Shadow Slave: Possibilities Without Meaning

Aldric steeled himself for what he was about to say next.

Looking around him, he noticed everyone's clear interest. Sunny was eyeing him like an enchantment to be studied. Kai and Effie were focused on his every word. Caster was in view to the side of Nephis. 

He ran his hand through his curls and gave each of them a look of discomfort, as if it pained him to say the next few words. 

On the inside, Aldric was angry. But it was a cold fury that had no outlet. After all, who could he blame? Something like this was bound to happen. Tomorrow or a year from now. His secret would be a secret no longer. It was painful but set in stone when he received this flaw. 

No man is an island. His ventures into the dream realm and nightmare gates would not be done in solitude. So, he could only accept it. 

Aldric's eyes locked onto Kai. Kai's existence was a bane to Aldric as of now. He could not mince his words. He would have to explain himself without it registering as a lie to Kai. 

This was not the only reason, though. After all, he was not afraid. 

He chose to use this as an opportunity. The only flaws unknown in the cohort would be Sunny's, Caster's, and his own. Given his current standing, it was an easy way to gain the trust of the group without giving up too much. The reveal of his flaw was not a major danger to his safety. It was more in line with Effie's flaw. Much more deadly, of course. It was not a flaw that someone could take advantage of. His enemies would not be able to wrestle a nightmare creature 4 ranks above him without dying themselves. Laying a trap for him was a different story.

"Haha...Hahaha."

Aldric laughed as he wiped away the anxiousness from his face. Why is he so worried? He learned many of the character's flaws at no cost or danger to himself. Why was he so reluctant when it was his turn? 

Calming himself, he took a steady breath and steeled his eyes.

"It's my flaw." 

Widened eyes met him instantly. It was not a small thing to admit in front of anyone. It spoke to the amount of trust the person must have to reveal such a thing. They knew though. That trust was not something that was abundant in their group.

Sunny had the most visceral reaction. With widened eyes and an agape mouth, he seemed like he was told the most shocking news ever. 

'What the hell! Why would he even think to reveal something like that? It's not as if he needed to, or else he would have told us before we left.'

Sunny was shocked. He had a feeling that what he was about to reveal would explain the costs of such a power. He wondered if it could possibly be worse than his own in combination with his innate ability. 

'No way.' He spoke deprecatingly. 

Effie and Kai were hanging off his every word. 

Nephis and Caster were both silent and calm. But that was not the case on the inside for one of them.

'Why on earth would you do this, Aldric? What's your angle here?'

A reveal of his flaw was the last thing that Caster expected. A flaw was the lifeline of an awakened. It was like he was baring his heart out to them, irrespective of the danger, and for what? Caster could not understand. 

"I... when I am near creatures that rank above me, I have adverse reactions like you saw."

Aldric spoke calmly and resolutely. 

A silence spread through the small clearing. 

"What the hell! I should be calling you a suicidal bastard instead. Hunting in the Dark City with a flaw like that."

Effie shouted in anger. She slammed her hands on her legs, releasing a large sound, amplifying her voice.

Kai had a scarred look on his face.

"So every second you spend in the dream realm, you could be walking straight to your death."

His face took on a look of pity as he stared at Aldric. 

Sunny seemed too shocked to speak, while Cassie had a look of sadness and pity etched on her porcelain face. 

Nephis looked at him in a different light. To venture on this expedition where unknown horrors would lurk in every corner. To not buckle in the face of death and to keep moving forward. She knew most people in his position would be happy to live the rest of their days in the Bright Castle doing whatever it took to appease the lord. She wondered just how strong his ambitions were. 

Everyone took a glance at Sunny. They knew that he should have already exploded in commentary at what they just heard. They saw the pale, short scout with a hand on his chin, thinking as if he were a philosopher pondering the meaning of life.

' I genuinely don't know what is worse. His flaw or mine. To think he was hiding something like that. I take it back. Every time, I wished for a damage-dealing aspect like his. With that flaw, I would have been dead the moment I entered the dream realm that night. Flailing around the cold, dark sea while I changed into a horrific abomination. How the hell did he survive this long? Crazy bastard.'

Just imagining it sank his heart to the deepest parts of his guts. Freedom in not being someone else's slave or survival by not dying in the face of nightmare creatures many ranks above you. In the face of that, Sunny was genuinely grateful for what he had. As hard as it was to believe, it seemed that he didn't have the worst flaw that he knew of.

Aldric studied their reactions and looked at Cassie. He could tell that she was about to ask a question. With the movement of her lips and her facial expression, he put a stop to it. 

"Enough talking. I need to eat."

Aldric killed the momentum of the conversation and got up to fix himself a late breakfast. Leaving a few wandering minds behind. 

----------

It was the next day. Two days after the battle of the titans, the red coral was slowly disappearing in the view of a rocky mountain chain. The colossus was nearing the end of its journey. Like a crab in a bucket, it couldn't leave. It was slowly being pulled back to the Forgotten Shore by whatever controlled it. 

One by one, the cohort jumped off the statue. Each using their own method, they finally arrived. 

Where the first lord of the castle ventured.

**********

Thanks for reading the chap.

How are we doing?

has anyone read lord of the mysteries? Finished volume 2 after 3 months. Took me 9 days to read all of shadow slave before that. 

Was Aldric wrong in revealing his flaw or was it just a matter of time?

Love yall, take care.