섀도우 슬레이브
by Guiltythree•Art by Sparkler Studio
In a dystopian modern world threatened by the supernatural contagion known as the Nightmare Spell, infected humans are dragged into the Dream Realm, where they must survive terrifying death-trials or bring nightmarish abominations back into reality. Growing up as an impoverished street urchin in the slums, Sunny lived by a single rule: survive at all costs. When the Spell claims him, he is thrown into an impossible first trial as a sacrificial slave bound for slaughter. Defying the odds through sheer cunning, treacherous wit, and ruthless instinct, Sunny unlocks a divine-rank True Name and the enigmatic Shadow lineage. But his unprecedented blessing carries a perilous secret: his Aspect can make him an untouchable master of shadows, or enslave him forever to whoever learns his true name. Navigating shattered realms, ancient ruins, and lethal political guilds, Sunny fights tooth and nail to break his chains and conquer the nightmare.
섀도우 슬레이브
by Guiltythree•Art by Sparkler Studio
In a dystopian modern world threatened by the supernatural contagion known as the Nightmare Spell, infected humans are dragged into the Dream Realm, where they must survive terrifying death-trials or bring nightmarish abominations back into reality. Growing up as an impoverished street urchin in the slums, Sunny lived by a single rule: survive at all costs. When the Spell claims him, he is thrown into an impossible first trial as a sacrificial slave bound for slaughter. Defying the odds through sheer cunning, treacherous wit, and ruthless instinct, Sunny unlocks a divine-rank True Name and the enigmatic Shadow lineage. But his unprecedented blessing carries a perilous secret: his Aspect can make him an untouchable master of shadows, or enslave him forever to whoever learns his true name. Navigating shattered realms, ancient ruins, and lethal political guilds, Sunny fights tooth and nail to break his chains and conquer the nightmare.
The world is split between a dying, polluted dystopian Earth divided into massive shielded megacities (N1 to N4) and the Dream Realm - a colossal, fractured mythical dimension that once belonged to dead gods. As the Nightmare Spell infects humanity, individuals are forcibly pulled into the Dream Realm upon falling asleep. Its geography consists of surreal, hostile biomes such as the sun-drenched bone plains of the Forgotten Shore, the floating gravity-defying Chained Isles, the abyssal Underworld, and the petrified skeletal carcass of Godgrave.
Power is governed by the cultivation of the Soul Core and the conquering of Seed Trials administered by the Nightmare Spell. Humans evolve through strict spiritual ranks: Nightmare Creatures follow parallel power classifications: Dormant, Awakened, Fallen, Corrupted, Great, Cursed, and Unholy, segmented by Class tiers based on core count (Beast, Monster, Demon, Devil, Tyrant, Terror, Titan). Dormant (Sleeper): Mortals with awakened soul potential awaiting their First Trial. Awakened: Survivors of the First Trial who manifest their Aspect ability, Flaw, and a solidified Soul Core. Master (Ascended): Warriors who have conquered a Second Nightmare, gaining an Ascended ability and the capacity to anchor dream projections. Saint (Transcendent): Demigods who cleared a Third Nightmare, achieving a Transcendent Transformation form. Sovereign (Supreme): Rulers who conquered a Fourth Nightmare, projecting mental and spiritual Domains over reality. Sacred & Divine: Mythological pinnacles capable of rewriting cosmic concepts and harboring multiple divine soul cores.
The Great Clans: The triumvirate of ruling Sovereign-led dynasties - Clan Valor (masters of metallurgy, arms, and structural warfare), Clan Song (masters of beast taming, necromancy, and biological decay), and House of Night (lords of the oceanic storms). The Human Government: The bureaucratic planetary authority managing non-Awakened megacities, fielding specialized military organizations like the Awakened Academy and elite Taskforces led by Government irregulars. The Fire Keepers: Dedicated veteran factions formed around legendary Awakened figures like Changing Star to challenge the aristocratic hegemony.
Every awakened entity is bound by fundamental cosmic rules: The Flaw: An absolute metaphysical handicap or existential restriction bestowed alongside power that cannot be circumvented. Aspects & Attributes: Innate conceptual inclinations ranging from Dormant to Divine grades, defining personal magic and bloodline traits. True Names & Soul Strings: Conceptual designations that reflect an entity's cosmic identity; possessing another's True Name can establish absolute master-servant bonds. Memories & Echoes: Solidified soul-shards manifesting as summonable armaments, charms, or cloned combat entities.
Born into the destitute outskirts of an impoverished subterranean megacity, Sunny grew up cynical, paranoid, and hyper-pragmatic. Surviving his First Trial through pure cunning and ruthlessness, he was granted the Divine Aspect of the dead Shadow God. Driven by an obsession with absolute personal freedom and survival, he harbors an intense hatred of subjugation while concealing deep loyalty toward his closest circle. Throughout his ascent, Sunny navigates the fine line between human morality and the monstrous detachment required to endure the Nightmare Spell. Powers: Divine Aspect: Shadow Slave (later evolved to Lord of Shadows). Commands multiple Shadow Cores, allowing him to split his consciousness into independent shadows, materialize tangible darkness, teleport through shadows (Shadow Step), manifest intangible armor, and transform into mythological horrors (Shadow Incarnation). Possesses the lineage of Weaver (Blood Weave, Bone Weave, Soul Weave, Flesh Weave, Mind Weave), granting him indestructible biology and the sight to manipulate the strings of fate. Flaw: [Clear Conscience] - He is physically and metaphysically incapable of telling a lie. True Name: Lost from Light.
