Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Crouching behind the rotten mass of flesh, Cade's heart pounded in his chest. The two gleaming soul shards were tucked beneath the vambraces of his armor, barely hidden.

The warm pulse of their energy felt almost mocking. It kept reminding him that his task was far from over. Getting to them had been a monumental risk, but retreating would be worse.

Cade felt a little bit of fear infiltrate his being. 

But it went away as quickly as it had come. The Scavengers around him were again plunged into a state of unease. Their restless movements betrayed the subtle effects of his Innate Ability. He steeled himself. Every second he lingered, the danger multiplied. 

C'mon. Come on, Arcadius, move. 

He forced himself to his feet. His muscles were trembling as he took his first cautious step back toward the path he had come from. Each movement was agonizingly slow. His armored boots barely lifted from the slick ground to avoid making a sound.

The Scavengers were agitated. They were shifting and snapping at the air, but none of them had turned their attention to him.

At least, not yet. 

Cade's charm had worked well enough to get him here. The Relic masked his presence just enough to let him pass unnoticed. But its limits gnawed at his mind. He felt like he was on a razor's edge, one wrong move away from chaos. Every chittering sound made him flinch. Every shadow cast upon the crimson coral made his pulse spike. 

He passed a cluster of Scavengers that were tangled in a frenzied struggle over a slab of flesh. Their pincers were clicking and snapping heavily. The brutal display was a grim reminder of what they could do to him if he was discovered. 

He crept past them, his breath shallow, his body taut with tension. The path was close— just a little farther, and he'd be out of the clearing. Just a few more steps.

Safety felt so close that it was almost suffocating. 

However, at that moment, a new sound echoed faintly through the coral-strewn terrain— a low, guttural growl that seemed to vibrate through the very air.

As Cade reached the edge of the swarm, his dread deepened. He froze. His blood ran cold and his face contorted in a frustrated grimace.

Fuck you, [Fated]...

The growl grew louder. It was accompanied by the heavy, deliberate sound of something large moving through the passageways. The Scavengers around the carcass paused. Their heads started twitching as they turned toward source of the noise.

It was then that Cade saw them. 

They emerged from the shadows of a particularly wide passage. They were two towering monstrosities and their forms immediately commanded fear and respect. 

The Carapace Centurions. 

What the hell are they doing here? Cade thought, cursing his fate once more. They were not supposed to come out till the day after tomorrow. 

The Carapace Centurions were unlike other Scavengers. Their massive, armored bodies gleamed in the dim light. Their deep black and scarlet carapaces looked more like ancient, blood-drenched armor than natural exoskeletons of their lesser kin.

Vicious spikes jutted out from their bodies. Their sheer presence radiated lethal power. Where the Scavengers had bulky pincers, the Centurions bore bone scythes— long, curved, and impossibly sharp.

These were not mere carrion eaters— no, they were hunters. 

Cade's breath hitched as one of them turned its head. Its glowing eyes began scanning the clearing. His charm Memory faltered under the scrutiny of its gaze, the aura of concealment barely clinging to him. He pressed his back against a coral pillar and willed himself to be invisible. 

The Centurions lumbered forward. Their heavy steps sent vibrations through the ground. One of them pushed through the swarm of Scavengers. It scattered them with terrifying ease as it approached the carcass. Its bone scythes sliced through the air, dismembering a smaller Scavenger that had lingered too close. Azure blood sprayed, and the other Scavengers recoiled, chittering in terror. 

The second Carapace Centurion's movements were more deliberate. Its head swiveled slowly. Its glowing eyes narrowed as if it were sniffing something in the air.

Cade's heart sank as its gaze swept closer to his hiding spot. He dared not move.

But he couldn't shake the feeling of the Centurion's attention. It was a suffocating pressure that made his skin crawl. The Relic's enchantment was not holding. Not against a Monster. 

It can sense me, Cade realized, dread pooling in his stomach before dissipating, unnoticed. Not completely, but enough. 

He tightened his grip on the coral pillar, every muscle coiled like a spring. He was so close to the path, so close to safety.

The Centurion near the carcass wasn't moving. Its massive scythes carved through the flesh. Technically, it should not have been able to cut the flesh. The carcass belonged to a Corrupted Devil after all, and an Awakened Monster had no business cutting its flesh. 

But the flesh had also been weathered by the harrowing waters of the Dark Sea, which itself was a Great Titan. So, the Centurion ripped it apart easily enough searching for the soul shards. 

The second Centurion stopped abruptly. Its head snapped towards Cade. His stomach dropped. The Monster's glowing eyes locked onto him, its scythes twitching as if preparing to strike. 

"Can I repeat? Fuck [Fated]..." Cade muttered under his breath, the curse barely audible. 

As soon as the words left his mouth, he spun on his heel and bolted down the path he had come from, abandoning all pretense of stealth. Behind him, the Centurion let out an ear-splitting screech. The sound reverberated through the clearing as the terrifying monster followed. 

Cade's armored boots pounded against the coral-strewn ground as he ran. His breath came in ragged gasps. Fuck, he cursed inwardly. What the fuck was I thinking? This was a bad idea! 

The air was thick with the scent of decay and the sound of pursuit. He glanced over his shoulder and felt his stomach lurch. The Centurion was fast— far faster than something of its size had any right to be. It moved with terrifying precision. Its scythes sliced through coral and stone alike as it closed the distance. 

Cade pushed himself harder. His legs were burning as he raced through the winding paths of coral. The path twisted and turned. It narrowed in places where jagged outcroppings jutted into the way. He ducked under a low arch. His heart was pounding as he heard the Centurion's scythes tear through the same obstacle a heartbeat later. 

His fear flowed outward, radiating from him like a palpable force. He felt it ripple through the air and wash over the Centurion. But the Monster didn't stop. Its movements grew even more erratic. Its scythes slashed wildly, but it didn't slow down.

Cade's Innate Ability was taking effect, but it was far from enough. 

The truth was that Cade didn't feel as much fear as his precarious situation warranted. Perhaps it was because he knew that if he felt too much dread, the dread would be transferred from him to the Centurion making it retreat. And that reassured him, not letting him drown in the fear in the first place.

The paradox, he thought bitterly. I fucking knew it. 

He skidded into a clearing; his chest was heaving as he stumbled to a halt. His eyes darted around as he searched for the right direction to go in. There could be Scavengers lurking anywhere. If he was unlucky enough, he might even run into one of the three Sleepers.

The Centurion's screech echoed behind him, and a moment later, it dashed into the clearing, sending bits and pieces of coral flying. 

Cade's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the Awakened Monster. Its bone-scythes were gleaming with menace.

Cade kept looking at the towering abomination in front of him. Steadying his breathing, he came to a decision. Running wasn't going to get him anywhere. He would sooner outrun a bullet train.

And besides, without the Crimson Guide, he had no idea what or who he would be running into. He had no way to navigate the convoluted passageways of the labyrinth while trying to ditch this monstrosity.

The only way to save his skin was to slay the predator, right here and right now. 

Cade grabbed the soul shards from beneath his vambraces. A smirk crossed his face.

"You looking for these?" he said, wiggling the shards in the face of the horrifying monstrosity. He shattered them and felt the fragments trickle into his soul.

"Oops!" he mocked, as he summoned the Voidfang into his hands.