolism, and the medical apparatus he had been strapped into was supposed to take care of the rest… but he had still been asleep for three whole days.
Even if only psychological, the scent of bloodshed and despair seemed to linger around him.
'Ah, I'm in heaven,' Sunny thought, willing himself to temporarily forget about the looming disaster of the Flaw.
He was alone in the police station's showers, relaxing under the streams of hot water. After a bit of time had passed, Sunny reluctantly turned the tap off and walked over to the towel rack. Coincidentally, he caught his reflection in the mirror.
The changes in his physique were subtle, but noticeable. His pale skin looked a little healthier, his muscles slightly more defined. He looked slender and lean instead of emaciated and frail, as he had before. There was even a luster to his dark hair and a faint shine in his eyes.
However, he was still rather diminutive — not exactly a picture of masculine handsomeness, to say the least.
'Flower boy, huh?' Sunny thought, full of bitterness.
Then he suddenly froze, noticing something strange. As he was looking at himself in the mirror, the reflection of his shadow seemed to move. It was as though the shadow lowered its head and quietly facepalmed.
Sunny quickly turned around, piercing his shadow with a nervous look.
However, everything seemed normal. The shadow was doing exactly what it was supposed to do — repeating his every motion.
"I clearly saw you move," he said, feeling a bit strange. "You moved on your own, right?!"
Sunny glared at the shadow, which obediently glared back.
"Did you move or not?"
The shadow enthusiastically shook its head.
'What the?!'
"What do you mean, no?! You just moved your head! Do you think I'm a fool?"
The shadow seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged.
Sunny was left with his mouth agape.
"Your shadow is more independent than most. It is an invaluable helper," he muttered finally.
Right. That was how the Spell had described his Aspect Ability.
But… what exactly could his shadow do?
He decided to experiment a little.
"Hey, you. Tell me what you can do."
The shadow was silent and motionless.
'Right. It doesn't have vocal cords.'
As though that made any sense! Shadows weren't supposed to have muscles either — and yet it knew how to move.
"Uh… show me?"
No reaction. It seemed the shadow was content pretending to be an ordinary, lifeless blob of darkness.
Sunny sighed.
'I'm doing this wrong.'
Independent or not, the shadow was still a part of him. It was a manifestation of his Aspect Ability. So instead of asking the shadow, he really should have been asking himself.
"Not going to talk, are you?"
Sunny closed his eyes and directed his perception inward, exploring himself for the first time since returning to the real world. He felt the beating of his heart, the steady rising of his chest, the slight chill of the shower room. He heard droplets of water falling on the tiled floor. Felt the movement of filtered air against his skin.
And there, on the edge of his consciousness… something new.
A completely new sense.
Sunny concentrated on it, and suddenly a whole other world opened to him.
It was hard to describe with words — just like one would struggle to explain how hearing or touch felt. It was as though he could communicate with vast forms crowding around him, understanding their shape and surroundings by the subtle pressure they exerted on his awareness.
That understanding came naturally and instantly, like an instinct.
These forms were shadows. And among them, one — not the largest, but the deepest — didn't feel external. It felt like a part of his soul.
Once Sunny grasped the sensation, he could sense the shadow the way he sensed his own limbs. The only difference was that his limbs were made of flesh, and the shadow was made from the absence of light.
Sunny opened his eyes and looked at the shadow. Then, with a thought, he willed it to raise an arm.
The shadow raised an arm.
He willed it to sit, stand, turn around, kick. Then, he willed it to change shape — turning into a circle, then a line, then a monster. And finally, back to his own silhouette. The shadow was mercurial and fluid, like water. The only constant was its size.
"Ha! How about that?"
The shadow pouted, then reluctantly raised its thumbs.
"But how are you useful?"
He willed the shadow to strike the towel rack. It obediently moved and delivered a powerful kick. Of course, since it was just a shadow, its leg passed harmlessly through the towels, not even causing them to sway.
"Is that… all you can do?"
In his mind, the image of shadow tentacles tearing a mighty tyrant into pieces cracked and shattered without mercy.
It seemed he wouldn't be competing with the Shadow God anytime soon.
How regretful.
The shadow looked at him with disdain, then shrugged and stopped moving altogether, clearly offended.
Sunny sighed and took a towel off the rack.
"Alright. I'll explore it later."
Right… he needed to get ready. And more importantly, he had to meet up with someone.
His cute disciple.
'Hmm. Now that I think about it…' He turned to look at himself in the mirror again. While he still wasn't the masculine ideal people might expect from an Awakened, he definitely looked healthier now.
'Huh. Take that! Let me hear you call me a skeleton again.'
'A flower boy, huh? I might really become one in the future… and if that happens, I won't stop teasing her for it.'
The thought made him chuckle, but then his smile slowly faded.
'Still… I should check on her as soon as possible. She must be worried sick. Three days without knowing if I survived or died in the Nightmare…'
His brows furrowed with concern.
'She must have waited for me. The least I can do now is show her that I made it out.'
Without wasting another second, Sunny threw on his clothes and made his way out of the showers — the quiet determination in his steps matching the warmth rising in his chest.