Chapter 1The last scion of the fallen Immortal Flame clan, Nephis is defined by terrifying willpower, emotional detachment, and single-minded vengeance against the Great Clans who assassinated her family. She views the Nightmare Spell as a disease to be eradicated, even if she must incinerate the world to achieve it. Her charisma is magnetic and unyielding, drawing fanatical followers despite her cold pragmatism. Powers: Divine Aspect: Light Bringer (Nephilim heritage). Wields brilliant, pure flame capable of burning through physical matter, mental corruption, and soul defenses, alongside unmatched regenerative capabilities. Master swordswoman trained from childhood in pure lethality. Flaw: Every use of her aspect's healing or destructive fire inflicts agonizing, unmitigated physical pain equivalent to being burned alive. True Name: Changing Star.
Chapter 22Initially introduced as a frail, traumatized girl who lost her sight during the First Trial, Cassie transforms into the most dangerous informational broker and prescient strategist in humanity. Haunted by the horrific futures she perceives, she orchestrates long-term, multi-decade timelines, sacrificing immediate morality to guarantee the survival of her allies. Powers: Sacred Aspect: Dusk Guide / Clairvoyant. Can perceive past, present, and branching future timelines, manipulate sensory perceptions, and read the spiritual vibrations of people and environments. Flaw: Total physical blindness. True Name: Song of the Fallen.
Chapter 23Paralyzed in the waking world, Effie embraced the lethal freedom of the Dream Realm with wild, uninhibited joy. Outspoken, hedonistic, and boisterous, she covers deep vulnerability and fear of confinement behind crude humor and gluttony. On the battlefield, she is an unstoppable frontline berserker. Powers: Transcendent Rank warrior. Aspect: Heart of Iron (Physical Enhancement / Titan Strength). Possesses extreme superhuman strength, kinetic force resistance, endless stamina, and shockwave generation. Wields heavy spears, broadshields, and the Memory spear Midnight Shard. Flaw: Insatiable biological hunger; requires monumental amounts of meat and caloric energy to avoid starvation.
Chapter 85A world-famous pop idol on Earth, Kai was cast into the Forgotten Shore where his genuine purity and naive kindness were tested against gruesome reality. Despite the darkness around him, he remains a paragon of empathy, chivalry, and emotional resilience, acting as the moral compass of Sunny's inner circle. Powers: Transcendent Rank marksman. Aspect: Beast Whisperer / Sky Singer. Possesses true flight, superhuman kinetic vision, and acoustic voice commands capable of compelling minds, shattering barriers, or coordinating army-wide communication. Flaw: Incapable of being deceived; instantly detects any lie spoken in his presence.
Chapter 112The disinherited firstborn son of Anvil of Valor, Mordret was sealed away in a soul-prison for years before breaking free. Sociopathic, charming, and unfathomably patient, he views every person in existence as an expendable mirror reflection. He orchestrates realm-spanning massacres purely to destabilize his father's domain and consume souls. Powers: Divine Aspect: Mirror Beast / Prince of Reflections. Can split his soul into multiple autonomous reflections, step into any reflective surface (including eyes and water), and enter soul seas to permanently hijack bodies, abilities, and memories of victims. Flaw: His physical body does not naturally exist outside mirrors; destroying his soul-anchors in the soul sea destroys him permanently.
Chapter 601A hardened slum-born veteran working directly for the human government's elite Awakened defense bureau. Practical, morbidly funny, and battle-hardened, she acts as Sunny's principal mentor regarding real-world military politics and soul warfare. Powers: Saint of the Government. Aspect: Soul Reaper. Her physical attacks completely bypass physical armor, direct tissue, and shields to strike directly at the target's Soul Core, rupturing life force instantly. Flaw: She is biologically dead; her soul core leaks energy continuously, forcing her to constantly slay creatures to harvest soul-essence to stay alive.
Chapter 352Sunny's biological younger sister, adopted by an affluent family in Megacity N5 after Sunny was cast into the slums as an infant. Bright, disciplined, and determined, she trains in swordsmanship outside the Nightmare Spell framework, walking the perilous path of natural awakening. Powers: Natural Awakening practitioner. Master of classical shadow-style swordplay, wilderness survival, and stealth hunting guided secretly by Sunny.
Chapter 2Sovereign ruler of Clan Valor and supreme patriarch of the Western domains. Cold, authoritarian, and absolute, he regards humanity's survival as an engineering problem that only rigid military centralization and ruthless monopolization of power can solve. Powers: Sovereign Rank (Domain of Swords). Commands millions of telekinetic phantom swords, crafts God-tier memories and armaments, and exercises absolute domain suppression over physical steel and cutting concepts.
