Shadow Slave: Possibilities Without Meaning

But it did not stop there.

As a dreamer, awakened nightmare creatures did not trigger his flaw: [Tarnished Soul]. With each subsequent rank of nightmare creature that he faced, more symptoms would reveal themselves. From auditory hallucinations to visual hallucinations. The next stage was physical changes.

After his near-death experience with the dark sea monster that battled the builder's statue, Aldric had learned of the severity of his flaw. The tentacled creature had to have been at least a Great nightmare creature to elicit such reactions.

It was in that cold sea that he learned of the silent killer within his flaw. The fact that he would feel each stage of feedback concurrently. Numbing his ears and scrambling his sight, all the while untold changes occurred to his physical body.

That day he had nearly died. He was lucky to have survived.

However, ever since Aldric had ascended ranks and became an awakened, it seemed that his flaw had changed to match this development.

Now as an awakened, Fallen creatures did not elicit any response. With each stage reflecting this change as well. While this could have been a perfect respite from his terrible flaw, that would not be how flaws worked. So while he could now fight a Corrupted creature with only auditory hallucinations, the intensity of those hallucinations grew in horrific magnitude.

What used to be incoherent mutterings of the void were now disturbing, intelligible remarks. Almost tailored to his subconscious fears and insecurities.

This was a topic that Aldric had long thought over the past few months.

Remembering what flaws were defined to be as well as what research in the waking world determined them to be and their origin, it was a lot to digest.

Flaws were perhaps even more tailored to each individual than their aspect. Representing the law of imperfection that the Gods created to battle the void, it was the antithesis to the abilities and boons gained from an aspect.

A distortion of something that somebody holds dear. A contradiction of a person's personality. A reflection of their fate.

In the case of Sunny, his flaw had contradicted his personality to the maximum. A shrewd survivor who knew only lies and deceit could now only utter the truth. Made infinitely worse by his corresponding aspect and [Shadow Bond].

With this, Sunny had grown to build bonds with those he met. Putting him in situations that his past self would never even think of participating in. Sparking his ambitions and desires beyond mere survival.

So in the case of Sunny, his flaw acted as an opportunity for growth.

However, Aldric had concluded that his flaw acted as a limiter.

Limiting his growth in what he could accomplish, limiting where he could go, and limiting his mindset.

Aldric truly believed that his flaw conspired with fate to act against him.

The idea that he could not have gotten Weaver's lineage even if he was sent to the Coral Labyrinth. With his dark essence, he could have killed the Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn without having his essence drained. But even thinking of going near a Great creature as a dreamer would have meant his death.

Aldric could not explore unknown regions of the dream realm like Nephis was doing or constantly challenge creatures stronger than him unless he had to.

He definitely had to think on his flaw more. Perhaps he was missing vital information relating to his aspect.

But in this instance of time, something was wrong.

The voices in his head instantly went quiet. The telltale signs of a visual hallucination stopped.

All that was left was a harrowing feeling of fear. Alien-like and mind-breaking. The feeling was alleviated by the [Dauntless Will] enchantment on his [Sundered Sorrow] and his [Tranquil Core] attribute.

The hunter looked around at his friends, each reflecting faces of abject horror and fear.

Just ahead of them, the tunnel ended in a clearing.

A dome of mirrors.

Every single surface of the circular room was covered in mirrors. But they seemed different from ordinary ones. The surface of each mirror was embedded with enchantments. Lines of runes were written over the surface like a page in a book.

The blue light produced from the bulb reflected within the entire room.Strangely enough, the light did not bounce off each surface and reflect until they lost energy.Rather than creating that strange infinite effect when you put two mirrors side by side, it seemed that someone had limited the capabilities of these mirrors with the runes present.

In the centre of each mirror was a thick metal rod, with large chains connected to it. With each link being absurdly large, all of the chains were directed to the middle of the hall.

But what was in the centre was the source of the anomaly. Sparking the feeling of dread and insanity in the minds of those present.

Something was chained.

The guardian of the temple.

In a whisper filled with panic, Marielyn expressed her feelings.

"What the absolute fuck is that?"

