Shadow Slave: Arcadius of the Forgotten

By the time Cade made his way back to the Flat Hill, the sun had dipped well past its zenith, casting long shadows across the rugged terrain. The warm hues of the late afternoon bathed the landscape, but Cade's thoughts were preoccupied, weighing heavily on the events ahead.

His stroll through the labyrinth had taken longer than he'd expected; its winding paths were both a challenge, and an unintentional escape from his thoughts.

Still, that was fine.

Tonight, the trio would return to the Bone Ridge, and tomorrow, they would finally set their plan into motion— the plan to kill the Carapace Demon.

At least, I hope that's what happens, Cade mused grimly.

He had rarely left anything to chance since being sent to the Dream Realm. Careful preparation regarding the trio's path had become his creed.

And yet, despite his countless reassurances to himself, unease still gnawed at the edges of his resolve. There were simply too many variables, too many unknowns, and that Demon was an unpredictable monster at best.

But thankfully, he had other pressing matters to occupy his mind— things that demanded immediate attention and served as a welcome distraction from his worries about the trio. 

Ascending the western slope of the Flat Hill, Cade's gaze swept across the familiar terrain until it settled on the boulder where Maya had been resting earlier. She was still there, sitting motionless, her posture distant and detached from the world around her.

She must be visiting her... well, whatever she has instead of a Soul Sea now, Cade guessed. He wasn't entirely sure what had taken the place of her shattered soul, but it was something he intended to learn eventually.

As he approached, he deliberately scuffed his armored boots against the ground, making just enough noise to announce his presence.

Maya's eyes twitched slightly before she turned her head in his direction. Her gaze sharpened, focusing on him with a flicker of recognition. She was still dressed in the crude, makeshift garments she had fashioned for herself from strips of black seaweed, their dark sheen catching the fading light.

Should I give her the armor now? Cade debated silently. After a moment of consideration though, he decided against it. Let's see how this goes first.

And to be honest, he didn't entirely mind the view. The form-fitting nature of the seaweed outfit revealed more than it concealed, and there was a natural elegance to the way the beautiful girl carried herself, even in such unorthodox attire.

Cade quickly shook his head, mentally chastising himself. Focus, idiot!

He moved to sit a respectful distance away from her, leaning his back against the trunk of a weathered tree. The rough bark pressed against his armor, grounding him as he took a deep breath and prepared to start a conversation.

"Maya," Cade began, his voice casual. "You feeling any better now?" 

He didn't really need to ask. Maya looked visibly better than when he'd left earlier. Her complexion had regained some color, and the tension in her posture seemed to have eased. Still, it felt natural to start the conversation on a lighter note.

"Yeah," Maya replied in an indifferent, almost bored voice. "Much better. So? Did you manage to get a good look at them?" 

Straight to the point, eh? Cade thought. Very well...

"Yeah, I did..." Cade answered honestly, shifting his position slightly to get more comfortable against the tree. "Things are moving smoothly. They were preparing to head towards the Ashen Barrow when I left."

"Right," she said with a nod. "That's okay. Any major discrepancies? I noticed you're trying your best to make them follow along the path that was set for them in the novel."

"Well, it's only natural," Cade replied, shrugging. "The less the things deviate from the original storyline, the better it is for me. For the both of us. That means we know what the future holds. I'm guessing you're of the same opinion?"

"Not particularly, no," Maya replied, her gaze drifting past him into the distance. "But it's not a bad way of thinking, so I get it... In any case, how are things moving so far?"

Cade paused before answering. He didn't really wanna admit his little blunder, but she most likely knew about it anyway.

"Actually, there was one tiny little discrepancy..." Cade's tone faltered for a moment, his words laced with hesitation. "You remember how they were gonna witness a Centurion present a Transcendent soul shard to the Demon? And how that whole spectacle was supposed to warn them against moving directly to the Barrow?"

"Yeah," Maya said, her eyes narrowing as her brows knitted together. "I remember."

"Well..." Cade rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. "I might have kind of... stolen those soul shards."

Maya blinked. Her eyes widened slightly. But if she was shocked, worried, or even mildly perturbed, she didn't let it show beyond that initial reaction. Instead, she stared at him for a moment, processing his admission with the same composed intensity she always seemed to carry.

After a beat, she let out a scoff. "So, that's why you attacked them that time? I was wondering why you ambushed them with that Echo."

Cade winced. He'd been hoping to avoid this part of the conversation, but there was no point in denying it now.

"Uh, yeah..." he admitted, his voice trailing off in embarrassment as he forced out a strained chuckle. "That, uh, didn't exactly turn out the way I expected it to. I even lost my Echo." 

Maya's expression didn't waver, though a flicker of amusement danced in her eyes. She tilted her head slightly as if sizing him up anew.

"So," she said finally, her tone deadpan, "not only are you a lunatic, but you're an idiot as well." 

"Hey!" Cade exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes, equal parts incredulous and defensive. "I am a very sane person, thank you very much. Some might even go so far as to call me smart." 

Maya arched an eyebrow. "Only if the bar for sanity and intelligence is lying face down in the dirt." 

Cade huffed, crossing his arms. "I'll have you know that I'm a tactical genius. I just occasionally operate outside conventional parameters." 

"Fancy way of saying you mess up a lot," Maya said, amused.

Cade opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't find one. "Damn it... she's good at this..." he muttered under his breath.

