Shadow Slave: Eternal Dawn

Awakening with a husky groan, Nico worked his tired muscles and forced himself to sit up.

His entire body felt like it was burning, pulsing with white hot pain. His vision swam.

A firm hand pulled him back down.

"Aye, easy now. Why don't you just lay there for a bit?"

A pained hiss escaped Nico:

"Why don't you tell me where..."

He paused, forgetting all about the interaction as fractured memories poured into his mind like an empty basin during a rainstorm. The race against time, the devastating arrow that pierced him, his broken horn, and the eventual defeat of the hunter — no, the shaman. And... the Spell announcing...

He summoned his runes with stifled shock.

Name: Nico.

True Name: Eternal Dawn.

Rank: Dreamer.

Class: Monster.

Soul Cores: [2/7].

Soul Fragments: [225/2000].

Memories: [Silver Wraith], [Mourning Star], [Wilted Dagger], [Song of Steel], [...], [...], ...

And, just below that string, glowing with newfound color:

Echoes: [Barrow Wraith Shaman].

A viscous, predatory grin split Nico's face wide open.

'I knew I heard the Spell say "an", but to see it... it's unbelievable. An Awakened Devil, huh...'

He imagined the power of the Devil fighting alongside him. His poised bow, snapping arrow after arrow into Nightmare Creatures like morbid pincushions. His devastating mind attack, enticing them to kneel before his spear like cowering beasts.

Fighting in tandem with the ancient wraith, he could even imagine facing a Fallen...

'Of course, I'll never be able to truly show the Devil off. Gunlaug would definitely make an example of me, then. I could get away, but being forever banished from the Bright Castle doesn't seem too appealing.'

Nico shook his head, preparing to read the Echo's Attributes and Abilities when a voice resounded, wary and confused:

"You still with us, Nico? You were face to face with that thing. It didn't... break you before you killed it, right?"

He glanced up at Gemma. The Hunter was sitting on a flat, cracked slab of stone beside him, elbows on his knees and drenched in monster blood, a flesh litany of tears and gashes in his light-armor.

His brows were furrowed quizzically — almost sharp.

Nico realized he was still smiling wolfishly. It was because of a habit rather than emotion, but for that reason probably even more disturbing.

"Ah, sorry. I just... couldn't help but be content after slaying that Devil," he mumbled, pressing his lips into thin lines. 

The lieutenant scoffed:

"Yeah? And I thought the Demon was tough. You just went ahead and slaughtered that thing all by yourself. Way to show off."

Attempting a shrug, he replied:

"Well, most of its abilities seemed skewed towards its mind attacks, and I happened to have both a tool and charm capable enough to deal with them."

The battle-hardened man stared skeptically.

"I guess. It's over now, regardless. We'll be starting the trek back in half an hour. Try to regain as much strength as you can. You were... bleeding. A lot."

Grimacing, Nico looked down.

He was laced in bandages. The chainmail that had been tightened snug against his torso was discarded beside him, soaked in dried bluish blood, and his tunic and sleeveless tabard beneath were placed beside it.

His body, unusually flawless, was covered in concealed wounds and purple bruises.

'So, they saw my Attribute, did they? Doesn't matter. They won't know what it means.'

He sighed.

"I'll be fine."

Pushing off the urge to inspect his new Echo for a little longer, he glanced his surroundings.

The Hunters appeared to be within one of the ruined structures that laced the edge of the square. Its roof had caved in some time ago, in the ancient past, but its walls stood firm, and the two parties were spread out on some of the fractured stones.

Eerie, distant noises echoed over their head. Fallen had no doubt been attracted by the noises and corpses.

Earlier, after fighting the devastating Demon, the two hunting parties were prepared for an even worse battle. Fear sowed in their hearts at the mere mention of a Devil. While the Sleepers knew it would eventually be vanquished, nobody wanted to figure out how many of them would fall alongside it, and even less wanted to be among those unlucky few.

Yet, as they were sprinting across the battlefield to reach Nico, who was holding the creature off alone, they saw a flash of white light flare in the distance and heard the scream of the Devil pierce the air. As the fight ensued, both awe and surprise nestled deep in their souls as the man stood above its corpse, lacking any armor, but most definitely alive.

Nico grimaced, ignoring the venerated gazes locked onto him as he peered into the Echo's runes:

Echo: [Barrow Wraith Shaman].

Echo Rank: Awakened.

Echo Class: Devil.

Echo Description: [When all was ash, the ancient wraiths wandered the Heart Forest like mourning winds, adrift in search of proper death. Barrow after barrow bared their entry, guarded by creatures too strange to name, and driven mad with grief, some wraiths stole into the bodies of the deceased. In their theft, they lost their names, their memories, and themselves, imprisoned in hollow tombs.]

Starring at the haunting description, he tried to make some sense of the Spell's strange words. This time, it actually seemed to tell a coherent story, but either these places were lost to time, or he simply didn't know them, because he couldn't think of anything that sounded or looked like the places described.

'Perhaps the talk of ash is more literal. Maybe the forest was burned and that's how the wraith's perished?'

Nico mulled over the idea for a while, then continued reading:

Echo Attributes: [Wraith], [Hunter].

Echo Abilities: [Enthrallment], [Possession].

'Two abilities as a Devil. That's unusual. What to read first?'

He focused on the first string of runes.

[Wraith] Attribute Description: [The Barrow Wraith Shaman is immune to physical attacks, however, remains increasing susceptible to soul attacks.]

[Hunter] Attribute Description: [The Barrow Wraith Shaman carries the primal teachings of the ancient hunters in its memory.]

'That's... something, for sure. Only the [Hunter] Attribute is really combat related, but that doesn't make any of [Wraith] less useful. Immunity to physical attacks will be invaluable despite its other weakness.'

He hummed quietly to himself, then viewed the Abilities next.

[Enthrallment] Ability Description: [The Barrow Wraith Shaman can take over and control the minds of all who sense it.]

[Possession] Ability Description: [Those enthralled completely by the Barrow Wraith Shaman can be taken by its malevolent soul.]

A subtle nod betrayed his cold expression.

'About what I expected. Although, that second ability seems strange. Could it control multiple bodies? Is its soul limited to one, or can it spread out between all of them?'

There was no real answer yet since the shaman hadn't been able to use any of its abilities to the fullest against him, but Nico felt it was the former. Maybe if it rose in rank, it could possess more than one body. He also had a feeling that if he had submitted and kneeled before the abomination, he would have become one of its thralls. Well, before it killed him, anyways. The beast didn't seem interested in carrying around any subjects alongside it. Perhaps its mind control was still too weak to puppet them directly.

Satisfied, he let his head rest against the wall and slowly drifted back to sleep.

After what felt like a mere moment, he was carefully shaken awake by Andel, and the Hunters were departing in silence back to the Bright Castle.

Crushing four soul shards in his hand — his improved share after slaughtering the Devil himself — he peered into the bleak, gray sky above with reproach.

He was going to have his life cut out for him once he returned.