Shadow Slave: Divergence of Hereos

Chapter 34: Meeting 

In the blink of an eye, she was on the first Mudmare, her movements swift and precise. She didn't need a weapon. 

Her fists tore through the mud creature with a sickening crunch, sending chunks of its grotesque form flying in every direction. 

I could only watch.

Another Mudmare lunged at her, tendrils whipping out to ensnare her. She dodged effortlessly, her body twisting midair with an agility that seemed unreal. 

Her elbow came down on the creature's head, and the impact reverberated through the swamp. The thing didn't just fall, it disintegrated.

My jaw clenched as I stood there, useless.

Effie didn't break her pace. She spun, planting a powerful kick into another Mudmare, sending it hurtling back into the muck. 

The creature splattered against the ground like a lump of wet clay, its body barely holding together after that. 

I shifted uneasily, my mind racing. I had fought these things with everything I had, but she was making it look easy. No hesitation, no wasted movements, just pure, unrestrained force.

That was currently the difference between me and the Elites here in the Forgotten Shore, which I had apparently been sent to.

My Soul core, or maybe even multiple would catch up to theirs, but the experience they had with life or death battles was something I didn't have yet.

I did have better technique, and a better main weapon, but I didn't have the experience.

With a final stomp, Effie crushed the last Mudmare underfoot, its body sinking into the mud, leaving nothing but a sad, broken pile of muck. 

The entire fight had been over in less than a minute, and she hadn't even broken a sweat.

She straightened up, brushing her hands on her pants, her hazel eyes glancing over at me with an amused smirk tugging at her lips. "Not bad," she muttered, though I could hear the tease in her tone. 

Her eyes flicked over me, sizing me up. "But you looked like you were going to die to these little shits!"

I shifted, feeling the weight of Ruyi Jingu in my hand as I tried to process what had just happened. 

I clenched my teeth. I'd handled myself fine, sure, but next to her? It felt like I was moving in slow motion.

Effie stepped closer, her athletic frame radiating a kind of causal power I hadn't seen before. "You're not bad with that stick," she said.

"Yeah," I muttered, at the boisterous attitude she maintained easily after the fight. The mentality to move on from a life threatening battle…another thing I needed too.

Without another word, Effie turned and started walking. "Come on," she said, her voice firm. "You lucked out meeting someone like me. Let me bring you to the city"

Talking with Effie was certainly…refreshing. She did seem a lot like her novel counterpart. Taking life with a pinch of salt.

I did collect all the shards of the Mudmares which I had killed, which had collected up to the amount of…3.

Enough for me to last 3 weeks inside of the City if I had wanted to.

But I knew for a fact that staying inside of this city was completely useless. After all, I need to grow inside of the Forgotten shore, until Nephis, Sunless and Cassie hopefully make their way over.

I obviously needed to get myself some type of armour at least, other than just upgrading my Soul core.

The faster I awaken my core, the faster I would be able to get my second ability to upgrade another one of my 'senses,' at a time during a fight.

…

Name: Klaus.

True Name: The Stranger Beyond Worlds.

Rank: Dreamer.

Shadow Core: Dormant

Shadow Fragments: 500/1000

Memories: [Remnant of Ruyi Jingu] 

Echoes: —

Shadows: (Refer to Sunny's Shadows).

Attributes: [Beyonder], [Mark of Inevitability]. 

Aspect: [Blessed of the Monkey King]

Aspect Rank:[ Divine.]

Aspect Description:[No living being in existence has ever been blessed by the Monkey King. Rejoice as his blessing means more than anything you can imagine.]

Innate Ability:[Follower of the king]

Ability Description: [As the Blessed of the King, you will follow his path to Power]

Aspect Ability Name: [Kings Instinct]

Aspect Ability Description: [You have the instincts of the Monkey King]

Your Flaw is: [Prisoner of the Golden Headband]

Flaw Description: [You are a Prisoner of your own 'Will']

…

500 more did not really seem that hard…all that I needed to do was build a proper party with a variety of aspects.

Yet for some reason…that seemed off to me.

It didn't seem like something I myself wanted to do.

Something was warning me, telling me not to go with something simply because it was safe or the norms of society.

Sure, people were told that they were unable to survive in the dream realm alone, but did that rule truly apply to everybody? Why did I have to let something so mundane stop me?

