My dumb life in Shadow Slave

[A/n: Anyone who is still here, cheers to a random chapter pop! Yep I'm back, prolly not for long, but better than nothing am I right? Well anyway, enjoy the Chapter.]

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"Fuck Yeah!" Asher removed the soul shards of the dead monster.

[Your soul grows stronger]

He left the other one for Nephis. They were currently moving all thier stuff towords the opposite side of the island just in case something get's attracted by the monster meat. Of course, due to Asher's memory, he knew something would come. Something did come.

***

Sunny had never seen anything like it. The creature loomed in the dim light, its grotesque form casting shadows that twisted like nightmares. Its pale, corpse-like flesh gleamed faintly, stretched taut over a body that seemed unnaturally strong. It resembled a lion born from some twisted abyss, with two muscular hind legs and six grotesque forelimbs sprouting chaotically from its broad chest. Each ended in talons so long and sharp they could carve through stone.

As they crouched behind jagged rocks, the creature tore into the lifeless centurion with a brutal efficiency, its talons crunching through the carapace as if it were paper. The sound echoed—wet, visceral, and nauseating. Asher winced at the sight, his stomach churning. That's when it happened.

The spire messenger froze mid-motion. Slowly, unnervingly, its head twitched toward their direction. Its hollow, black eyes seemed to pierce through the terrain, its gaze searching, predatory.

Sunny tensed immediately, his hand gripping the edge of the rock with white knuckles. Nephis didn't move, her eyes narrowing with cold precision, but there was a flicker of something dangerous in her expression. Cassie, oblivious to the threat, clung tightly to Nephis's arm.

Asher's breath hitched as the beast's thundering steps began to approach. Each step cracked the earth, sending shivers through the ground. His mind raced. This wasn't supposed to happen.

It felt as though time had slowed. The oppressive silence magnified every sound: the scrape of his clothing against the stone, Sunny's shallow breathing, the faint rustle of Cassie's movements. Asher's instincts screamed that the messenger had already found them.

Shit. It knows.

Asher glanced at the others, all of them looking back at him, their eyes brimming with unspoken desperation. They needed a plan, but all Asher had was fear gnawing at his resolve. Closing his eyes, he focused on the faint fluctuations of gravity around him. The messenger was enormous—every step was like the beat of a drum against his senses.

Suddenly, the creature stopped. It tilted its head unnaturally, letting out a shrill, bone-chilling cry that pierced their ears. Asher clenched his jaw, biting back a groan of pain. The cry wasn't just sound—it felt alive, crawling beneath their skin, an otherworldly demand: Who dares trespass?

In that instant, Asher acted. With his limited control over gravity, he managed to rustle the leaves of a nearby tree. The movement was subtle, barely noticeable, but it was enough. The spire messenger's head snapped toward the noise, its eyes narrowing in fury.

The creature roared, a deafening sound that shattered the stillness and made the very rocks tremble. It lunged at the tree with terrifying speed, its talons ripping through bark and branches like tissue paper. The resulting chaos was nightmarish: trees toppled, rocks exploded, and dust filled the air. Asher winced at every thunderous crash, each one a reminder of what would happen if they were caught.

Asher gestured frantically to the others, mouthing for them to move. They hesitated, unwilling to leave him behind, but Nephis' eyes met his, a flicker of understanding passing between them. Slowly, reluctantly, she nodded and began guiding Cassie and Sunny away. Nephis lingered for a moment longer, her expression tight with conflict, before she followed.

Asher's muscles screamed in protest as he remained frozen, his powers straining to stir another distant branch. Each second felt like an eternity as the messenger continued its rampage, clawing and howling at the empty air.

Finally, when he was sure the others had reached safety, Asher began to crawl backward, his movements agonizingly slow. Every shift of his weight, every scrape of his clothing against the stone felt like a thunderclap. Sweat poured down his face, dripping onto the ground below, each drop echoing in his ears like a death knell.

The messenger suddenly stopped. Its head snapped up, its ears twitching. Asher froze, his heart pounding so loudly he feared it would give him away. For a horrifying moment, the creature's black, empty eyes seemed to stare directly at him.

