Vile Spawn/History

The Vile Spawn is the offspring or fledgling spawn of the Vile Thieving Bird, which had remained in the Tomb of Ariel after escaping the Nightmare, choosing instead to make a nest. It was likely there to nurture its fledgling spawn. The Vile Spawn had previously been a Great Devil on the Forgotten Shore, still in an unhatched state inside an egg, which Sunny had destroyed. After this, the shade of the Vile Spawn spent numerous years in the dark flames of his soul, until the Thieving Bird later stole it back at the same moment it stole his fate (refer to Chapter 1580).^[3]

Sunny's seventh Shadow was the Vile Spawn, the fledgling left behind by the Vile Thieving Bird for Sunny to look after. It had become Sunny's new Shadow after the Thieving Bird departed, possibly because its parent judged that it was ready to leave the nest and spread its wings, or because it wanted the Lord of Shadows to teach the young Devil how to become a proper Shadow Creature. The Vile Spawn often assumed Sunny's own pale form, wearing a bright smile that appeared chilling and sinister. It had no true shape of its own, being a true shadow capable of taking the form of anything it chose to be cast by. By absorbing another being's life force, it could completely transform into that being's shape, as it had done with Sunny, Nephis, and the Wolf, even inheriting the Flaw of the form it copied.^[4]

The Vile Spawn possessed four dark embers burning in a vast and lightless void within its soul, similar to Sunny's other Shadows except for Slayer. It was described as incomplete, though Sunny did not know how to remedy this condition. Among its abilities was the power to steal the life force of living beings and add it to its own, an attack Sunny identified as a form of spirit attack rather than a soul or physical attack. This ability was difficult to defend against, limited only by the Vile Spawn's own capacity, as stronger spirits and boundless vitality could only delay being drained while allowing retaliation. It could also shift effortlessly between intangible and solid states through its own forms of Shadow Step and Shadow Incarnation, and it appeared to possess a rudimentary but instinctive form of Shadow Manifestation, allowing it to conjure simple garments from shadows.^[4]

As Sunny's Shadow, the Vile Spawn could no longer kill him, and the shades it had stolen, including the Wolf, were returned to Sunny's control. Despite its dangerous and unsettling nature, it was also a Supreme Devil, making it a powerful addition to Sunny's command. The Vile Spawn's speech was limited, most often repeating Vile!" though it later demonstrated it knew at least one other word: "Damn!"^[4]