Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

[Infuse Echo?] 

Excited but also a little hesitant, Cade said, "Yes." 

However, nothing happened.

Well, I figured as much, Cade thought as the runes changed before his eyes: 

[Not enough Darkness to infuse the Echo completely.] 

[Darkness Saturation required: 100%] 

A hundred percent, huh? Cade contemplated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. But that'll completely drain my reserves if I do it as a Beast.

He was pretty sure that his reserves would swell after he became a Monster. So, he decided that he would attempt the infusion then. Hopefully, it wouldn't require one hundred percent after he formed his Monster core.

Anyway, speaking of my reserves, where am I at right now? 

He summoned his runes and took a look at the Darkness reserves: 

[Darkness Saturation: 44%] 

Hmmm, interesting, Cade mused. So, simply absorbing soul shards doesn't do anything for my Darkness. It comes from the kill.

He had already guessed that that was the case, but knowing for sure was reassuring.

He also noticed something else.

I didn't lose any of it today, he thought. And I managed to not succumb to the rage during the battle as well. I'll have to practice more but I think I'll be able to work with my Flaw. As long as I control my Ability at least. 

Then, he moved his gaze to the counter showing his soul fragments: 

[Soul Fragments: 75/1000] 

Good enough for just three days spent in the Dream Realm, Cade thought, nodding as he retreated from his Soul Sea. 

Now, I'll have to work faster on creating that Monster core, he thought. I can't wait to 'infuse' the Echo! I wonder what it'll do... Maybe it'll turn the Echo into a creature of Darkness. Like those Dark Drifters Sunny met in the Shadow Realm or like Saint herself. Creatures of Darkness sure are scary... 

However, while thinking about altering the Echo using his Aspect, another thought crossed his mind— this one not very pleasant.

What the fuck did I do? he thought, panic creeping its way into his mind. I was so caught up in the heat of the moment, I didn't even stop to consider the consequences of what I was doing.

He hurriedly moved his eyes around, trying to determine how much time had passed since dawn. He had just come to a sudden realization about the timeline of the story. 

Sunny, Nephis and Cassie were going to start their journey from the coral mound to the Knight's statue today. They'd make it to the statue just in the nick of time, which meant that they'd be there by sunset.

Then, they would spend the night atop the Knight's statue. Early in the morning, however, Cassie would have her vision regarding the primordial darkness, the rivers of blood in the castle, the corpse in the golden armor and the rest of the events that were going to unfold here on the Forgotten Shore. 

And Cade distinctly remembered that because of Cassie's unease, Nephis had decided to leave the statue that very morning. But they had been delayed by one day's time because they had witnessed the two Carapace Centurions taking the Transcendent soul shards from the shark devil's corpse. 

The thing was... Cade had just killed one of the Centurions and stolen the soul shards. So, he had removed the cause of their delay. That would accelerate their timeline by a whole day. 

Following that, they wouldn't necessarily face the Scavenger that'd have gone on to become Sunny's first Echo. They would not be forced to climb onto the Flat Hill due to the storm and thus, would not be coerced into killing a Carapace Centurion. So, Nephis wouldn't receive her armor, which would put her in extreme danger.

That much was something that was not too important.

But the other thing was pivotal. Because due to the fact that the Centurions didn't get the Transcendent shard, they would not be able to offer it to the Carapace Demon. That exchange had warned the trio from getting too close to the Ashen Barrow, while at the same time informing them of the Demon's presence there.

But even if they somehow discovered the Demon, they would not be able to enact their masterful plan to kill it without the Echo, and thus, wouldn't take residence atop the Ashen Barrow, where Sunny would eventually stumble upon Weaver's Forbidden Lineage.

This was a classic example of the butterfly effect. Cade had just become the time-traveler who kicked the stone. 

Calm down... breathe...

Cade forced himself to calm down. He reconsidered the facts.

Sure, many things would change but the most important thing, i.e. Sunny receiving [Blood Weave] would most likely still happen. After all, he was [Fated] and the strings of Fate would definitely guide him to the Forbidden Lineage somehow. 

Besides, Nephis had been willing to face the Carapace Demon head-on, anyway. It was Sunless who had come up with the plan because he'd had an Echo. Cade did not doubt their ability to dispatch the Demon in a direct confrontation— granted, it would take a little more effort.

But none of that did anything to chase Cade's panic away. 

These small events would definitely, inevitably lead to a more conspicuous change in the story somewhere. Cade was sure of it.

For example, what if during the fight with a full power Awakened Demon, Sunny's armor was too heavily damaged and he was forced to dismiss it to allow it to be fixed in his soul? He would no longer be protected by the Doubtless enchantment of the Puppeteer's Shroud, and probably wouldn't be able to resist the Soul Devourer's enthrallment.

There were many other variables as well. What if they never got stranded on the Barrow because of the discrepancy? Nephis's trust in Sunny would never be complete then.

And that changed everything. This small unremarkable detail would somehow change the entire course of the story. After all, Sunny wasn't the only one who always jumped to the worst conclusions.