Then, with a guttural growl, the beast grabbed a few scavenger carcasses with its grotesque talons and spread its massive wings. The force of the takeoff was like a hurricane, blasting dirt and debris in every direction. Asher clung to the ledge, his fingers digging into the stone as he was nearly thrown off by the sheer force.

He watched, trembling, as the creature became a black dot against the horizon, heading west.

Asher let out a shaky breath, collapsing onto the ground. His chest heaved as he gulped in air, the adrenaline draining from his body. The silence that followed was deafening, his ears still ringing from the creature's piercing cries.

Then, just as he thought he could finally rest, a soft, familiar voice whispered in his ear:

[Your Attribute has evolved!]

Asher blinked as the notification hovered in his vision. A sense of unease settled over him, its weight far heavier than the words themselves.

His frown deepened as he pulled up his stats:

Name: Asher

True Name: Echo of the Abyss

Rank: Dreamer

Soul Core: Dormant

Soul Fragments: [56/1000]

Memories: [Stoneblade], [Veilskin Vesture], [Azure Blade]

Echoes: —

Attributes: [Eidetic Perception], [Spark of Anomaly], [Aetherial Harmony], [Nimble Intellect], [Spectral Sight], [Soul Veil], [Dreamspawn], [Photographic Memory]

Aspect: [Celestic Dictator]

Aspect Rank: [???]

Innate Ability: [Gravitic Resonance]

Aspect Ability Name: [Gravitic Nexus]

Aspect Legacy: —

Flaw: [Emotional Amplification]

***

His eyes stopped on the change.

Mark of Anomaly had evolved into Spark of Anomaly.

"What...?" Asher murmured, his voice barely audible. A cold, unfamiliar sensation spread through his chest, like ink seeping into water.

[Spark of Anomaly]: "Every fire starts from a spark. Somewhere deep within your soul, a blighted spark shines with accursed darkness."

A chill ran down his spine as the words unfolded before him. They seemed to hum with power, each syllable pressing against his mind, heavy with meaning.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered under his breath. For a moment, the world seemed distant, the noise of his surroundings dulled by the strange pulse within him. It was as if something ancient and dormant had stirred—a shadow clawing its way toward the light.

Was this connected to his predicament? Had his affinity for anomalies—whatever that meant—drawn him into this nightmare?

The air around him felt charged, thick with something he couldn't name. He could almost hear it, a faint whisper at the edge of his perception, elusive yet insistent, like a memory trying to resurface.

"Asher!"

Sunny's shout yanked him back to reality. He snapped his head toward the sound, his heart pounding. Sunny stood a distance away, his expression tense.

"Are you okay?" Sunny's voice was sharp, but there was an undercurrent of worry.

"Yeah," Asher called back, his voice steadier than he felt. He turned and began walking toward the group, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Sunny let out a relieved sigh as Asher approached. Nephis, standing close to Cassie, let her cold mask falter for just a moment, a flicker of concern passing across her face.

As they regrouped, Asher stole a glance at his surroundings. The land bore the scars of the spire messenger's rampage—a scene of utter devastation. The trees lay broken, splintered into jagged fragments, while massive rocks were reduced to rubble. The ground itself was cracked and barren, as if life had been violently ripped away.

It wasn't just destruction; it was desecration.

Asher's gaze lingered on the barren earth, his mind flashing back to the notification. The words "blighted spark" echoed in his head, resonating with something primal and deeply buried.

The others said nothing, their silence weighing heavily on him. It wasn't just exhaustion or shock—it was the kind of quiet born from an unspoken agreement to not ask questions. Not now.

But Asher couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed. It wasn't just his attribute evolving—it was something bigger, something deeper. He felt it gnawing at the edges of his consciousness, whispering of things he wasn't ready to understand.

"What do you think that thing was?" Sunny asked, his voice strained as he panted, his hands on his knees.

Asher, equally breathless, clutched his knees and shot a glance at Sunny. "A fallen monster."