Was this arrogance?

It probably was, considering that I truly am one of the weakest beings inside of this entire world. But for some reason…I truly did not care.

I wanted to do whatever the hell I wanted, and that was to hunt as I pleased.

Ruyi Jingu seemed to be pleased with my mindset, as it pulsed in happiness.

I did pay a shard for a week, simply because I wanted a proper bed and meals. Cooking and setting up a settlement for me to live seemed like a waste of time to me.

I spent about a day looking around the city, and not long after that I took off for my next hunt.

…

(Klein)

As Klein sat in his seat in the world above of the grey fog, he pulled in the members of the club and at the same time manifested the world.

"Good morning, Mr Fool." The High-Priestess called out to The Fool.

Right as the greetings of The High-Priestess had ended, the Emperor had opened his mouth in anticipation.

"Mr World, I require the Sequence 8 formula of my pathway."

The High-Priestess seemed to be confused at the words, Sequence 8, but Klein ignored the shock. Surprise is normal when she hasn't been properly introduced to the world of beyonders.

"That will cost 50,000 credits." The World replied in a quick tone, as if he had been prepared for a while.

He knew that The Emperor would be able to finish the digestion of his potion soon, so he had been prepared for this issue.

"Done."

The deal was quickly made. Klein then turned towards The High-Priestess who seemed to be a little disoriented. He then manipulated The World to speak.

"Is everything okay, Miss High-Priestess."

"Yes…it is just that I have been dragged into a dire part of The Dream realm." She mentioned.

At that thought, Klein realised that his theory was luckily correct. The world above the grey fog had the power to breach into the dream realm to bring The High-Priestess into the meeting of the Tarot Club.

"Is it an unmapped region?" The Emperor asked.

The dream realm was a vast place after all, it was normal for the entire area not to be mapped.

"Yes…and it is filled with creatures I am frankly unaware of being able to survive."

Her voice quivered at the end of her words. She turned towards the general direction of The Fool.

But something seemed to stop her words as she fought the urge to say something.

'Hey don't look at me like that, I need help!' Klein couldn't help but think, yet a small part of him felt bad.

He hated his current weakness, yet there was nothing he could do right now. He truly had to quickly advance in the sequences.

Well…he already knew a place where he would be able to go to, to advance quickly with his Clown Potion.

Something known as the Dreamscape.

Overthere, he could act as a Clown and Magician without any worries whatsoever.

…

The clouds, pitch-black and roiling, flash with blinding arcs of electric fury. 

The atmosphere hums with energy so volatile that the ground itself trembles, scorched by strikes that descend like the wrath of an ancient storm god. 

In this place, shadows twist unnaturally, and creatures born of nightmares lurk in the flashing brilliance, drawn to the destructive power of the endless storm.

Standing in the eye of the storm, a young man with raven-black hair and piercing, cold eyes calmly surveys the chaos. 

His demeanour is both composed and fierce, marked by the experience of countless battles. 

Cloaked in darkness, he possesses an aura of intense solitude, the weight of betrayal and loss visible in the depths of his gaze.

In an instant, a massive thunder hawk, a towering nightmare creature was in the middle of the lightning filled atmosphere. It was clear the creature created this…. 'World.'

The creature controlled the lightning that was building up in the sky and was about to direct it towards the young man who dared to approach it.

Yet, the young man raises a hand to the sky, effortlessly bending the lightning to his will. The heavens themselves seem to answer his call as the swirling clouds darken further.

With a simple, sharp movement, he directs the natural lightning down in a terrifying display of control. The bolt, pure and ferocious, crashes into the creature, vaporising it instantly.

Just like that, an Unholy demon had died due to its own power.

The young man stood there silently as the storm receded, its power gone as quickly as it appeared.

Sasuke Uchiha looked at the world around him, unbothered by his display of power.

...

Authors note:

Unfortunately this isn't a continuation of the fanfic. I simply had a couple of spare chapters I wanted to upload.

I am currently trying a new project, which is basically my own novel but I will be uploading it as a fanfic since honestly I write mainly for interaction with people.

I write to share ideas and run through scenarios with people, so I hope you will try my new project out.

It is called "Eternal Heir."

Do not subscribe to patreon for this fanfic anymore thanks.