Aldric could only agree with her.

In the middle of the hall was a creature. Reflective but dull. Short but large. Still but moving. An enigma.

A contradiction.

It took a quadrupedal form, with black, dull, leather-like skin. The eye sockets of the creature were closed, showing that the creature was asleep. Its hind legs folded like a lion resting in slumber.

It was the size of the Spire Messengers that caused the dreamer army so much grief during the siege of the Forgotten Shore.

His mind could not comprehend what he was viewing.

The beast oozed an unknown force. It reminded Aldric of feeling the oppressive force of true darkness. A unique force outside of the world's laws. It was in the likeness of the mist creatures in the underworld, but different.

The utter silence of his flaw made his mind race.

'Is that a nightmare creature?'

He thought. 

While the profanity of nightmare creatures triggers his flaw usually, dealings with those that ascend the path of divinity do not. Hence, Aldric was safe when he dealt with Masters and Saints in the waking world.

Only for that silence to be changed with a buzz. A strange static. As if his flaw was attempting to compute what it was seeing.

Looking closely at the walls again, the runes that lined the mirrors seemed to be filling up with the same mystical blue light that Aldric concluded was soul essence. With just above fifteen percent of the mirror filled up with glowing runes, the rest were inactive. For now.

'Damn it all! If that thing awakens, we are dead!'

Aldric did not need his flaw to assess the danger of the beast that slumbered. While he could not begin to think of the nature and origin of the monster, it was definitively above the Corrupted rank. A Great creature or even higher. If he could even use those hierarchies to measure the strange creature.

"Retreat!"

Aldric ordered.

The group dashed back down the tunnel. Blitzing past the archaic walls and up the stone steps.

Collapsing on the ground inside the temple, they caught their breath. Without the chance of using any soul essence to strengthen their body unless they wanted to die quicker, it took a small toll on their bodies.

HUFF

"Aldric. What can we do?"

Kura asked in a slightly numb voice. The events of the night clearly taking their toll on the electricity-generating awakened.

Aldric looked at his other teammates. Iris sported a face of utter intensity as she computed every possible pathway out of this hell. Marielyn seemed to struggle with accepting the current situation.

"Iris, how long do we have until the monster awakens?"

Aldric asked. Knowing and trusting in her observational and calculation skills.

Taking a steady breath, the raven-haired woman spoke out. Her face showed a look of harrowing hopelessness.

"It is highly likely that the essence being drained is going to be used to disable the binds holding that thing. So whoever survives the initial drain of soul essence will have to deal with that thing afterwards. Likely kept in mind for higher-ranked beings."

Analysing the state of the runes in its lair, it was about ten to twenty percent full. So we have about 45 minutes left."

Aldric agreed with the assessment.

'Our only option is to somehow leave the field of fog.'

"Ok, follow me."

He ordered.

Leaving through the gate of the temple, Aldric came across the group of researchers sitting silently on the top steps of the stairway. 

Aldric did not care to analyse their well-being or feelings. After all, it was one of them that put them in this situation.

Whoever had triggered the mechanism clearly did not know how to disable it. After all, no one did. Not the Sword Domain nor the government.

This was a death trap.

"Judas! The temple is yours to study. Take your entire team and find a solution. Our lives depend on it."

Aldric told the despondent team.

Judas had a small glimmer of desire in his eyes. The desire to survive. Perhaps the proximity of death had made him reconsider his need for survival. And if not for himself, at least for his team.

Walking right past the group, Aldric marched down the stairs, with his team trailing behind him. 

It was time to figure out how this worked.

---------

30 minutes later.

They were no closer to solving their issue.

Aldric had walked through the fog over twelve times.

He manifested a raven to fly above the temple, but the result was the same.

He had cut the fog 10 times.

The [Miasma of Rot] from his blade had no effect.

Kura released an electricity-coated arrow.

Marielyn blasted a light beam through the fog. 

The first of the researchers had collapsed from essence exhaustion. With the rest close to following.

Judas was nowhere close to solving their dilemma. Only he was safe for now with an ascended soul shard hidden in his palm.

