Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

With each step Cade took, the faint hum of the crimson shard grew louder and more insistent, vibrating faintly in his palm. Cade had a feeling that he was the only one who could hear it. He didn't know what it was leading him to, but curiosity drove him forward. 

He remembered Sunny following strange things like his intuition, the strings of Fate and what not and each time, it had led to him finding something worthwhile.

Of course, Cade didn't expect anything too extravagant. After all, the Memory was but a measly Awakened one and that too of the lowest Tier. But he was still rather hopeful that he'd find something useful or at the very least, something interesting. 

He also noticed that he'd deviated significantly from the path that led to the clearing where he'd used his Ability yesterday. This unsettled him somewhat, because he'd never lurked close to this part of the labyrinth before.

Still, his curiosity was far from satisfied. So, he steeled himself and continued walking. He was getting more and more anxious to see what the shard was leading him to.

However, all his hopes were toppled as he rounded another bend. In front of him, the coral maze opened into a wide clearing. Cade stopped dead in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat. 

The clearing stretched wide. It was a yawning open space amid the coral pillars. And it was filled— no, swarming— with Carapace Scavengers.

Not twenty, not even fifty, but close to a hundred of the monstrous, carapace-clad creatures.

They moved in a chaotic mess. Their exoskeletons were clacking and scraping against one another as they tore into something massive at the center of the clearing. 

It was flesh— raw, bloodied, and grotesque. A chunk of some enormous monstrosity, ripped from its body and dragged here to be devoured.

The Scavengers swarmed over it like frenzied ants. Their pincers were snapping and tearing chunks away with wet, brutal efficiency. The air was filled with a cacophony of cracking, scraping, and the nauseating squelch of meat being shredded. 

Cade's breath hitched, his body stiffening as cold fear washed over him. He didn't move; he didn't even blink. His mind screamed at him to run, to get as far away from this nightmare as possible. But his legs refused to obey. 

What the fuck was I thinking? he thought. He glanced down at the shard humming loudly in his hand. This damned Memory's killed me! 

But as he was panicking in the face of his current predicament, another thought entered his mind.

But why aren't they attacking me? he thought, his dread mixing with his confusion, his pulse pounding in his ears.

The Scavengers hadn't even noticed him. They continued to feast, their attention entirely focused on the gruesome banquet before them. It was as if Cade wasn't even there. 

The fear was overwhelming now, pressing down on his chest like a physical weight. But then... then, Cade felt it slipping out of him— an invisible wave of terror that rippled through the air. His Innate Ability was taking effect once again. 

As Cade calmed down, the Scavengers froze. 

One by one, the creatures twitched, their pincers hesitating mid-motion. Then, the twitching grew more violent and their bodies started jerking erratically as if an unseen force had seized them. Their numerous legs scraped against the coral floor in frantic and disjointed movements. 

Cade's fear flowed into them like a tide, twisting their instincts into chaos. Apparently, they couldn't sense Cade himself, but they could feel the fear seeping out of him— a nameless, suffocating dread that coursed through their defiled souls. 

The clearing erupted into chaos. Scavengers turned on one another, snapping and clawing in blind panic. Others scurried aimlessly, crashing into the coral walls or each other. The grotesque feast was forgotten as the horde dissolved into a writhing, berserk mass. 

Cade backed away slowly, his heart hammering in his chest but no longer drowning in fear. He ducked behind a coral pillar and pressed himself against its rough surface. As he tried to steady his breathing, he noticed that his body was slick with sweat, despite the cool air. 

The Scavengers somehow remained oblivious to his presence and so, Cade didn't immediately decide to run away. He felt like if he made any conspicuous movements, the Scavengers would definitely see him. 

He glanced down at the Crimson Guide, its hum growing slightly less loud than before.

He thought he understood what the Memory was supposed to do, now. It wasn't a guide that would lead him somewhere, like the name seemed to suggest. No, it was more like a warning signal which hummed louder the more Scavengers were nearby. 

Cade peeked around the edge of the pillar. The Scavengers were still in disarray, their movements erratic and frenzied. A large number of them had retreated amongst the corals on different sides of the clearing. But a fairly large number, about thirty or forty maybe, still remained in the clearing, terrified but seemingly hesitant to leave the feast behind. 

Guess this explains why there's so many of them in this part of the labyrinth, he mused, growing a little less disoriented. They've got their very own banquet set up here.

As he was thinking about what he was going to do next, he was reminded of the Scavenger's strange reaction to his presence, once again.

Just why the hell did they not attack me immediately? he thought, trying to make sense of the strange turn of events. He looked back at the Crimson Guide in his left hand but his eyes caught sight of the dark iron bracelet on his wrist. 

"Ohhh... " he exclaimed audibly as realization dawned on him and things finally started to make sense. His lips curled up into a smirk. So, that's what you can do.

The charm Memory, Coral Relic, seemed to make Cade unnoticeable. Not completely invisible— Cade wouldn't expect that from a Memory of its Rank and Tier— but rather, inconspicuous. Like he was just a shadow at the edge of vision. 