Chapter 400Sovereign ruler of Clan Song and matriarch of the Eastern dream territory. A chilling, calculating sovereign who views bloodlines and death as raw material for expanding her ever-growing parasitic kingdom. Powers: Sovereign Rank (Domain of Decay & Dead Souls). Controls vast swarms of flesh-eating parasites, reanimates slain Nightmare Creatures into an infinite undead legion, and manipulates soul rot.
Chapter 450Ch. 1 - 21
Sunless is infected by the Nightmare Spell and hurled into a desperate survival trial inside a frozen mountain pass as a temple slave chained to a doomed caravan. Confronting mutating Nightmare Creatures and ruthless slavers, Sunny uses environmental deadfalls and cold execution to slay the Mountain King's larva and sacrifice a dying knight. He manages to outsmart the Hero of the trial, slaying the tyrannical Tyrant to claim the Divine Aspect of Shadow and his True Name, Lost from Light. This bloody debut forces Sunny out of his slum-bound complacency and awakens him into the brutal cosmic order of the Dream Realm.
Ch. 22 - 97
Upon passing through the Gateway, Sunny materializes alone in the Labyrinth of the Forgotten Shore, a cursed ocean bed drowned under caustic, mutagenic black waters every daylight cycle. Forced to survive predatory Fallen abominations and soul-corroding horrors, he forms a fragile alliance with Changing Star Nephis and the blind seer Cassie. Traversing ancient flooded ruins and fighting through subterranean terrors, the small cohort reaches the remnants of humanity barricaded within the Dark City. This arc lays the tactical and emotional foundation of the primary cohort while unveiling the horrifying scope of the Dream Realm's ancient fallen civilizations.
Ch. 98 - 350
Within the crumbling Dark City, Sunny, Nephis, and their expanding band of Awakened confront both the despotic Lord Gunlaug and the looming threat of mass starvation. After overthrowing Gunlaug's tyrannical reign in a bloody civil coup, the cohort rallies hundreds of Sleeper survivors to wage an all-out assault against the nightmarish Crimson Spire to reach the Gateway home. The culminating siege results in catastrophic casualties, Nephis staying behind to hold off the Terror, and Cassie manipulating Sunny's True Name to force him into a permanent master-servant bond with Nephis. Sunny returns to Earth an Ascended Master in status, deeply traumatized, extraordinarily powerful, and consumed by bitterness over his lost freedom.
Ch. 351 - 756
Relocating to the floating archipelago of the Chained Isles, Sunny seeks independence from Great Clan politics by establishing himself as a formidable solo explorer and hunter. He crosses paths with the enigmatic sorcerer Noctis, navigates ancient divine ruins, and breaches a Seed of Nightmare alongside Cassie, Effie, Kai, and the escaped soul-demon Mordret. Traversing the Kingdom of Hope and slaying fallen demigods, Sunny clears the Second Nightmare, ascending to the rank of Master while claiming the lineage pieces of Weaver. This saga solidifies Sunny's reputation across Earth and the Dream Realm as the deadly "Mongrel" and "Master Sunless."
Ch. 757 - 1080
The human government mobilizes a colossal military evacuation across the Southern Quadrant of Earth as a catastrophic Chain of Nightmares breaches reality. Deployed as an Army Master and irregular officer alongside Soul Reaper Jet, Sunny leads desperate civilian defense operations against endless waves of Corrupted, Great, and Titan-class Nightmare Creatures. As the continent collapses under cosmic horrors, civil infrastructure crumbles, and high-ranking Saints perish, Sunny pushes his Shadow Aspect to its absolute physical limits to rescue millions. The sheer scale of death permanently destroys humanity's illusion of terrestrial safety, forcing the Great Clans into an unavoidable war of conquest.
Ch. 1081 - 1589
To achieve Transcendent Saint hood and break free from impending doom, the Cohort plunges into the Great River of Ariel - a massive temporal megastructure holding the mysteries of the Void and the Daemon of Dread. Battling their own corrupted future incarnations, temporal anomalies, and Great Titans across cyclical time loops, Sunny discovers the terrifying reality of the Defilement. In a climactic resolution, Sunny severs his connection to the Nightmare Spell, cutting his own strings of Fate to become completely free of the Shadow Bond at the tragic cost of erasing his existence from the memories of everyone who ever loved him. He emerges as an unbound Saint, completely forgotten by reality.
Ch. 1 - 1
As an unrecorded, identity-less Saint operating under multiple masks - including the enigmatic "Lord of Shadows" - Sunny navigates the total war between Clan Valor and Clan Song across the titan-skeleton continent of Godgrave. Nephis and Sunny align once more in a high-stakes geopolitical war game to conquer Sovereign domains, assassinate tyrannical Monarchs, and prevent humanity's total collapse before the waking world falls. The ongoing clash shifts the axis of cosmic authority, driving mankind toward its ultimate confrontation with the Nightmare Spell.
