Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Sunny looked at the extended hand and then at Cade, who was smiling earnestly. By now, the bridge had completely descended. And without another word, Sunny looked away and started moving forward, leaving Cade looking like an idiot. 

"Well, I more or less expected that reaction." Cade muttered under his breath as he followed after Sunny. 

Once inside the Sleeper part of the compound, Cade took a look around. There were a lot of Sleepers in the enormous hall, most of them well-dressed and in possession of some sort of a bag or suitcase. Sunny and Cade, along with another silver-haired girl were the only people who were empty handed and wearing police-issued clothes. Cade turned to look at Nephis. 

Nephis was... exactly as she had been described by the author in the Webnovel. She was tall, almost the same height as Cade, had a slender build with clear grey eyes and a distant look on her face. Her silver-white hair was cut short and neatly parted to the side. She also had a pair of headphones on. Her figure radiated confidence.

Of course it does,  Cade thought, shaking his head lightly. That's Changing Star right there. In the flesh. Sunless, you lucky, lucky man. 

Noticing his gaze, Changing Star turned to look at him. He smiled and waved to her, as if he'd known her for a long time. Well, actually he had, but she obviously didn't know that. She didn't return his smile. Instead, she turned back in the direction she had already been facing.

I knew they were anti-social, Cade mused inwardly, but come on, people! I'm trying to make friends here. Speaking of friends... now, where is that one?  

Cade looked around, focusing on the corners of the hall. And after a short while, he found the person he was looking for.

Cassia sat quietly on a bench. The blind girl was delicate, demure and very pretty. Cade considered approaching her, but there was something holding him back. He knew that Cassie's Dormant Ability allowed her to see other people's Attributes. And Cade... well, suffice it to say that Cade had rather unusual Attributes: 

[Spawn of the Forgotten] Attribute Description: "Your Fate is intertwined deeply with the Forgotten God." 

Of course, Cassie would not be able to read the description completely, because unlike him, she wasn't aware that there had been a seventh God. Her ability would most likely show her something regarding the [–Unknown–]. That would raise a lot of unusual questions. And on top of that, there was the other weird Attribute: 

[Otherwalker] Attribute Description: "You are neither of this world, nor of the other. You are an alien existence and as such, many curses and blessings of the two worlds are ineffective against you." 

[Battle Master] and [Fated] were rather straightforward, so he didn't have to worry too much about them.

He wasn't sure he wanted Cassie to know about the first two just yet. But still, he reconsidered.

Because I'm [Fated] like Sunless, I'll most likely be sent to the Forgotten Shore as well. And there's a huge chance that I'll end up in the Crimson Labyrinth. Which means that there's a possibility that I'll encounter the trio sooner or later, no matter how much I try to avoid them. By then, there will be trust between the three of them and they'll consider me an outsider. If Cassie tells them about my Attributes then, I'll be bombarded with questions that I won't be able to answer. And if Nephis or Sunless deem me a threat, I'm dead. So, I'll have to gain her trust now, while she's alone, so that she can keep my Attributes secret. Yeah, that'll do it. 

With that thought, he steeled himself and walked towards Cassie. As he approached her, she turned her head up, as if scanning him with her blind eyes. She had already had a frown on her face, but after looking in his direction, her frown deepened. She had obviously read his Attributes and was disturbed by their strange descriptions. 

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked politely. 

Her brows knitted together in surprise. She hesitated, then said softly, "There're plenty of other seats." 

"Yeah, but this one looks more comfortable than others," he said with a grin she couldn't see but could likely hear in his tone. "And besides, it's quiet. Nice and out of the way. No one to bother us." 

"Us?" she repeated, a faint crease forming between her brows. 

"Yeah, us. And I was just being polite... I'm sitting here whether you like it or not." Without waiting for permission, Arcadius plopped down on the bench next to her, his gaze still fixed on her.

She really is quite beautiful, isn't she? he thought, scanning her features. I never paid attention to the details in the novel 'cause she's never had that kind of relationship with anyone but still... she's quite a specimen. He shook his head lightly. Anyway, I'm not here for that. Let's pay attention to the task at hand. 

Arcadius put his right hand on his chest and said in a friendly voice, "By the way, I'm Arcadius. What's your name?" 

Cassie didn't reply immediately. Arcadius grew tense. Come on, Cassie, don't be like the other two. Please. You're the cheerful one. 

Finally, Cassie seemed to relax. She gave him a half-hearted smile and said, "I'm Cassia." 

Arcadius relaxed visibly. He put his hand down and said in a conversationalist manner, "Cassia. That's a beautiful name." 

He didn't continue further. This seemed to confuse Cassie. She kept staring at him, with those big lifeless blue eyes. Finally, she said, "Uh... so, what did you want, um, Arcadius?" 

"Want?" Arcadius said, amused. "Why would I want anything? Is it not natural for a boy to seek the company of a pretty girl who's sitting all alone?" 

She blushed red and turned her face in another direction. "Oh. Oh, I see..." She added a moment later. 

