Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2947

Ananke possessed a curious Aspect that was almost entirely benign and Utility-oriented, but could become incredibly devastating if a certain condition was met.

Her Dormant Ability was quite simple: it allowed her to manifest her soul essence as matter. It was similar to Shadow Manifestation in many ways, with the main difference being that the source of manifested matter was innate to Ananke, not external like the shadows Sunny used. That was where the silver strings had come from — they were Ananke's soul essence given material form.

As Ananke had told them, the strings of silver silk were the most natural form her essence took and the very first one she learned to use. Later, as her skill as an Awakened improved and her powers grew, she became quite adept at manifesting her essence in all kinds of shapes and forms. From fishing lines to tools and weapons, she could create almost anything.

Most importantly, the matter created from her essence maintained its form permanently — unless she wished otherwise.

So, while she did create essence tools at times, for the sake of convenience, what she mostly used her Dormant Ability for was creating materials for the craftsmen of the River People to use. Metal, stone, silk, and even soil... needless to say, her Aspect had been a blessing to those who lived on the Great River, where all resources were scarce.

That Ability had only become more precious as Ananke rose in Rank, of course, because the innate quality of the matter created from her essence rose too. And that was where her ability differed from Shadow Manifestation — unlike Sunny's manifested shadows, whose quality degraded when he made the manifestation permanent, things Ananke created always remained the same. Actually, Ananke's Dormant Ability was difficult to discuss without mentioning her Awakened Ability, because even she was at times unclear about where one ended and the other one began.

Her Awakened Ability allowed Ananke to transform matter — inanimate matter, at least. Like an alchemist capable of turning lead into gold, she could change any element into a different one. She was able to change the material composition of her manifested essence, as well, which was what allowed her to use her Dormant Ability so flexibly.

The combination of these two Abilities made Ananke a perfect mender, as well. She could infuse a broken thing with her essence, fusing the broken parts together while replacing the lost ones with essence manifested to flawlessly match the material of whatever it was she mended.

As Ananke told them, mending things had been one of her main occupations, as well as what she was most known for outside of creating soil for the gardens of Weave to grow upon, stone for the builders to use in construction, and silk for sails and garments to be woven from.

Her Ascended Ability was, in a sense, a continuation of that skill she had developed. It allowed her to infuse both inanimate objects and living beings with her essence, perfecting and improving them — very much like the rebirth Awakened underwent when reaching a new Rank, albeit on a smaller scale.

The soil Ananke infused with her essence was more fertile, the trees she nurtured bore more fruit, and the people she blessed were both stronger and healthier, their minds clearer.

The blessing persisted until the infused essence was exhausted, which took a long while — but even after it was gone, the items and beings who had received it continued to enjoy the benefits of having been transformed into a better version of themselves.

So far, Ananke's Aspect seemed purely constructive and nurturing in nature — and it was... except for when her Transformation Ability was concerned.

She did not mention how exactly her Transcendent form looked, but the effect of her Transformation was drastic. Because when Ananke used her Transcendent Ability, the effect of the other three Abilities was reversed.

Instead of manifesting her essence into matter, she could disintegrate matter to replenish her essence.

Instead of infusing things with soul essence to enhance them, she could siphon their essence to enhance herself instead.

Instead of changing the material composition of inanimate objects, she could change the material composition of living things — in other words, she could gaze upon someone to turn their flesh to stone, touch them to turn their bodies into gold, or even wound them to turn their blood into acid...

All the while weakening them by draining their souls to heal and empower herself, and replenishing her soul essence by destroying matter around her.

Needless to say, that Transformation Ability seemed quite sinister, which was why Ananke did not use it often.

As for her Supreme Ability... she wasn't very clear as to what it was capable of, since she had no Domain and no subjects. In theory, gaining access to a vast sea of spirit essence could make her other Aspect Abilities drastically more potent, as well as grant the benefit of her blessing to an entire land she ruled or to an entire people who followed her.

Apart from that...

Looking at the silk thread Ananke offered him, Sunny slid his fingers across its smooth surface.

‘Essence silk...’

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