Cade was somewhat extremely paranoid and pessimistic himself. Not to mention that he was [Fated] as well. He couldn't rely on everything simply working itself out. Because he knew for a fact that Fate... had a twisted sense of humor.

And therefore, Cade could not, in good conscience, leave so many things to chance. Also, his advantage in knowing how things would progress from now on, would be gone if the events deviated too significantly. No, he had to find a way to keep the trio from leaving the Knight's statue tomorrow. 

Or from reaching it today. 

But how the hell am I going to do that? Cade thought, panic again rising in his stomach again. If I get too close, Sunny's shadow will definitely pick me up.  

He got up and started pacing back and forth on the coral branch.

But I can't just sit around and do nothing, he thought. No, I have to make it so that they return to the coral mound today and start their journey to the Knight's statue back tomorrow.  

Cade stopped and sighed, coming to a decision. He had just acquired the Echo of an Awakened Monster, and since Sunny didn't have Blood Weave enhancing his eyes yet, he would most probably not be able to tell the Echo apart from the real thing. 

Not to mention that Cade had a Memory designed precisely for stealth. Cade had to intercept the trio and slow them down, to the point where they'd have no choice but to return back to the coral mound to restart their journey tomorrow. 

That was going to be no easy task. But the unpredictability that would follow, if he didn't do it, would be worse... much worse.

And so, Cade started on his way to stall the trio.

It was time for a reunion. 

***

Walking through the labyrinth, Cade circled around the Knight's statue and approached it from the east, so as to avoid the horde of hungry Scavengers feasting on the shark devil's corpse.

However, he had still been forced to fight and kill seven Scavengers on his way here. He had tried his best to avoid as many of them as he could because he was on a tight schedule. Still, with the shark devil's corpse still attracting a very large number of them, the Scavengers in the vicinity of the Knight's statue were abundant. 

So, he'd had no choice but to slay seven of them. Technically, it had been the Centurion who killed them, but that detail was irrelevant.

And as always, Cade had received neither a Memory nor an Echo from any of them, though he had absorbed the soul shards. But he wasn't worried about that at the moment.

Right now, he had bigger problems to deal with. 

He quickly made the climb to the top of the statue's stump of its severed neck. Then, he strained his eyes and looked in the direction of the coral mound. He moved his eyes slowly from the coral mound in the direction of the statue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the trio. 

Damn it, he cursed. The crimson coral of the labyrinth was too convoluted to make out people in the small passageways. But he did manage to make out some movement close to the base of the hill on which the massive coral pillar stood.

He frowned slightly. There was some kind of a white silhouette near the coral mound. It almost looked like... snow? A blizzard? That was strange. As far as he remembered, there were no snow storms in the Crimson Labyrinth.

What the hell is that? he asked himself internally, squinting at the strange phenomena, but quickly discarded the thought. I can't afford to get side-tracked right now. I have to find those three. The quicker I do it, the better.

He swiftly descended down the statue and started moving to find the trio. But he kept in mind that Sunny's shadow was moving ahead of them and so, he couldn't take a direct route and meet them head on. No, he'd have to circle around and greet them from the back. 

So, as soon as he landed, he moved to the side, giving them a wide berth. After moving through the labyrinth for several hours and killing more than a dozen more Scavengers, he finally pinpointed the trio. 

Cade was exhausted. Not because he had killed more than twenty Scavengers since the morning; no, that had mostly been the Echo. He was exhausted because he had been walking, almost running all over the labyrinth trying to catch the three of them before they made it halfway to the statue. 

Thankfully, the soul shards from the dead creatures had invigorated him. So, he had made it, but just barely. 

Cade hid behind a coral pillar and crouched slightly to catch a glimpse of the three. He didn't have to worry too much about being discovered. After all, the group's scout, Sunny, was currently busy making sure the path ahead was clear.

So, he thought sneaking a peek wouldn't hurt too much. 

But as soon as he poked his head out, he froze. Cassie was staring directly at the spot where he was hiding. For a moment, Cade forgot that the girl was blind. He found himself almost drowning in those beautiful, blue eyes of hers... 

But Cade quickly shrugged off the shock— and the delight— he felt after seeing Cassie and ducked behind the coral pillar once again. He had almost forgotten that Cassie had enhanced senses, which mostly made up for her lack of sight. 

Holding his breath steady, Cade heard Nephis's voice asking with a bit of worry. "Cassie? What's wrong?" 

"Nothing..." Cassie replied after a pause. "I just thought I... heard something back there." 

"Heard something? Do you think there's a Scavenger back there?" Nephis asked. 

"No," Cassie said and Cade could almost hear the frown on her face. "No, it was just... just something. Anyway, I'm just wasting our time. Let's go. We have to reach the statue before sunset, right?" 

Not if I can help it, princess...

"Yes," Nephis replied. "Let's go." 

Cade sighed a silent sigh of relief and shifted his gaze to the Centurion standing to his side.

Alright, buddy, he thought. Let's do this.