She had no chance of defeating a sovereign in physical combat as she stood now. So she didn't.

  But in a battle of souls? A battle of shadows?

  Her [Heart of Night] and [Monstrosity of the Underworld] attributes allowed her to open a path for shadows and darkness to her soul. So inviting another stray shadow wasn't a problem. But she was aware of her own inadequacy for this type of combat. By hastily combining skills, she couldn't engage in combat directly. But her master's shadow could.

  Normally, a mere awakened shadow wouldn't stand a chance against a sovereign's shadow, even one that had fallen into madness. This was especially true for this one, which seemed to contain an abnormal tenacity. But her shadow was no longer just a divine shadow.

  Uniting it with her soul brought about changes for both her and her own shadow, and the biggest difference y in a single attribute.

  Her complete immunity to soul attacks had been degraded to near... which meant she was now vulnerable to soul damage for the first time. Bonding with her shadow had opened a door, a weakness; but also an opportunity.

  In exchange for such a weakness, her shadow had become an extension of herself. Not only could she share her vision, but she herself could share the properties of true darkness and ignite it with the fire of her divinity. An attack every shadow would fear. But above all, her soul was now bound to her shadow, which meant her own shadow was almost as immune to these attacks as she was.

  With this stat, coupled with the enhancement of the [Immovable Guard] amulet, her defense far surpassed any other stat she had. She only had to wait for her master to kill a sovereign as a mere awakened shadow...

  But she was completely confident in her ability, for she was her master's shadow, the shadow of the one forgotten by the light. The one forgotten by the world. His sword fshed brightly, marking the final stage of the confrontation.

  …

  Within Saint's soul, the battle had reached a new stage. The once-calm waters churned with fury, as if a hurricane were passing over them resentfully. The world itself seemed to tremble, fracturing little by little. The darkness, always listless, warped with pain, while the shadows long since destroyed.

  At the center of the whirlpool of destruction, two figures cshed with unbridled rage. Both beings, now formless, coiled around each other in a tumult of cws and teeth.

  The sovereign's strength, speed, and even technique were far superior. But curiously, it was the defenseless attacks of the former Sunless that caused the most apparent damage.

  It was a battle between a god and a mortal. But as endless as it seemed, the world around them was a reflection of the true state of Sunless's shadow; of Saint's soul.

  Shadow stepped back, momentarily returning to his preferred form. The form of the sleeping Sunny. On the other side, the sovereign did the same, but his form, unlike his, increasingly resembled that of a spider. Only the sovereign's face, filled with pain and fury, continued to babble.

  "I-I have to go back, I have to go back, I have... I have to rescue her." His whispers were accompanied by other murmurs coming from somewhere indecipherable. Intelligible words den with a sensation that pulled at the blood.

  Shadow didn't speak, even if he could. His foolish smile was gone, repced by a cold, sharp, murderous intent. Now more than ever, he was the very image of that former resentful sleeper. And there was no one more treacherous and spiteful in two worlds.

  Deforming once more, Shadow took on another form, one he had never witnessed in person, but had visualized in an image, but, more importantly, one completely combined with the image of his daughter.

  "What?!" The sovereign's murmurs stopped abruptly. His eyes widened. His entire body began to tremble as his gaze remained fixed on that figure.

  Smile of Refuge

  Standing there in complete darkness, her figure, her face, and her signature smile stared back at him like an image frozen in time. He didn't move, but the shadow did.

  Advancing with the same battle art he himself developed and taught to his wife and daughter, the still-smiling figure of his wife pierced his chest… and parasitized his body.

  "Nooo!" With a look of contortion and despair, Broken Sword tore at his own flesh in panic. Not to attack, but to try to bring back the image of his beloved, but it was useless.

  Fmes erupted from within him, cooking his body from the inside out. He paid no attention. He continued his fruitless attempts to draw out his dead wife's shadow, unaware that the fmes of true darkness were increasingly disintegrating his body.

  "Please, please don't leave me again..." His final words were a whisper, now lifeless, not from the damage, but from his broken will. And when that will be broken, the fmes and the darkness around him engulfed him.

  < You have killed a sovereign shadow >

  < Your shadow grows stronger >

  < You have unlocked your aspect relic >

  The spell paused for a few moments, then spoke with a hint of emotion.

  < You have obtained the Weaver's shadow >

  In the vast darkness, where the fmes of darkness and divinity burned, a shadow too deep, too ancient, too conscious emerged.

  Shadow backed away in panic, as the creature took a step forward. A step into the world.