Shadow Bond (A Shadow Slave Fanfiction)

Its Humble Servant

Wyatt POV

'Oh my tree'
'Oh my lovely tree, how wonderful it is to see you in person. Your most humble follower wishes to help you. I will rid you of that leech that resides in your branches. Please just let me climb up.'
After seemingly waiting for a response for about twenty seconds, even though he only said it in his head, Wyatt comes to a conclusion.
'Aha, I know, the tree must want me to figure out what it wants on my own, it's clearly giving me the great honor of... becoming its priest!'
While Wyatt was partially protected by the effects of the Puppeteer's Shroud, along with the amplified shadow that was augmenting the armor, his almost complete submission allowed the Soul Devouring Tree to quickly gut his critical thinking abilities. Wyatt only had the mental acuity of a child in his current state, but it was alright, he just needed to know the bare minimum to eventually escape, not as though he was considering escape at the moment.
'First things first, I need to climb up there and then break the egg.'
'[Hey Sunny, I need the body!!]'
'(Is that you? Stop just popping up like that.)'
'[Oh, you're speaking quite flippantly with me, don't you know my title, high priest of the blessed tree.]'
'(Huh, a title? Is that your true name or something?)'
'[Of course not, although I wish it were. My true name is Fate Breaker.]'
This new information gives Sunny pause.
'(Wait wait wait, you're telling me you had a true name this whole time? Do you not know what that means, they're considered very important due to how rare it is to have one.)'
'[Supposedly it's rare, although based on what I've seen it's pretty common, three out of four people have one, she's Changing Star, I'm Fate Breaker, and you're Lost From Light. Although they do have some actual uses I guess.]'
'(First of all, don't so much as say that name, even telepathically. Second, I don't think that's how the percentages work. And third, what do you mean 'actual' uses, how are true names useful?)'
'[Huh, you said true names are useful? That's interesting, I'll think about it.]'
'(Yes, I will too. Hmm, lost from light, lost from light, lost from light, maybe there's a use hidden somewhere.)'
'[I can still hear you. And what about the body?]'
'(You can use it, I still need to think.)'
'[I also need the blade you got from the demon.]'
'(How did you know I got a blade?)'
'[Because I do obviously.]'
'(Right... just take what you need.)' Sunny says while rubbing his temples.
Sunny then summons the shard and relinquishes control to Wyatt, much to Wyatt's pleasure.
Wyatt then spends a few minutes trying to find a path up the tree before finding several clusters of branches in a small area. Due to how inconspicuous the apparent nest is, he figures it's no wonder that Sunny didn't find it until after a month.
Wyatt then starts climbing up the tree with no fear whatsoever even as he reaches a height of over one hundred meters.
A fervent glee can be seen in his gaze the higher he goes, although this glee isn't from getting closer to obtaining Weavers Lineage, but rather from the feeling that he will serve his tree well by getting rid of the threat that a Great Devil inherently poses.
Reaching the branch cluster that holds the nest of the Vile Thieving Bird, Wyatt gets closer and closer to find out whether or not getting too close will cause his soul to be ripped out by the egg.
He starts to touch it when he finds there to be no negative effects to standing next to the egg, and while he can feel a slight tug, beckoning him closer, he feels neither weaker nor less whole than he was moments prior.
This confirms his previous theory that the egg requires either some kind of soul essence, or at least a soul more nourishing than his poor starved soul could offer.
Pulling out his weapon, he attempts to stab the egg only for the blade to bounce off of it after leaving a barely visible dent.
'How can I give my blade the necessary strength to cut through such a tough shell... I know!! By hitting it even harder, over and over again.'
Wyatt prepares to strike again and this time hits it with everything he has, and then does it again, and again, and again. He does it dozens, and then hundreds of times until finally, a thin crack can be seen extending through the wall of the shell.
With one last well placed strike, the crack becomes a gaping hole and a voice resounds inside his head, sounding almost as gleeful as he is.
[You have slain a Great Devil, Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn.]
[You have received a Memory: Drop of Ichor.]
'That's nice. Now the tree can rest easy.'
Seconds later a startled Sunny comes to talk to Wyatt.
'(Hey! What the hell did you just kill?! I got 64 shadow fragments instantly!)'
'[A Great Devil, isn't it obvious? It's not like I can kill a Cursed Monster or an Unholy Beast.]'
'(Even a Great Devil should be impossible to kill, especially for you, you haven't absorbed a single soul shard.)'
'[I thought I told you there was a reason for that, and it was to kill this thing. Damned bird eats only the tastiest souls, which means mine wasn't on the menu.]'
'(I won't even ask how you knew that, but besides the supreme soul shards, did you get anything.)'
'[Now that you mention it I did get a consumable memory. I think it can upgrade some attributes.]'
'(Stop, your explanation is activating your flaw. I trust you enough, so as long as you think it'll help, you can do what you need.)'
After Sunny said that, a weight that was on Wyatt's shoulder suddenly disappeared, not as though Wyatt remembered why he would be so guilt ridden in the first place.
'[Alright! I'll eat it then.]'
Wyatt then looks at his list of Memories.