Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

Entering his room, Cade took in his surroundings. It was a fairly large room; not as large as his bedroom in the real world, but large nonetheless. It had a bed, a dresser, a table and an attached bathroom. There were also several sets of clothes with the Academy emblem. 

Cade didn't change into the new clothes. Instead, he simply sat down on the bed and did the same thing that Sunny must have been doing right now. He summoned his runes to look at his Memories. He had quite a number:

Memories: [Arcane Keystone], [Radiant Eye], [Voidfang], [Flameheart Forge], [Ebonveil Plate].

Cade focused on the last Memory first. He had never used or summoned it before, but from the name, he guessed that it was an armor. The Ebonveil Plate had been the reward for killing the final boss of his First Nightmare, so he had never had a proper chance to check it out. 

Memory: [Ebonveil Plate]. 

Memory Rank: Awakened. 

Memory Type: Armor. 

Memory Description: [Two travelers sat in the dim light of a guttering fire; their voices hushed as though the night itself could overhear. 

"Do you remember the story of the crow and the fox?" the first murmured, poking at the embers. 

"Not the one they tell children," said the other. 

"No," agreed the first, voice darkening. "The real story. The crow stole a piece of darkness, sharp as a blade, and hid it in the hollow of an old tree. But the fox followed. It didn't want the blade - it wanted to see what would happen to the crow after carrying such a thing for too long." 

"And?" 

"The crow started to fade, little by little, until it couldn't cast a shadow anymore. By the time the fox took the blade for itself, there was no crow left to trick." 

"A strange story," the second said, shifting uneasily. "What does it mean?" 

The first smirked and shrugged. "Who knows? But I've heard this: don't wear the shadows unless you're prepared to be swallowed by them." 

The silence stretched long after that, and the fire burned low.] 

Cade made a sour face. Yeah, not creepy at all, he thought as he summoned the Ebonveil Plate into the material world. The armor weaved itself into place, covering his body like a skintight suit made of intricately woven black metal plates. He stood up and moved to stand in front of the mirror.

Huh, he thought, looking at his reflection in the mirror. Kai would pay an arm and a leg for this, wouldn't he?

The armor looked quite fashionable. The alloy forming the armor's various pieces seemed to absorb light, giving it a haunting, matte-black surface that seemed to ripple when viewed at the edge of perception. 

This was Cade's first time wearing the Plate, but he could already tell that it would be an invaluable asset in the Dream Realm.

He had gotten this armor after killing an Awakened Terror known as the Umbragore. His First Nightmare had ended there. He felt a little guilty wearing the beautiful armor. He had not exactly earned this Memory by himself. It had been a group effort.

A lot of people had fought against the Awakened Terror, including the Awakened warriors of the erstwhile civilization of the Dream Realm. It had been a harrowing battle. A lot of people had died; a lot...

Cade had actually lured the Terror to the village he had been staying at. After finding out that he had to kill an Awakened Terror as a mere Aspirant, Cade had given up trying to do it directly. So, he had planned to lure the Terror to the civilization and pit it against stronger opponents who actually had a chance at killing it.

And so, Cade felt responsible for the deaths that he had caused.

He shook his head slightly, ridding himself of the unnecessary thoughts. "Not like they were real anyway..." he muttered under his breath.

Cade had just somehow managed to pierce the Terror's flesh with his sword before it had been swallowed by the cold embrace of death. And the Spell had attributed the kill to him.

I wish I could see the enchantments on this thing, he thought, frowning slightly. It's quite a high-Tier Memory for a Sleeper to have.

He sighed in dejection. Sunny's ability to read the enchantments of a Memory was one of a kind. It had come from him receiving a part of Weaver's Forbidden Lineage as blood weave. 

Well... it's not like I can do anything about it, he thought. I guess I'll just have to test it on the battlefield to see what it can do.

With that thought, he dismissed the black armor. 

Now, the sword? That was an entirely different story. That Memory had been well-deserved, even if Cade didn't completely remember what exactly he had done to deserve it. He focused on the sword Memory's runes: 

Memory: [Voidfang]. 

Memory Rank: Awakened. 

Memory Type: Weapon. 

Memory Description: [Forged from a fragment of pure abyss left behind by an ancient, nameless calamity, it is said that the hunger of the Abyss Eater lives on in this blade, waiting. Waiting to carve out the pieces of whatever it touches – and the fool who dares wield it.] 

Ha, Cade mused. What a show-off! "Waiting to carve out the pieces...", my ass. It's just a piece of black metal... albeit a pretty sturdy one. It did cut the flesh of an Awakened Terror, after all... even if its skin had already been broken.  

The sword Memory was of the Third Tier. He'd gotten it after killing an Awakened Demon called Nyxidra, The Abyss Eater, in a gruesome death battle. 

He had barely avoided dying in that one. In fact, him killing that Demon was a mystery that even he himself hadn't been able to solve completely.

He had been rather confident after killing a Dormant Beast with nothing but mundane tools. So confident, in fact, that he had deluded himself into thinking that he could take on an Awakened Demon and win; that too without any weapons.

But he had quickly been proven wrong. As soon as he had challenged the Nyxidra, he had come to realize how futile of a battle he had chosen. 

However... by some miracle, he had managed to survive.

How? Cade was not completely sure. He felt like his memories regarding the violent battle were somehow... clouded. The only thing he did remember was that he had come very, very close to dying.

He shivered slightly as he tried to remembered the scene of that vile battle; one which had almost claimed his life before it had even started in this strange world. 

He summoned the Memory and a simple sword appeared in his hand. The Voidfang's blade was black as the void itself. The sword was long and thin, edged on both sides, smaller than a longsword but still, close enough. He tried waving the black blade around, but almost hit the mirror in front of him. He stumbled slightly and dismissed the sword.

He had already gotten used to the blade back in his Nightmare and he hadn't even been a [Battle Master] back then. So, he didn't really need to check it out. But he had decided to take a look at it anyway.

I wonder if I'll be able to take Nephis on, he wondered. Probably not, I guess?

He rubbed his chin, thinking about the outcome of such a confrontation. Honestly, I don't doubt my chances all that much. My Aspect is of the Divine Rank and it has to do with True Darkness. I'm guessing it'll be suited for combat. Hell, even my Flaw seems like it'll be helpful in a fight... so long as I'm fighting alone, that is.

He shook his head slightly and massaged his temples, forcing himself to give up on pursuing this futile train of thoughts. I hope I never get to find out, he thought as he tried to focus on the task at hand.

The other two Memories: [Radiant Eye] and [Flameheart Forge] were both Dormant Memories of the First and Second Tier respectively and they were both tools.

The Radiant Eye was like a spherical lamp which provided bright red light, while the Flameheart Forge was like a portable campfire, more like a stove, whose fire burned an eerie blue color. 

These had proven to be rather useful during his First Nightmare. He hoped that the same would be the case in the Dream Realm.

And then... 

And then, there was the Keystone. 

Memory: [Arcane Keystone] 

Memory Rank: Divine.