Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Staring at the Carapace Centurion with murder in his eyes, Cade gripped the hilt of his black blade tightly. The Voidfang's familiar weight grounded him in the suffocating dread of the moment. He took a deep breath, cracked his neck to both sides and steadied his nerves.

"...bad idea. This is such a bad idea," he muttered to himself, his voice dry, almost exasperated. "Honestly, I feel like I never have any good ones..." 

The Centurion had shifted as soon as he'd revealed the two Transcendent soul shards. There was no way for it to get them back now, though.

But Cade had a feeling that the Centurion was determined to make him pay for what he had done. He felt his chest tighten as the Monster's presence grew heavier, almost oppressive.

And with that, the Centurion charged. 

Cade knew that the creature's speed was unnatural for something its size, but he was still caught somewhat off-guard. The Centurion crossed the distance between them in an instant, and its scythe-arms arced down in a vicious swing.

Cade threw himself to the side and narrowly avoided the strike as one of the scythes carved into the ground where he'd just stood. The force of the blow sent shards of coral flying through the air. 

He countered instinctively, lashing out with his blade as his Attribute guided him. The strike glanced off the Centurion's carapace. It left a shallow scratch that seemed more insult than injury.

Cade had more or less expected that. Even if his weapon was one Tier higher than the abomination's Class, the carapace wasn't normal flesh. It was more akin to an armor. So, naturally, it offered more resistance. 

"Fucking murder machine..." Cade hissed under his breath, ducking as the Centurion's second scythe came sweeping across horizontally at neck level. 

Cade felt that his reaction speed was faster than the Centurion's attack speed, albeit not by much. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he'd just absorbed three Transcendent soul shards.

In any case, Cade dodged the blow. But he could still feel the burn in his muscles. He couldn't keep dodging forever. He had to find an opening— if there even was one— and he had to do it soon. 

The Centurion pressed its assault with murderous efficiency. It was relentless and unyielding. Cade's movements became more desperate— each dodge and parry barely keeping him alive.

He could feel the vibrations of each heavy strike reverberate through his sword and the arm which held it. The raw power of the creature was threatening to disarm him. 

And then, feeling like he was running out of options, Cade called upon it. The reserve of True Darkness resting within the dark depths of his soul.

As soon as he reached within and activated his Aspect Ability, he exhaled sharply. The Darkness began to pour from his lips, swirling around him like a living shroud.

But he didn't breathe out too much. He tried to control the amount of black fog coming out of him. He couldn't afford to let his Flaw overwhelm him in this fight.

Still, the effect was immediate. The Centurion hesitated. Its scythes paused mid-swing. It stepped back, its movements jerky and uncertain. The Darkness didn't touch it, not yet, but Cade saw it shudder. Its massive frame trembled as if something ancient and buried deep within its primal mind had awakened. 

Good, Cade thought, his blood boiling with the desire to rip the wretched thing apart. That'll do nicely.

The Nightmare Creatures he'd faced so far, all seemed to be wary of True Darkness. Maybe it was simply because the True Darkness was too ominous and oppressive. Cade didn't know the exact reason behind it, and he didn't care to find out. So long as it gave him an advantage against his opponents, he was good. 

He should've felt triumphant that the Monster was hesitating. But instead, his own wariness began to fade, replaced by something dark, more sinister. The Darkness thickened, curling around him and creeping toward the Centurion.

He could sense it— the exact moment the Darkness brushed against its carapace. He could almost feel the creature's panic— its wild, animalistic struggle to reject the unnatural dread sinking into it. 

And Cade?

Why, Cade was grinning from ear to ear like a madman. 

The rage had come quickly too, as it always did whenever he called upon his Ability— even if he'd tried to control it somewhat. It burned through him, drowning out the fear, the doubt, and everything else.

All that remained was the fight— the desire to destroy, to kill. The desire for carnage.

With that burning desire, and that shimmering fury, he charged the Centurion, his sword a blur of black steel as he attacked. 

The Darkness moved with him, tendrils of it lashing out, wrapping around the creature and making it hesitate.

Cade slashed at its exposed joints. Even though he was technically blind right now, his strikes seemed to become more precise, more brutal, and even more murderous than before.

The Centurion roared, its voice an ear-splitting cacophony that shook the ground beneath them. And it fought back. 

Its scythes lashed out in a frenzy. One of them caught Cade's side, despite the warning from his connection with the Darkness. After all, merely knowing when and where the attack would come from, didn't necessarily mean that he would be able to dodge it.