Maya smirked, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"No sane person goes around killing dozens upon dozens of Nightmare Creatures every day," she quipped. "And no smart person would pull the stunt you did. Stealing those shards was already stupid enough, but attacking them with the Echo afterwards was downright dumb."

Cade looked away, jaw tightening. He wanted to retort, to defend himself somehow, but she wasn't really wrong. The weight of that particular decision still hung over him, a bitter reminder of his impulsiveness.

"I realized it was a mistake right after I pulled it off," he admitted quietly. 

"If I hadn't been there back then," Maya stated, "you'd even have revealed yourself to them directly. All your careful planning would've been washed down the drain."

Cade frowned at her words. What was she talking about?

Come to think of it, he thought, I never did find out why I didn't attack them. I blacked out there, and I don't remember anything between then and when I deactivated my Ability. Was it her? Did she stop me?

Cade grew slightly wary. If Maya was someone who could stop him in his berserk state despite being a fellow Sleeper, then he'd heavily underestimated her abilities.

Looks like I'll have to be more careful around her...

However, before he could ask her how exactly she'd managed to stop him, Maya spoke again.

"Would killing eight Scavengers not have been easier for you?" she asked, her tone pointed but slightly less biting.

"Not eight— twelve," Cade corrected. "I found a different one first. After absorbing it... well, I kind of lost my senses for a bit. That's when I decided to go for the other two as well." 

Maya paused for a bit before speaking.

"That one didn't have anything to do with the story, so it wouldn't really have mattered what you did with an unknown Transcendent shard," she said flatly. "Still, with your Ability and strength, even killing twelve of them would've been easier than trying to deal with the mess you created. They've clearly been wary of intruders ever since then. That doesn't work in either of our favors."

Then, her expression relaxed just a fraction. She shrugged. "But I guess it happened for a reason. If you hadn't done it, I never would've realized there was someone else here."

So, I was right... Cade mused.

"Did you overhear their conversation?" he inspected, leaning forward slightly. "What did they say? Are they convinced it's me?" 

"Changing Star seems convinced," Maya replied. "The other two... not so much. In fact, Sunless straight-up denied the possibility that you'd attack them. Said something about how teaching him to fight would've been pointless if you were just gonna turn around and try to kill him."

Cade's lips curved into a faint smile. Despite everything, hearing that Sunny had vouched for him warmed his heart.

I guess it kind of worked, he thought. 

"Even Cassia was acting a little weird," Maya continued, her brows furrowing slightly. "Nephis tried asking her about your Attributes, but she didn't say much. She kept the details to herself."

She did? Cade asked himself internally, mildly surprised. He had guessed that Cassie would not reveal his Attributes— especially after he'd specifically asked her not to— but still, hearing that she hadn't, was a pleasant surprise.

"Just what did you do to them?" Maya asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why do they trust you so much?"

Cade shrugged casually.

"I made friends with them," he said, his tone light. "Something you clearly need to work on."

"Excuse me?" Maya's voice turned icy.

But Cade wasn't about to back down. Sure, he admitted that his decision to steal the shards hadn't been brilliant, but there was no way in hell he was going to let her have the last word after calling him an idiot.

"I said— you need to work on your people skills," he repeated confidently. "You're not exactly a ray of sunshine, you know?"

He had expected Maya to retort with another insult. However, to his surprise, Maya didn't snap back. Instead, she looked down at the ground, her expression unreadable.

After a moment though, she spoke in a strangely soft tone, "Well, uh, it's not really my strong suit. As you might have guessed already, I'm not much of a people person."

Cade immediately regretted his words. Had he gone too far?

That explains our brutally weird introduction, he thought. 

He coughed awkwardly.

"Well, uh, worry not. You've got yourself an amazing teacher right here," he said, trying to salvage the conversation. "You know, I've found myself oddly good at teaching people stuff as of late."

Maya snorted lightly. "Right... I guess I'll be in your care, then," she said sarcastically.

Cade grinned. "So, what's it about, huh? Were you a loner in the real world or what?"

Maya hesitated, then exhaled slowly.

"Not exactly," she admitted. "I, uh, had sort of a... questionable personality..." She shook her head. "That's just putting it mildly. Looking back, it's so painfully obvious. I was such a bitch to everyone back in the real world."

Cade's eyes widened. Damn. Talk about self-awareness...

But he didn't judge her for it. He'd been a lonely guy in the real world himself, but here? He'd worked hard to change that. And it had paid off— he had even managed to befriend one of the most distrustful people he could imagine.

And if he could change, why couldn't Maya?

"Well, doesn't matter in the slightest," he said, shrugging. "If you're willing to work on yourself, you can change. I mean... you've got a perfect example sitting right in front of you. I didn't have any friends back in the real world, but here? I've even managed to befriend Sunny. So, even if you were, uh, what you say you were... who cares? You can be someone different here. It's a fresh start for the both of us."

Maya's lips curved into a small but genuine smile.

"Thank you, Arcadius," she said lightly. "I'll be trying my best. Can't make any promises, though. It's not that easy letting go of who you were most of your life."

"I get it," he said, his grin widening. "You've got all the time in the world, though; two worlds, even."

Maya laughed gently, a warm sound that lightened the air between them. Cade felt the tension ease. He had a good feeling about this— they were going to get along just fine.