Arcadius fought off the urge to say, "Oh, do you?" Idiot, he scolded himself. You're trying to befriend her, not insult her. 

Arcadius shook his head slightly and said, "So... why are people giving you the cold shoulder? Is it because of your Flaw?" 

Cassia remained silent for a moment. Then, without looking at him, she smiled hesitantly and said, "Yeah. Yeah, it's most probably that." 

Cade frowned. He had already known that she knew the reason behind her indifferent treatment but her confirmation still stung. "Well, that's stupid," he said, his voice sharper than before. 

She blinked, startled by this sudden change in tone. "Huh?" 

"I mean... isn't it?" he continued. "Treating someone with coldness and indifference because of something they had no business controlling... that's pretty stupid in my opinion." 

Cassie's lips parted, but no words came out. She obviously wasn't used to people being so straightforward with her. However, eventually, she said, "You're... strange." 

"Can't say that's the first time I've heard that," Arcadius said, shrugging. "And besides, I think you're stronger than you care to admit. In fact... I know it." 

Her breath caught, her fingers clenching briefly in her lap. "How so?" 

"Call it a hunch," Arcadius replied, shrugging lightly. 

She tilted her head slightly, her blank eyes narrowing. Eventually, she sighed silently. "I wish that were true." 

Arcadius didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't know what to say. 

But thankfully, Cassie decided to continue the conversation. "You know... lately I've found myself thinking that it would've been better if I hadn't survived my First Nightmare." 

Arcadius grew thoughtful, and a little sad. He paused for a moment and said, "Why would you think something like that?" 

"Well... it's not like I can survive like this in the Dream Realm. I'm basically a walking corpse. I'm bound to die during my first visit to the Dream Realm. So, I thought... I thought the sooner it ended, the better it would be." She replied, the smile slowly fading off her face. 

Arcadius felt pity for the poor girl. Wait, what? he reminded himself. Poor girl? Saint Cassia? Song of the Fallen? Yeah, right. 

Arcadius smiled and took one of the blind girl's hands into his own. The blind girl started, surprised by this sudden act of intimacy. "You wanna know what I think?" he asked. 

The confused and bewildered blind girl nodded sheepishly. 

Arcadius continued, "Well, I think you'll not only survive your first visit to the Dream Realm, but all of them. And you'll do most of them without a scratch on you." 

The blind girl remained still for a long while, but she didn't pull her hand out of his. Finally, she looked up, faced him and said, "Another hunch?" 

Arcadius's smile widened. This was going better than he had expected. He replied, "Sure... I mean all you have to do is find someone to protect you. At least until you learn to work with your Flaw. And once you do, you'll be able to protect yourself." 

This didn't seem to make her happy. She looked back down and said, "Find someone to protect me? Who'd want to protect someone as pathetic as me?" 

Arcadius's smile faded, as his lips drew into a line. He leaned forward and said softly, "Don't be too hard on yourself, Cassia. Honestly, you'd be surprised at how many people would want to help you. There are a lot of people out there who're obsessed with doing the right thing." 

Cassia snorted lightly. She seemed to cheer up a little. Then, she said, sounding almost amused, "Is that so?" 

Arcadius chuckled lightly. Then, he said in a low voice, "Sure. You want me to give you an example?"

As Cassie nodded, he said, "You see, over there is a girl, silver-hair, athletic build and a tall frame. Her name is Nephis and she's freakishly strong. I can bet you a thousand credits that if you end up in the Dream Realm with her, she will protect you with her life." 

Cassie didn't look in the direction of Nephis. Well, that much was obvious. Instead, she asked in a somewhat curious tone, "And why are you so sure that she's so noble and honorable?" 

Arcadius looked back at her and said, "I don't know if I'm supposed to tell you this, but she's actually a Legacy. And a very prominent one at that. She's Nephis of the Immortal Flame Clan." 

Cassie drew a sharp breath and looked at him with wide eyes, as if asking for confirmation. 

Arcadius continued, "Yes, it's true. Her Clan's all but gone now, though. She's all there is to it. So, if she ever sees a helpless girl in trouble, do you really think she'll look the other way? No. No, she won't. Instead, she'll try her best to help and save you, if not for you or for herself, then, for the pride of her Clan." 

 Cassie tensed up slightly, and slowly drew her hand away from Arcadius's. Arcadius let it go easily enough. Cassie hesitated and then asked, "And you know this how? How do you know that she's the scion of a Legacy Clan, when she's keeping her identity a secret? And why are you so sure that she'll help me? If she's really as strong as you make her out to be, why wouldn't she just coerce me into giving her my Memories and then kill me?" 

Arcadius stared at her for a bit. Then he drew closer to her and said, "I know a great many things, Cassia. And the things I told you about Lady Nephis are just some of them."

He paused for a moment.

"In fact, I also know a lot more about you, too." He continued in a hushed voice. "For example, I know that you can see my Attributes and their strange description is making you wary of me."