The blow sent him sprawling, the sharp edge of the scythe scraping against his superior armor. He thrust the Voidfang's blade into the coral-strewn ground, decelerating his sprawl. He gritted his teeth against the pain that shot through his side, and rolled to his feet just in time to avoid another deadly strike that came from above. 

"Oh, you're dying today, you son of a bitch. Even if killing you is the last thing I do..." Cade muttered under his breath, full of agonizing rage as he moved sharply for another exchange.

The fight dragged on for what felt like hours. Each clash was more savage than the last. Cade's Darkness worked against the Centurion, but it was far from enough to guarantee victory. 

The creature's raw strength was overwhelming. Its strikes shook the very ground and carved deep gouges into the coral. Cade's body screamed in protest. Exhaustion creeped in as blood seeped from the wounds and bruises inside his armor. 

But he refused to stop. The Darkness fueled him, driving him forward with a single insatiable desire:

To kill. To claim the life of the monstrosity in front of him.

So, that's what he did. He persevered.

Thankfully, though, he wasn't the only only one growing tired. The Centurion was growing slower as well. As the battle dragged on, the majestic scythe slayer grew much less deadly. The Darkness seemed to feed on its vitality, causing it grow more sluggish with each second.

And then, Cade saw it. An opening. 

The Centurion lunged, its scythes raised high for a devastating strike. Cade stepped into the attack, using the Centurion's capability for wide-ranged slashes against itself.

Putting all his strength into the strike, Cade's blade flashed upward in a desperate arc. The black steel bit deep into the joint where one of the scythes connected to the creature's arm. The appendage disconnected and fell away, and the Centurion roared in fury, staggering back. 

Cade could've stopped. He should've stopped, caught his breath, analyzed the situation. But he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to stop. No, the feeling of dismembering the Centurion was good. It was too good.

He wanted more. He wanted to cause it more pain. He wanted to make the creature shriek in agony. He wanted to make it regret following him here.

And so, he pressed the advantage. The Darkness swirled around him as he moved. He was a blur of motion. The Voidfang carved into the creature's carapace again and again.

The Centurion fought back, but in vain. Its remaining scythe was lashing out aimlessly now, in wild, desperate arcs. 

One of them caught Cade across the shoulder, nearly knocking him off his feet. But he didn't falter. The sheer rage and fury bubbling in the depths of his mind drove him forward.

With a final, enraged cry, he drove his blade into the creature's chest, sinking it deep into the weak point where its armored plates connected. As he twisted the blade viciously in the wound, the Centurion let out one last, painful, ear-splitting roar before collapsing. As Cade removed the Voidfang from its torso, the creature's massive frame hit the ground with a thunderous crash. 

The voice of the Spell whispered into Cade's ear: 

[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Carapace Centurion.] 

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

Cade stood over the corpse, smirking in long sought satisfaction. His chest was heaving as he inhaled the Darkness back. The rage lingered, but it was fading now, leaving behind a hollow exhaustion. 

However, it seemed that the Spell wasn't done yet: 

[You have received an Echo, Carapace Centurion.] 

Cade's eyes widened as he registered the Spell's voice. An Echo? he thought, bewildered. I actually got an Echo? Whoa! 

He looked down at the fallen creature, his bloodied sword still clutched in his hand. He slashed the Voidfang through the air, spraying the crimson coral with azure blood.

"Why, thank you, monster," he muttered, his voice ragged and laced with exhaustion. "I'll be sure to take great care of you." 

Without stopping to check on his many wounds and bruises, he quickly summoned his runes to take a look at his new Echo: 

Echo: [Carapace Centurion]. 

Echo Type: Monster. 

Echo Cores: Awakened. 

Echo Attributes: [Strong], [Armored], [Enraged]. 

Echo Description: [A cursed leader of the fallen legion.] 

Cade was panting, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he stared at the shimmering runes in front of him. He had received an Echo.

Today's events had been nothing short of terrifying but it had all paid off in the end. Between the three Transcendent soul shards and the Carapace Centurion, Cade had received twenty-eight soul fragments and an Echo.

He was content, but he was also exhausted. Very much so.

With a deep sigh, he dismissed the runes, harvested the soul shards from the corpse of the dead Monster, absorbed them and began to walk back to the coral branch.

He wanted to dive into his Soul Sea to check out the new Echo but it was getting pretty late and the Dark Sea could return at any moment. So, he decided to leave that for later, when he was back on the safety of his humble branch.