A young man with black hair and grey eyes was walking through snow that rose to his knees.
As far as he could see there was an eternal blizzard of endless snow.
The cold didn't dissipate instead it clung to the skin ruthlessly.
The young man was Isaac and he was in Antarctica.
—FLASHBACK—
Two men were walking side-by-side.
One of the men was a tall and gaunt seemingly in his late fifties.
Although his skin was showing signs of aging, his hair remained perfectly black, like the feathers of a raven.
The man had sharp features, a piercing gaze, and a stern demeanor, a person used to both wielding power and bearing responsibility.
This man was Wake of Ruin.
A Saint who worked for the government.
And beside him as a younger man.
This man had black hair that was deep and dark contrasting greatly with his cream white skin.
He had grey eyes that were both cold and sharp.
His face was a mask of indifference, and his features were noble and refined.
This was Isaac.
The Saint and Master walked side-by-side.
"I highly recommend you take a moment and look for a team to take with you into Antarctica".
Wake of Ruin spoke.
Isaac remained silent for a few moments before responding.
"I have no need for subordinates".
Isaac paused for a moment then quickly added.
"My Aspect is more useful when I'm alone".
Wake of Ruin was silent for a few moments before nodding.
"Although I am reluctant, an opportunity like this doesn't come out every day".
As the two figures walked, they slowly reached the door that opened automatically.
As they stepped into the new room, they saw multiple computers, each screen depicting a different place within Antarctica.
"As per the contract that you signed, you will be given free rein within Antarctica as long as it doesn't harm civilians or government agents".
Wake of Ruin then turn towards one of the screens.
"This sector of Antarctica will be given to you. Of course, you will not be the only one there. There will be other government agents doing their job there as well".
Wake of Ruin turned to Isaac.
" Any Nightmare Creature corpse you kill will be yours as well as the Memories that are obtained".
Wake of Ruin paused before continuing.
"A quarter of the soul shards you obtained will be given to the government. Of course we understand you may not be able to carry them all as such we will give you a storage Memory".
Extending his hand Wake of Ruin transferred the Memory.
Isaac nodded.
—END—
Isaac sighed.
Then a noise suddenly caught his attention.
Isaac then looked down at his shadow.
"It's cute that it thinks I can't perceive it".
Something launched from beneath the snow.
A vile and grotesque test creature that seems to resemble a twisted version of a horse and bull mixture lunges at him.
It lowered its long neck, positioning its horns to pierce his body.
With the horns never touched Isaac.
Isaac neatly jumped out of the way before quickly rising to his feet.
As the abomination's back was still turned towards him, he leaped forward, his blade slicing in an arc.
Sadly, the creature was not slain by one attack.
After realizing its horns did not pierce anything. It had quickly begun to turn around.
That single turn around, allowed his attack, which should have severed its neck to miss.
It did not leave unscathed.
A deep gash marked its side.
The Nightmare Creature lunged once more.
But this time Isaac was ready.
He ran towards the demented creature before sliding down allowing him to dodge the horns.
He then grabbed the horns as he twisted his body allowing himself to sit on its back.
Isaac raised his blade before piercing the neck where the spine connected to the head.
The abomination suddenly dropped and became paralyzed.
"It's as good as dead now huh? What do you think?".
Isaac spoke as he then waited for a response from his shadow.
Nothing ever came.
Isaac then got up and pierced its eyes at an angle that allows his blade to ram into the brain finally killing the creature.
[You have slain—]
Isaac didn't care much for the creature's name or Rank for that matter.
He already knew that it was an Awakened Beast.
How did you know? You might ask.
It was simple yet weirdly complicated.
After becoming a Master and being connected to the Nightmare Spell again he had discovered that he had obtained a unique Attribute that was only seen once in the entire novel.
At least according to what he read.
[Shadow Sworn].
Isaac had already hypothesized that the reason for this Attribute was due to his long-term [Sacrifice] which gave him an affinity to shadows.
So else tried something completely ridiculous.
He tried to mimic Shadow Dance.
He could already vaguely perceive the shadows of both living beings and objects with near-perfect accuracy.
So he tried to build upon his meta knowledge and Attribute foundation.
Of course, he didn't have the Spell to tell him if he advanced in Shadow Dance nor did he have Soul Serpent to evolve, either.
Of course, all that changed when he was able to perceive souls.
Or more specifically Soul Cores.
He was quite pleased with himself.
He of course understood [Blood Weave] helped greatly in this achievement but that didn't make it any less impressive.
Of course, Isaac wasn't satisfied with just seeing souls.
Sadly he couldn't transform into a shadow and take a new shape but he could at least progress as far as he could.
That's why he had begun to speak to shadows.
His own mostly.
Of course, he never got an answer.
He just wanted to see if he could naturally increase his affinity to shadows.
That is how Attributes work.
At least he hoped.