Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

After gathering his thoughts and summoning the Voidfang, Cade descended the coral pillar in a swift motion. Teacher Julius had taught both him and Sunny the basics of all the essential forms of traversal. Climbing and descending was one of them.

And besides, the gauntleted fingers of his Awakened Armor of the Sixth Tier dug into the red coral easily enough. So, his descent down into the Crimson Labyrinth was rather uneventful. Exactly as he had expected it to be. 

Cade knew what to expect when he reached solid ground. After all, he had only read Shadow Slave, what, like fifteen or twenty times and the Forgotten Shore had been one of his favorite arcs in the story.

Sadly, his expectations didn't quite manage to hide his surprise and wonder these days. 

Cade stood in the middle of the labyrinth. He stared into its dizzying expanse. The crimson coral pillars loomed high above him, their jagged forms stretching like the claws of some forgotten titan reaching towards the sky.

Cade had read Sunny's description of the labyrinth, but that did little to prepare him for the sheer scale of it. 

The air was heavy, filled with the faint tang of salt and the earthy, metallic scent of coral. A muted silence blanketed the space, broken only by the occasional creak of coral under unseen pressure and the faint drip of water seeping from its crimson walls.

Cade tightened his grip on the black blade and took a step forward. As he moved, the boots of his armor crunched on the uneven floor. 

The path ahead was broad at first, flanked by massive coral pillars whose surfaces were riddled with jagged protrusions and strange, bulbous growths. The shapes of the coral were chaotic, as though it had grown without purpose or design, yet they carried an undeniable, eerie beauty.

Sunlight filtered through small gaps above, casting the labyrinth in a shifting dance of red and black shadows. 

Cade turned a corner. He wasn't too worried about encountering the Carapace Scavengers. After all, they were but mere Awakened Beasts. And between him being a Battle Master and possessing an Innate Ability, an Aspect Ability and a Flaw— all weirdly suited to combat, he felt quite confident about being able to take on even several of them with relative ease. 

In fact, he was more worried about running into Cassie, Nephis or Sunny in this strange place. But at the moment, he decided not to worry too much about that either. That was because all three of them had no idea what this place held and naturally, they would not be so carefree regarding their approach to enter the Crimson Labyrinth.

For example, he knew for a fact that it had taken Sunny two days and two whole nights in this place to even make a decision to descend from his safe spot atop the Knight's statue. 

But he also knew that Sunny had started to explore the vicinity of the statue, using his shadow, from the very first day. And since it was almost afternoon, the Gloomy shadow was probably wandering around the Knight's statue, trying to get a measure of its surroundings. 

That's why Cade decided to move in the opposite direction to that of the statue. He could still see the massive figure of the decapitated Knight from atop his own coral branch, but the distance between them was well out of range of Sunny's present level of Shadow Control.

Still, Cade decided not to take any chances. He would not reveal himself to the trio unless absolutely necessary, which he doubted would be the case. 

As he turned another corner, the path narrowed abruptly, forcing him to turn to his side between two towering walls of coral. The air grew cooler here, the scent of the sea stronger.

He paused and glanced back over his shoulder. The entrance was no longer visible; he had only ventured a few dozen paces, yet it already felt as though he had been swallowed by the labyrinth. 

Then, he heard a sound. 

Cade crouched low among the twisted red coral. The Voidfang glinted faintly in the dim light filtering through the labyrinth. The air was unnervingly still, but the faint scraping of segmented legs against stone echoed through the crimson maze.

It was close. Too close. 

The first thing Cade saw as it emerged from behind a jagged spire was the gleam of its chitinous armor. The creature was grotesque, a walking amalgamation of nightmares.

Its eight scythe-like legs clattered against the ground, sharp enough to gouge deep trenches into the stone with each step. Its upper torso, vaguely humanoid but grotesquely deformed, twisted unnaturally as its bulbous head scanned the area. Two narrow eye slits glowed faintly, and the viscous mandibles around its gaping mouth clicked hungrily. 

This was a Carapace Scavenger— an Awakened Beast. 

Cade's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. Weak or not, that thing is gonna kill me if I give it half a chance.

He could have stayed hidden for a while longer, and charged the Scavenger from a blind spot. That would've been a much safer way to approach this situation.

But instead, Cade chose to confront the Beast directly. He wanted to get a measure of how capable the corrupted soldiers of the Carapace Legion actually were. After all, he would be staying on their turf for quite some time.

So, as he moved into its line of sight, the Scavenger let out a guttural screech, its pincers snapping with enough force to crack bone. It charged, faster than Cade had expected. The scythes of its legs slammed into the ground with each stride. 

Cade sidestepped the initial strike and the first pincer slashed through the air where his head had been a moment ago. The second pincer followed immediately, forcing Cade to duck low. He rolled to the side and came to his feet with ease as his Attribute guided him, his sword raised defensively. 

The Scavenger twisted unnaturally, its torso rotating farther than anything with a spine had any right to. It lashed out with a foreleg. The scythe-like tip sliced toward Cade's midsection. He parried with the flat of his blade, sparks flying as chitin met steel. 

"All legs and no fucking brains," Cade muttered under his breath, sidestepping another strike. But he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate it.

For all its grotesque appearance, the beast moved with an unnerving precision, as though each step and swing were calculated. 

Cade circled the abomination and watched for an opening. Its pincers were massive and its legs gave it an advantage in reach, but its bulk slowed its turns. As it lunged again, Cade ducked low and darted to its side. He slashed his blade across one of its hind legs. 

The Scavenger screeched and azure blood sprayed from the wound, but it barely faltered. It spun with surprising speed, forcing Cade to leap back as one of its legs cleaved through the space he had occupied. 

"Okay, tough guy," he muttered. "Let's see how well you handle this." 

Cade rushed in, feinting to the left before darting right. The creature took the bait— well, of course it did; it was just a mindless Beast, after all. The Scavenger's pincers snapped towards empty air.

Cade ducked under its guard and his sword sliced upward in a brutal arc that cleaved through one of its legs. The limb fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Azure blood pooled around the disconnected appendage. 

The beast staggered, its balance momentarily thrown off. Cade didn't give it time to recover. He surged forward, his blade flashing as he aimed for the exposed joint where its torso met its carapace.

The strike bit deep. It cracked the chitin and drew another ear-splitting screech from the creature. 

The Scavenger retaliated with a wild swing of its pincer, forcing Cade to backpedal. He narrowly avoided the attack, the wind from the swing brushing his face. Another leg came down toward him, but this time he was ready.

Cade twisted his body, letting the blade of his sword guide the strike away before countering with a thrust that pierced the creature's armored chest. 

The beast reeled, and its movements grew frantic. Cade pressed the advantage, dodging a desperate swipe from one of its pincer before stepping in close. With a powerful swing, he drove his sword through the base of its grotesque head. 

The creature shuddered. Its mandibles clicked weakly as its body spasmed. Cade yanked his sword free, azure blood spraying in an arc. The Scavenger collapsed, its legs folding under it and as its body went still, the voice of the Nightmare Spell spoke: 

[You have slain an Awakened Beast, Carapace Scavenger.] 

[... The Darkness within you takes root.] 

Huh, Cade thought, smiling darkly. That's actually pretty cool. I was curious as to how the Spell would announce the kill for me. Shame I didn't get a Memory though. 

With that thought, he moved on to harvest the soul shard. After he did, he shattered it and felt a trickle of strength ignite his soul.

Yup, pretty good, he thought, making his gauntleted hand into a fist. Let's continue and hunt a couple more...