At his words, Sunny and Nephis visibly tensed. Asher frowned, noticing their expressions. "What? Did you both forget about my eyes?"

The duo coughed awkwardly, sharing a brief, sheepish glance before blurting out in unison, "Uhm… yes."

Cassie's knees buckled as she collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Nephis crouched beside her, trying to reassure and failing too. No matter how talented Nephis was, she simply lacked skill too communicate. 

Asher finally gave in, letting himself collapse to the ground with a groan. He turned his head to Sunny. "Hey, flower boy! Get some food. I did way too much work for this team today!"

Sunny glanced at him briefly and nodded before walking off without a word.

Asher's jaw dropped. He blinked in disbelief, sitting up slightly. "Wait, what? You're not gonna bicker with me? I called you flower boy! That's prime teasing material!"

Sunny paused, looking down at his hands. He opened and closed them slowly, as though testing their weight. "Last night…" He trailed off, his voice subdued. "Last night, I felt like I finally got some clarity. And it hasn't gone away." His lips twitched upward, but there was no humor in his tone. "I'm too preoccupied with other thoughts to give a shit about you right now, Asher."

Asher sighed in exaggerated relief, falling back onto the dirt. "Thank the gods. You didn't change after all."

Nephis turned her gaze toward Asher, her voice soft but deliberate. "No, Asher. You're the only one who doesn't change, no matter the situation."

As she rose to her feet and began walking off, Asher raised an eyebrow. "Eh? Was that a compliment?"

Nephis didn't even glance back. "Take it however you like," she said, her tone dismissive.

Sunny followed behind her, leaving Asher behind, confused and staring at their retreating figures.

"The fuck was that conversation about?" he muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples.

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Lying on his back, Asher stared at the empty, broken sky above. His thoughts churned like storm clouds, disjointed and relentless.

A few things had become painfully clear to him:

First, last night had brought pain unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was the kind of pain that carved itself into your soul, making you pray to never face it again. But this was the world of the Nightmare, and praying didn't get you far here. If anything, it got you killed.

Second, [Eidetic Perception] was more broken than he'd realized. Somehow, someway, it had let him understand the patterns behind the crab monster's attacks after just a few moments. He could almost predict its moves, as if deciphering some primal logic hidden in its instincts. If he'd had Sunny's ability to transform into the creature, Asher was confident he could have mimicked its combat style. It was powerful, yes—but ultimately, all it did was show him the absurd gap between his potential and his current reality.

And finally…

He didn't understand his feelings toward Nephis anymore.

At first, they'd been simple. Lust, pure and amplified by the flaw that cursed him with heightened emotions. But now? Now there was something murkier there. Something unsteady, like the ground beneath his feet before it gave way. And that scared him more than any monster ever could.

Asher sighed, turning to his side. "Maybe this is all some screwed-up dream," he muttered. "Maybe Truck-kun tried to take me out but botched the job, and now I'm stuck in a coma. Honestly, that'd be preferable to this shitshow."

"Asher."

Cassie's voice broke the stillness, soft but insistent. He glanced back to see her crouching, searching the ground with trembling hands. "What is it?"

"I dropped my spoon…" Her voice was fragile, like glass about to crack.

Rolling his eyes, Asher trudged over. With [Spectral Sight], he quickly located the spoon and dusted it off before handing it to her. "Wash it first. Who knows what kind of Nightmare creature microorganisms are crawling on this thing?"

Cassie nodded weakly, clutching the spoon like it was the only solid thing in her world.

As Asher turned to leave, he muttered under his breath, "Then again, the gods here are dead. Who's gonna stop them?"

He'd barely taken a few steps when Cassie's voice stopped him again.

"Asher… wait."

He sighed, his patience wearing thin. He turned, ready to snap, but the words caught in his throat.

Cassie was standing now, trembling as she looked at him with hollow, haunted eyes. She took a step forward, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Please… tell me," she said, her tone cracking.

Asher's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Are you… are you angry at me for some reason?"

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[A/n: Any feedback I shall take, so please comment, I like seeing comments]