Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Cade got up from his slumber atop the coral branch and stretched his arms lightly. Yesterday's exhaustion was still not completely gone. However, his sore muscles and paining joints were the least of his worries. He was reeling from the mental struggle he'd had to go through immediately after his near confrontation with the trio. 

He still didn't completely understand the reason for such intense anger. For a moment there, that anger had transformed into pure hatred, without Cade even knowing it. That had been the true might of his Flaw. And he didn't think he'd be able to keep that Flaw in check if he was forced to go through something like that again.

All the more reason to stay away from those three. 

However, he knew that that would not be possible. He was bound to confront them sooner or later. But just for their own safety and also for the sake of his own advantage, he'd prefer it to be later. 

He shook his head slightly and decided to check on the spoils he had gotten from the day before. He had killed more than thirty Scavengers during his round-trip to intercept the trio and back. In addition to the soul fragments and the Darkness, Cade wanted to take a look at his Memories and Echoes. 

He knew that he hadn't gotten even one of those on the way to the trio, but he wasn't sure about the way back. His mind had been too fatigued to properly register the Spell's voice. He was really hoping for some Memories.

Honestly, if I haven't got a single Memory after killing over thirty Awakened Beasts, I'm gonna lose it... 

Following that thought, he summoned his runes and started studying them, one string at a time: 

[Soul Fragments: 141/1000] 

Cade's eyes widened slightly.

Damn, he thought. I really did a number on those Scavengers, didn't I? Last time I checked my soul fragments, I think I had seventy-five. Judging from this number, I killed thirty-three of them yesterday. Hmmm, good stuff, good stuff... 

He continued to study the runes: 

[Darkness Saturation: 73%] 

Hmmm, makes sense, I guess, he thought, rubbing his chin. Last time, I was at forty-four percent and if I really did kill thirty-three Awakened Beasts, I should have been at seventy-seven percent. But I also kept the Darkness summoned for quite some time in broad daylight while escaping from those three. So, four percent being lost to that seems fair. 

He nodded thoughtfully. He also noticed that his Darkness reserves were getting close to being fully saturated. He wondered what would happen once the counter finally reached one-hundred percent.

Maybe, the reserves will grow? Or maybe it's just the limit and I'll have to form a new soul core to increase the space... 

That was a pretty sound argument. After all, his Darkness was contained within his soul. So, forming new cores was bound to swell the reserves, too. But he was still quite a number of kills away from confirming his theory. So, he decided to think about it when the time finally came.

Then, he moved his gaze to the counter showing his Memories. Please... 

Memories: [Arcane Keys...], ..., [... Guide], [Coral Relic], [Pearl of Breaking Tides], [Skerrian Aegis], [Tidemark Whisper]. 

Cade looked at the runes for a while, considering them. Then, he sighed. He was neither overjoyed nor too disappointed with how many Memories he had gotten. In fact, it was a good number. He had no need for useless Memories, and he didn't have a gluttonous Shadow to feed them to.

So, getting three new Memories wasn't all that bad, even if all of them were of the First Tier and the Awakened Rank, provided that none of them were utterly useless, which was rarely the case. 

He focused on the first one: 

Memory: [Pearl of Breaking Tides] 

Memory Rank: Awakened. 

Memory Type: Charm. 

Jackpot! Cade thought. Can't believe I actually got two charms and those too from mere Awakened Beasts. Lucky me... 

Memory Description: [The Pearl is mercy given form— but mercy, like the tide, is fleeting. Holding the Pearl, they shall feel whole. But beware... for the sea does not mend; it merely washes away.] 

Huh, Cade mused. This might be the most straightforward description to a Memory I've seen so far. I wasn't hoping to find out what the charm did from the description, but I guess I did find at least something. 

From the description, it looked like this charm could revitalize its bearer— take away their fatigue and pain. But it didn't seem like it would be able to heal their wounds. Figures, I guess, considering its Rank and Tier... 

