Vile Spawn

The Vile Spawn had appeared as a young man, with raven hair that was wild and disheveled, inky-black skin, and eyes that glistened like pieces of precious onyx. A faint smile had been playing on his lips, and his gorgeous face had carried a subtle bird-like quality. He had closely resembled Sunny, almost an exact copy. When observed more deeply, his soul had revealed a boundless sea of tranquil shadow, within which four Supreme Shadow Cores had lain hidden like tenebrous suns, perfectly round and unlike shattered embers. Shadow essence had flowed into him, stolen from Sunny.^[4]

His appearance had not been fixed; his features had shifted fluidly. At a glance, his form had become peculiarly androgynous—his hair growing longer, his stature increasing, and his figure becoming fuller—until he had taken the shape of a young woman in the prime of her youth, bearing exquisite features and a startling resemblance to Nephis. His expressions had been vivid and childlike, often smiling with curiosity, mischief, or wicked delight, sometimes even showing tears and pain when experiencing borrowed flaws. His movements had been bird-like, such as tilting his head in an unnatural manner.^[4]

The Vile Spawn had also assumed entirely different forms, including that of a giant black wolf, or reverted back to Sunny's likeness. His presence had often been accompanied by shadow and darkness, stepping through shadows to relocate instantly, and at times wreathed in annihilating black flames. From his shadow, stolen shades had risen, forming a silent army around him, further emphasizing his nature as a shifting, shadow-bound creature whose form mirrored others while remaining rooted in darkness.^[4]

The Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn is fundamentally different from its progenitor in that it is not complete, but instead a newborn with the capacity to grow, meaning its development requires fuel and catalysts. Despite originally being meant to be born a Great Devil, it manifested as a Supreme Devil, making it unexpectedly powerful.^[6]

Unlike the Thieving Bird, which can steal the sun, the Vile Spawn possesses a far more insidious ability: it steals life itself. It was not the Terror but the Spawn that cleansed the Great River of life, having hunted down the great horrors of the past and killed them, then likewise hunted down the great horrors of the future and killed them, ultimately single-handedly driving Corrupted beings in the Great River to extinction. Victims were found as lifeless corpses with no wounds, no marks, as if their very life had been stolen from them. This reflects its core power: it can sap living beings of their life and absorb it.^[6]

Additionally, it is more dangerous in behavior, as it actively seeks out targets to kill, making it harder to evade than the Thieving Bird, which at least was not actively searching for its prey.^[6]

The Vile Spawn's core power is the ability to steal the lifeforce of others to kill them while augmenting itself.^[4] As a Shadow Creature, this ability extended beyond ordinary lifeforce to include shadow essence, enabling it to directly affect beings like Sunny by siphoning his power. It also drained essence from other creatures, weakening them in the process while empowering itself.^[4]

• Another of its abilities was movement akin to Shadow Step, as it could step through the shadows and instantly relocate, appearing far from its previous position or in advantageous locations during combat. This granted it extreme mobility and made it difficult to strike, as it could evade attacks and reposition itself in an instant.^[4]
• Its third power resembled both the [Formless] Ability and aspects of shadow mastery, allowing it to shadow other beings and wield their powers as its own. By doing so, the Vile Spawn could replicate not only appearances but also abilities, effectively becoming as strong as you were, or at least capable of all the same things.^[4]
  • It demonstrated this by copying Nephis's [Soul Flame] and unleashing it as a storm of black fire, and even inheriting her Flaw along with the borrowed power. This mimicry extended further into full transformation, as it could alter its form to resemble others or even assume entirely different shapes, such as transforming into a giant black wolf.^[4]
  • In addition, the Vile Spawn could generate devastating black flames after copying abilities, producing an annihilating ocean of harrowing black flames hot enough to incinerate air itself and cause destructive implosions. These flames were powerful enough to completely destroy shades rather than merely vanquish them.^[4]
• Finally, the Vile Spawn could steal and usurp control over shades. When it destroyed them, it stole it from Sunny, adding them to its own forces. These stolen shades could then rise from its shadow, forming a silent army under its command.^[4]