Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

As Cade slept atop the jagged coral branch, the Dark Sea around him swelled with a restless energy. He awoke to the first howling gusts. A low roar was building in the distance like an approaching beast. 

The wind roared like a living thing, whipping against him with relentless force. Rain pelted down in icy sheets. It clattered against his armor like shards of glass. Each crack of thunder echoed through the vast, empty void, and the coral beneath him trembled with the weight of crashing waves.

Cade huddled in the grooves of the branch, gritting his teeth as the cold seeped into his very bones. 

"Goddamn storm..." he cursed, bracing himself against another blast of wind. The rain was relentless, the kind that didn't just fall but hurled itself at you from every direction. The wind was nothing less. It surged and very nearly threw him from his precarious perch.

Cade couched low on the platform, his gauntleted fingers digging into the rough surface of the coral. The boots of his armor slid against the slick surface, but he held on, refusing to let the storm claim him. 

The sea beneath him was a roiling abyss. Towering waves surged upward, their crests crowned with pale foam that seemed to glow in the intermittent flashes of lightning. Twice, the spray of a crashing wave drenched him entirely. The icy seawater seeped through the plates of his armor, biting into his bones and leaving him shivering. The relentless roar of the wind drowned out every sound except for the occasional thunderclap that shook the very air. 

The hours dragged on in a blur of tension and endurance. Cade's muscles burned as he pressed himself tighter to the coral; his body became a part of the labyrinth now, as immovable as its ancient structure. 

***

When dawn finally broke, the storm's fury began to wane. Its howls were reduced to mournful whispers. The Dark Sea surged, retreating back into the abyss.

Cade peeled himself from the coral with a tired groan. His muscles were trembling with the weight of exhaustion. His entire body ached, both because of his battle with the five Scavengers and from braving the storm. 

No use complaining about it, he thought to himself, straightening slowly with a groan and looking out over the labyrinth.

"Today... today, it starts in earnest," he muttered, gazing out in the direction of the Knight's statue.

He knew that today was the day Sunny would finally descend from his safe spot atop the statue. He would kill a Carapace Scavenger for the first time and also, meet Nephis and Cassie. So, today was the day that it would actually start for the main character. 

Cade had some stuff to get done himself today.

Firstly, he would need to hunt some more Scavengers. He'd already made it his priority to form his Monster core as quickly as he possibly could. It was the only way he would be able to get significantly stronger in this place, after all.

Secondly, he had to test out his two new Memories: the Crimson Guide and the Coral Relic, and find out exactly what they could do. He was rather excited about this part.

He knew that Sunny would not be returning to the Knight's statue tonight. Instead, he would be going with the two girls to their camp atop the coral mound. After spending the night there, all three of them would start towards the Knight's statue tomorrow morning. They would reach and climb up the statue just in the nick of time, a few moments before the sunset. 

Right, Cade thought. He was quite pleased with himself for remembering the timeline so well. Well, it was mostly to be expected, considering that he had read the novel close to twenty times.

This was very important. He had to precisely track the cohort's progress if he wished to avoid them successfully. 

But he still wanted to keep tabs on them and never let them out of his sight. He could have started towards the Dark City even yesterday. He knew a couple of landmarks that would have guided him. For example, there was the Flat Hill, the Bone Ridge, the Ashen Barrow... that damned tree. 

Gods, I hope I don't fall prey to that monstrosity, he thought, feeling a tinge of terror, which quickly dissipated. It seemed that his Innate Ability was hell-bent on him never being able to feel fear. 

He didn't start towards the Dark City immediately, though. There were several reasons for that.

Firstly, he had no way of crossing the colossal crater that separated the Ashen Barrow from the Dark City. The cohort had formed a makeshift boat out of Demon bones and carapace. However, Cade had no way of knowing how to do it himself.

Sure, he could face the Carapace Demon and try his luck against it. He had confidence in his Ability and himself that he would be able to take it down... somehow. It would take time and effort, yes, but he was mostly sure that he would be able to pull it off.

After all, he had already killed an Awakened Demon once and that too without possessing a weapon of any sort and without even having such amazing Abilities. Granted he hadn't the slightest idea as to how that had happened. It was most likely a fluke that he had somehow managed to survive but still, it filled him with a little bit of extra confidence. 

But even after killing the Carapace Demon, he would not be able to fashion himself a boat. He was not a Legacy. Hell, he wasn't even from this world. What business did a teenager like him have, knowing how to build a boat out of the bones of a monster? 

The other reason for him deciding not to start towards the Dark City was that he simply didn't want to leave the cohort behind. Sure, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves but who knew?

The Dream Realm was nothing if not unpredictable. What if Cade's journey west led him to awaken some ancient horror? Cade would never be able to live with himself knowing that he had somehow caused the deaths of three great people like them.

And so, he decided that he would see them make it all the way to the Dark City. 

There was also a selfish reason. Cade's Ability and Flaw together encouraged him to do reckless things. Combining that with his [Fated] Attribute, he was not sure that he would be able to reach the Dark City unscathed. And if he was unfortunate enough to sustain a life-threatening injury, he would most likely die.

But being close to the cohort solved that problem too. If he ever did find himself in such a predicament, he would simply throw caution to the wind and just ask Nephis to heal him. He wished that it never came to that but it was nice knowing that you had a back-up available, just in case. 

So, his decision to follow the cohort while being shrouded in mystery and darkness was well thought out. 

However, right now, he had to get back to work. 

Grabbing the makeshift seaweed rucksack that had served as his pillow for the night, he got a few pieces of rain-soaked monster meat out of it. After summoning the Flameheart Forge, roasting the meat and satiating his hunger, Cade was ready to descend into the Crimson Labyrinth once again. 

Upon reaching the bottom of the coral pillar, Cade walked for a bit before summoning his Memories.

First, he summoned the Voidfang, then the Crimson Guide and finally, the Coral Relic. The jagged and irregular crimson shard appeared in his left hand while his right clutched the hilt of his sword. A heartbeat later, the dark iron bracelet also appeared on his left arm, wrapping closely around his armored wrist. 

As soon as the Crimson Guide dropped into his hand, it started humming softly. Cade noticed that it hummed more loudly when he faced a particular direction. He looked up, narrowing his eyes at the passageway in front of him.

He recognized that passageway. It was the same path that he had taken yesterday. It led to the clearing where he had massacred the five Scavengers.

Huh, he thought, tilting his head at the Memory in his hand. So, it's leading me somewhere? Figures, I guess... I mean it is called the Crimson Guide, after all.

Cade hesitated for a bit. But should I follow it? It could be dangerous...

He remained still for a few moments, taking turns observing the humming crimson shard in his left hand, and the passageway that loomed in front of him. Eventually, though, he sighed deeply, shaking his head.

Like that has ever stopped me.

With that, he stepped forward into the passageway and started walking towards the direction in which the Crimson Guide was pointing him.