Cade was feeling very much in need of a revitalization right about now. He was exhausted from yesterday's ordeal and if something could make him feel better, he would take it. So, without wasting any time, he summoned the Pearl of Breaking Tides into existence. He was excited to finally feel a little better. 

A smooth, luminescent orb no larger than a robin's egg materialized onto his palm. Its surface shimmered with hues of pale blue and ghostly silver, like the glint of moonlight on restless waves.

It was beautiful, but after looking at the Pearl for a while, Cade frowned. He was not feeling his fatigue vanish at all. He was no more revitalized than he had been a moment ago. 

What the hell? Cade thought, the frown on his face deepening. I thought I had it! I shouldn't have trusted the damn description. It's never that simple... I'll have to figure it out the same way I did with the Guide and the Relic. I just hope it's nothing that dangerous... 

Then sighing, he dismissed the Pearl and focused on the second Memory he had received: 

Memory: [Skerrian Aegis]. 

Memory Rank: Awakened. 

Memory Type: Armor. 

Cade scratched his temples in frustration.

Great! he thought bitterly. Just when I thought that there were no useless Memories. The hell am I supposed to do with an Awakened armor of the First Tier?! I have no teammates, and I already have one of the Sixth Tier! Curse you, Spell... 

But he decided to check the description of the armor anyway: 

Memory Description: [The Legion's footsteps sank into the sand, swallowed by the tide. Their armor gleamed bright— blue as the summer skies above. But when they emerged, the blue had faded, dulled by frost and darkness. And where they walked, no light followed.] 

Cade shook his head and didn't even bother to summon the armor into the material world. For all he cared, that armor was utterly useless. He decided to focus on the last Memory and get this over and done with: 

Memory: [Tidemark Whisper]. 

Memory Rank: Awakened. 

Memory Type: Charm. 

Cade smiled wryly. Honestly, this is getting a little ridiculous... Not that I'm complaining. From Awakened Beasts, charms and tools are all I want, anyway. 

Memory Description: [A tide will always pull. The question is: can you stay anchored long enough to decide your direction? After all, the mind is like the ocean— vast, restless, and easily swept away.] 

Hmmm, Cade mused. Maybe some crude resistance to mind attacks? Too bad that I got it, then. Sunny could've used this on the Ashen Barrow. The Puppeteer's Shroud already provides a rudimentary resistance to mind attacks, but some extra help wouldn't have gone amiss. Rotten luck for them, I guess... 

He dismissed the runes and summoned the Tidemark Whisper into the material world. A small, teardrop-shaped locket made of translucent sea glass knit itself onto his chest, resting on the black metal of his armor. It hung by a slender cord of braided silver wire. It hummed faintly, resting against Cade's heart. 

As soon as the charm materialized, Cade felt his mind, which was still reeling from yesterday's struggle, begin to sooth just a little. He smiled and didn't dismiss the charm. He summoned his runes again. After glancing at the counter showing his Echoes, he dismissed the runes. He hadn't gotten any new Echoes, and he hadn't expected to. 

After checking on his spoils, Cade summoned the Flameheart Forge and took some meat out of his makeshift rucksack. After roasting it, he sat atop the coral branch, looking in the direction of the Knight's statue and chewing on the monster meat. 

They're gonna reach it today, he thought. Then, they'll leave tomorrow, and the timeline will be back to as it was in original story. Their speed might be reduced a little because they'll be wary of the attacker, but I think it won't matter too much. After a while, they'll forget about me completely.  

He sighed. I'm so lame. After all that big talk about not seeing her in the Dream Realm, I all but announced myself to Cassie yesterday. She'll clearly know it was me. I just hope she doesn't tell the other two. She probably won't... 

After finishing his bland and tasteless meal, he got up and began to descend. Today, he had a new Memory to test out. He also wanted to fully saturate his Darkness reserves and finally 'infuse' an Echo, provided that he got one. Then, from tomorrow, he'd start tailing the trio on their journey to the Dark City.