Cade figured that it only worked so well because the Scavengers' own Rank and Class were the same as the Coral Relic's. He had no qualms about it being close to useless against Nightmare Creatures of higher Ranks or even higher Classes.

But at the moment, it was extremely useful.

Not because of what it had done but because of what it was going to do.

Because while Cade had been frozen by the sheer number of the Scavengers in the clearing, he had also recognized the piece of flesh that the Scavengers had been feasting on.

It was a piece of the carcass of the shark abomination that had been torn to pieces in front of Sunny immediately after he had entered the Dream Realm. 

It was not the portion of the carcass that Sunny had been keeping an eye on for the first few days. From its description, that would've had to be much larger. This one was smaller and in the depths of that grotesque piece of flesh, was a singular glimmering soul shard. 

From what Cade remembered, Sunny had concluded that the fearsome shark abomination had been a Corrupted Devil, at the very least. Which meant that the soul shard in the depths of the bloodied flesh was a Transcendent one and would give Cade eight soul fragments if he absorbed it. 

Not to mention that Transcendent soul essence was much more refined than Awakened or Ascended soul essence. He didn't much have any use for soul essence because he couldn't control it just yet, but he'd be damned if he let himself lose eight soul fragments from a single soul shard.

He had to get it. He just had to. 

This is insane, he thought incredulously, startled by his own grit. I'm going insane. 

Cade peeked around the edge of the pillar again, his gaze sweeping the clearing. 

The thirty or so Scavengers skittered around the great mound of flesh. Some were still tearing into it with their pincers, while others were pacing aimlessly, their movements erratic.

Cade could see it in the way that their limbs twitched and their carapaces trembled— they were still drowned in fear... his fear. Yet their hunger anchored them here— too strong to let them retreat completely. 

The soul shard's glow seemed to call to him, a soft hum that tugged at something deep within his chest. Cade clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and prepared himself for what was to come next. 

The Scavengers were everywhere. Even though they didn't seem to notice him outright thanks to the Coral Relic, he could feel the tenuousness of it; it was like walking a tightrope over a bottomless pit. One wrong move— a sound too loud, a step too quick— and they'd turn on him in an instant. 

Slow. Quiet. Careful. I can do this... 

He slipped from behind the pillar, crouching low as he crept towards the mound. The ground was uneven— jagged with coral growths and pools of viscous liquid he didn't dare examine too closely right now.

Unease clawed at Cade's mind as he moved. Every step was agony; his muscles were taut and screaming from tension. 

One of the Scavengers scuttled closer, its pincers clicking nervously. Cade froze, his body locking up as a cold fear surged through him. If one of these creatures found him, the others would certainly be alerted as well and then... and then, he'd die.

As strong and lethal as Cade was, he couldn't hope to take down almost forty Scavengers at the same time. Even with the help his Ability, it was impossible.

Simply put, it was a death sentence. 

As Cade's heartbeat thundered in his ears, his fear seeped into the air around him— an invisible, oppressive force that made the creatures shudder. 

Several of them retreated further into the labyrinth, their skittering legs echoing faintly in the distance. But not all of them. The remaining Scavengers hesitated. Cade noticed that their bodies were trembling as his fear warred with their hunger. 

Cade reached the edge of the mound, his breath catching in his throat. The soul shard had been embedded deep in the flesh but now, it was more or less free. The Scavengers had devoured the meat surrounding it. 

Cade gritted his teeth, pressed his gauntleted hands into the mound and pulled hard, wrenching the soul shard free. The luminescent crystal came loose easily enough. The light flared brilliantly for a moment before dimming to a steady glow. 

The flicker of light made the Scavengers turn. 

A dozen heads or two swiveled towards him, their eyes locking onto the source of the disturbance. Cade's stomach dropped. For a heartbeat, the clearing went silent. 

Then the creatures twitched, their bodies jerking as Cade's fear washed over them. Their movements grew erratic and frantic once more. They clawed at the ground and snapped at one another, seemingly in search for the source of their mysterious dread.

They didn't know where Cade was— only that he was there, in their midst. 

Clutching the soul shard to his chest, Cade backed away from the mound. Each step was agonizingly slow, his armored boots slipping on the wet ground as he made sure not to make a sound. The Scavengers hissed and clicked, but they didn't attack. 

He reached the edge of the clearing and ducked behind the coral pillar from earlier. His back pressed against the rough surface as he lowered himself to the coral-strewn floor. His chest heaved, sucking in shallow breaths, his body trembling with adrenaline. 

He shattered the soul shard and felt the soul fragments trickle into his soul.

Would killing four of those things really have been as impossible as what I just did? he thought, sighing in disbelief. I think not... Still, my first Transcendent soul shard.

A devious smirk crossed his face. But certainly not the last... 

After all, there were two more waiting for him at the base of the Knight's statue— just begging to be made his.