It was dire.

Only 20 minutes remained. Either they would die from a depleted soul core or the monster would awaken.

Aldric focused on his biggest asset.

[Insight].

Taking a chance to focus his mind, he filtered out the noise. Utilising the proficiency that he gained over the past year and a half, he looked at the fog ahead of him.

Nothing.

A subtle air of danger buzzed around him. Not enough to warrant anything but dangerous nonetheless.

Slowly, he looked towards the temple. Looking through the gate and at the small opening. 

Danger

'I guess I don't have a choice.'

Aldric resolved himself.

It was time to make a decision.

With a focus on his runes, Aldric summoned an auspicious memory. One that he had not used once since receiving it.

In a stardust of essence, something had formed. A blood-red orb sat on his palm. Its surface covered in numerous veins.

Looking at the orb, his senses screamed at him to not even look at it. Danger rumbled in his soul, but death was close anyways.

'Besides, something inside of me is telling me that this is my only option.'

Like the box of Pandora, nothing would be the same after this.

[You have acquired a Seed of Chaos. Do you wish to consume it?]

Looking at his team, it was time for some words.

"Listen up. I apologise for this situation. In truth, I had some misgivings about this whole thing, but they were not warranted at the time. I guess hindsight is the best teacher."

All three of them had faced death in the face numerous times. However, there was something about not facing death head-on in a battle. But this slow and certain death was psychological torture. It gave them time to think. Think of their future, their ambitions, and their families.

Aldric's calmness had inspired them to relax. To take each minute as it came. To be calm enough to have hope. After, it was Aldric.

The Dark Hunter. The war ender. The dream army's blade. The Singularity.

And their leader.

In the months that they knew each other, they had concluded that Aldric was special. In the likes of Changing Star and other exalted Awakened. His ability to manifest his desires and find the right path to success.

His journey would not end here.

"Aldric. I chose to follow you, and I stand by that."

Iris spoke out in a quiet voice. She had long since decided to join her fate with Aldric's. And this was not the time to doubt it.

"Exactly! I choose to be here. Don't take away from my choice."

Kura shouted. Extending his heightened emotions to shouting at his leader.

Being a self-proclaimed man of principle, he could not show any cowardice in front of his team. It was time to stick with his choices, no matter the consequence.

Marielyn was strangely quiet. 

"You guys remember how I felt in the Forgotten Shore."

"Useless."

"Defective."

She let out a self-deprecating laugh. 

"Can you imagine a girl with an aspect powered by the stars being sent to a starless realm? Living in a castle where my only path to power was taken from me to survive. I felt like a walking corpse most of the time."

Raising her head and looking at Aldric. 

"But when I stared death in the face during the siege of the Crimson Spire, it was you and Bael that saved me. Not Changing Star or her cohort but a man fighting in the front lines and his echo. Bael carried me past the soul-destroying light and into the spire."

She stopped and took a breath to calm her rattling mind.

"That's why I'm here. Not with the House of Night, or the Fire Keepers, or anyone else."

Marielyn concluded. A small smirk on her face.

"I'm glad to hear that. It makes this choice a bit easier."

His sombre words sparked alarm from the group, but no one questioned him. It was not their place to do so, and the situation did not call for it.

"Alright. Marielyn, be ready to heal me if anything bad happens. Iris, wake me up if I fall unconscious for longer than five minutes. Kura, keep an eye on the researchers."

Aldric gave out his last orders. 

Inhale.

Exhale.

[You have acquired a Seed of Chaos. Do you wish to consume it?]

'Yes.'

The red orb in his hand raised in the air off his palm and went straight into his temple. Right between his eyebrows, where his faded crease was.

And the world burned.

*********

Thanks for reading.

TobyTheDoggo: I would but I'll read something new that's revealed and go straight to going through the stack. I can only stack when nothing is really happening. Like the Bastion fight. I don't know what to think about slayer to be honest. 

Any recommendations on how to make reading more convenient? Maybe a side chapter of memories and runes that you could look back on. Let me know if anything comes to mind.

Till the next one. Enjoy your weekends.