Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Turning around, Cade noticed that he had been sleeping dangerously close to the edge. In fact, he was lucky he hadn't fallen off the edge into the depths below.

He scoffed. As if [Fated] will ever let me have such a quick and peaceful death... he thought bitterly, looking around the platform which had supported him through the night.

The coral pillar whose branch he had been sprawled on was massive, but the branch itself wasn't all that. It was barely three or four meters wide.

He sighed lightly, coming to terms with the fact that he had once again been thrown into a different world. Shaking his head, he started walking to a better spot. 

Cade moved to the center, from where it would be the easiest to climb down in haste if he needed to and sat down on the coral, legs crossed. He took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts. 

"Alright," he said to himself, "So, first I have to think about last night. I used my Aspect Ability for the first time." His lips curled upward and despite the strain from last night, he smiled darkly.

Because that! That had been freakin' awesome. He had already guessed that his Ability would be quite powerful, but that... that was unlike anything he had expected.

He breathed out True Darkness! How cool was that?!

Well, I am an Abyssbreather, so...

Not to mention the fact that within that little bubble of Darkness, he was essentially omniscient. The Darkness took his ability to see, yes, but it provided him with something far superior.

He could sense everything in that small realm of Darkness— every ripple, every movement, every breath of every living thing; even the tiniest flicker of the tiniest being was not hidden from him.

He thought of the possible ways he could utilize such an ability in the Crimson Labyrinth.

There was obviously more to the Unlit Mist than was apparent at first glance. For example, it not only enhanced Cade's own senses, but it also blinded his enemies as well. With such an awesome Ability, he'd be able to take on droves of Nightmare Creatures at once.

A nigh-omniscient Battle Master, moving through the Darkness like a wraith, surrounded by nothing but disoriented, blind and mindless monsters? Now, that was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Damn, I sure am one scary guy...

In the next moment, he summoned his runes: 

Name: Arcadius. 

True Name: Shroudkeeper. 

Rank: Dreamer. 

Soul Core: Dormant. 

Soul Fragments: [27/1000] 

Memories: [Arcane Keystone], [Radiant Eye], [Voidfang], [Flameheart Forge], [Ebonveil Plate]. 

Echoes: — 

Attribute: [Spawn of the Forgotten], [Fated], [Battle Master], [Otherwalker]. 

Aspect: [Abyssbreather]. 

Aspect Rank: Divine. 

Aspect Abilities: [Unlit Mist] 

Darkness Saturation: [35%] 

Hmmm, it's just as I thought, he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He had summoned his runes to take a look at the last string in particular, which showed how full his reserves of True Darkness were. Last time he'd checked, the runes had shown him [40%], he was sure of it.

But now... now they only showed [35%]. Since last night was the first time he had used his Ability, he was convinced that breathing out such a vast amount of Darkness and then taking it back in, had costed him some of it in the process. 

I went all out last night, though, he reminded himself. I wonder if I'll be able to control how much Darkness I breathe out.

He paused his train of thought for a moment but eventually, he just shrugged. Only one way to find out, I guess. 

He took a deep breath and then, reaching within for the reserve of True Darkness inside his soul, he exhaled slowly, trying to control the amount of black mist trickling down through his lips. He did better than he had expected to do.

The Darkness obeyed him. It came out as a trickle from the corners of his lips. As soon as it separated from his mouth, it began to circle him. He commanded it to come up to one of his hands and it obeyed. He held up one hand and the small cloud of Darkness moved around it, slipping in and out through his fingers. 

He played with it for a bit, but soon found himself frowning. The tiny cloud of Darkness was growing smaller. It was reducing in size— slowly but surely. He inhaled it quickly before it could grow any smaller— or worse, disappear altogether— summoning it back into its vessel inside his soul. 

There was something else, too— his Flaw.

He had expected to start fuming— like he'd done last night— as soon as he called upon the Darkness, but nothing of the sort had happened. Sure, he felt a small tug at the back of his mind but he banished it easily enough.

Where was the murderous frenzy the Spell had said he'd slide into? 

After giving it some thought, he concluded that the amount of rage he felt was directly proportional to the extent to which he used his powers. After all, last night, when he'd gone all out, he had almost turned to jump back into the depths of the Dark Sea to hunt a Corrupted abomination, despite merely being a Sleeper.

Last night, he had felt true, real rage. But his survival instinct had kept him alive, because deep down he knew that he stood no chance against a creature three whole Ranks above him. That's why he'd been able to turn back, leaving the harrowing abomination behind. 

However, if it had been another Sleeper or an Awakened abomination, he would have attacked without any hesitation. He was sure of it. 

He found himself oddly relieved by the fact that he had chosen to distance himself from Sunny, Nephis and Cassie. If they'd somehow happened to become the recipients of his rage, it would not have ended well for them.

However, at the same, he was also troubled.

This is gonna be a problem, he thought, a frown creasing his features. This way, I'll always have to hold back. I will never be able to realize my full potential.

But there was a bright side to this as well. If the intensity of his rage was proportional to the amount of Darkness he breathed out, then it meant that he would slowly be able to build up resistance against his Flaw. It would take time, yes, but fortunately, Cade had nothing better to do.

Still, the fact that he would not be able to unleash his full power— at least not if he wanted to remain sane while doing it— stung more than it should have. 

He contemplated this dilemma for a while, but discarded it quickly enough. Now was not a time to worry about that. He had more pressing matters to think about. Like what had scared the Corrupted leviathan away from him? 

He knew the answer to this question, of course, but it was still a little hard to wrap his head around it. It had been fear— Arcadius's fear, to be exact. Cade had known about his Innate Ability for a while now, but he'd never given it much thought. 

He focused on the runes representing his Aspect: 

Aspect: [Abyssbreather]. 

Aspect Rank: Divine. 

Aspect Description: [You are a fragment of the abyss, torn from a formless expanse and thrust into a reality where you do not belong. Your being, an anomaly of void and nothingness, defies the rules of this world. Neither shadow nor substance, your form frays at the edges, a wound in reality itself. The mist that accompanies you carries the weight of the void, seeping into the minds of those who behold you— an echo of something vast and silent, waiting to be unbound.] 

Geez... I'll never get used to reading this crap, Cade thought, a slight shiver running down his spine. He always got a little uncomfortable whenever he read the description of his Aspect. Simply put, the description of his Aspect was just too creepy and ominous.

Cade was a cheerful guy, after all, and he'd expected his Aspect to be something reflecting that bright nature of his. But instead, he had realized an entirely different Aspect.

He was not going to complain, though. After all, his Aspect seemed to be extraordinarily powerful. And in the Dream Realm, strength was the prerequisite for survival.

In any case, he hadn't focused on these runes to take a look at his Aspect. He wanted to check the description of his Innate Ability:

Innate Ability: [Echo of the Abyss]. 

Ability Description: [The weight of dread takes root where it does not belong— within you, an anomaly to your nature. It festers, alien and misplaced, until it cannot remain. Like smoke, it escapes your grasp; its absence a curse for your foe.] 

He had come to know about this strange Ability during his Appraisal after conquering his First Nightmare. He hadn't thought much of it. He figured that if he was confronting something that could inspire such dread inside of him, it probably wouldn't matter if he was afraid or not.

But he realized now, that he had interpreted the last part of the description incorrectly. He'd thought that after the fear had escaped him, he would grow more determined and tenacious in the face of his opponent. And that determination and tenacity would be their curse. 

However, he had been wrong. His Innate Ability seemed to be something much more insidious. It not only drained him of his fear but it also transferred that fear directly to his opponents. That's why, when he had been in the clutches of the harrowing depth-dweller, afraid for his life, his fear had seeped from him into the Corrupted abomination, forcing it to retreat.

It was actually an incredibly useful Ability. 

Well, I'll be damned... he thought, smiling wryly. This Aspect of mine just keeps on surprising me.  

From what he understood about Innate Abilities, he deduced that these were passive Abilities that always remained active— so long as specific conditions were met, of course. In Sunny's case, the condition was someone speaking his True Name in his presence. In Cade's case, that condition was simply him being afraid.

So, based off on that, Cade concluded that he would be able to inspire dread even among the most terrifying of his opponents— granted that he would need to be terrified himself first. 

He frowned slightly. Isn't this a paradox? he thought, confused. Because now that I know that by being afraid, the most dangerous abominations facing me will retreat, wouldn't that make me... not afraid? And then, the abominations won't retreat. And then, they'll rip me to shreds. 

That did make some crude kind of sense, but an overwhelming emotion like fear wasn't so easily manipulated. While facing off against abominations well out of his league, Cade would feel terror no matter how overpowered his Abilities were. And that terror would be one of his allies.

At least, that's what he hoped would happen. But since he wasn't planning on facing off against such abominations anytime soon, he decided to let it go. 

After all, he had other matters to attend to. Like finding himself some food, collecting some Memories and moving on to spy on the trio.