Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Raphael looked at The Hollow Mountains for a minute, then he started walking west.

If the dream world was the same as described in the novel, the Forgotten Shore should be to the west of the Nightmare Desert.

Raphael continued his journey for five days, dying on all five.

It started to become a daily habit. Raphael began to stop fearing death, which in itself was terrifying.

To a warrior or soldier, Raphael would be a terrifying opponent. Not only would he not care about the damage he took, but he would also do anything to win.

Raphael was hiding behind a rock, peeking at a monster. By some coincidence, it was the same species that attacked the village in his First Nightmare. The difference was that it had four legs and two arms.

'The monster is an Awakened. Its class is unknown, but at most, it's a demon. The monster has high defense. I don't think my blood could even scratch it.'

Raphael started planning, trying to find a way to kill the monster.

He looked at his hand for a second and cut a wound in it. Blood flowed down, and the blood on the sand started to change shape.

'Yes, this could work.'

After finishing his plan, Raphael walked toward the beast.

The monster quickly heard his footsteps and ran toward him, trying to slash at Raphael with its claws. He quickly dodged to the right, using his ability to summon mantle-like claws, and attacked the monster's lower right leg.

'As I predicted, my ability couldn't even scratch its leg.'

The monster, angry that its prey had attacked, raised its leg in an attempt to crush Raphael.

Raphael dodged backwards, narrowly escaping being crushed.

In these two months, Raphael hadn't killed himself when night came or when he saw a monster. He had fought them, earning some experience.

'This monster is nothing compared to the undead. It's easy to predict its attacks.'

The fight continued for five minutes until, by mistake, Raphael tripped and fell.

The monster didn't waste the chance and used its tail to capture Raphael,

dragging him in front of its face. The monster used its hands to tear off Raphael's hands and put them in its mouth.

Expecting its prey to scream, the monster looked at Raphael, only to see a crazy smile on his face.

"Die, bitch."

Suddenly, something started to move in its mouth.

Using his ability, Raphael turned his blood inside the monster into a spike, crushing its skull and destroying its brain.

The monster's body fell, and the grip on Raphael loosened, freeing him.

"Hahaha… I'm fucking crazy."

[You have slain an Awakened demon, Dreadghoul.]

[You have received a Memory: Warrior Trust.]

[You have received an Echo: Dreadghoul.]

Raphael looked at the sky, a stupid smile on his face despite the pain he felt.

"My first kill in this world, and it was an Awakened demon. Not only that, but I got a Memory and an Echo!"

Raphael tried to stand, but to no avail—his hand was gone, and there was nothing to balance himself with.

With nothing to do for at least an hour, Raphael opened his Status.

Name: Raphael.

True Name: —

Rank: Dreamer

Soul Core: Dormant.

Soul Fragments: [0/1000].

Memories: [Warrior Trust].

Echoes: [Dreadghoul].

Attributes: [Fated], [?ᛁ@# ?4ᚨᚢᛚ€£], [Instant Regeneration].

Aspect: [Undying].

Aspect Rank: [Sacred.]

Aspect Description: [You are one who deceived death, escaping its grip and breaking its chains. But beware, for death will not let you escape again.]

Innate Ability: [Immortality].

Ability Description: [You are immortal in Blood, Bone, Flesh, Soul, Spirit, Mind, and Shadow. In essence, you cannot die.]

Aspect Abilities: [Self Sovereignty].

Aspect Ability Description: [You can control your Body, Soul, Spirit, and Mind to your desire.]

Flaw: [Masochist].

Flaw Description: [You will feel pain three times more intensely than a normal person.]

Raphael summoned the runes of his Memory.

Memory: [Warrior Trust.]

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Type: Armour.

Memory Description: [A warrior's armour is a warrior's trust, as he trusts his armour to protect his life.]

Memory Enchantments: [Enhanced Durability], [Courage of the Weak], [Self-Repair].

Unlike Sunny, Raphael couldn't see a Memory tier nor a Memory Enhancement Description, which was disappointing.

But he could understand what each Enhancement did.

"Finally, I have something to wear. I've been walking naked for two months!"

[Enhanced Durability] made his armour more durable than normal armour, [Courage of the Weak] provided mental protection and courage against stronger enemies, and [Self-Repair], as the name suggests, would repair it even outside his Soul Sea.

He was happy with the Memory, considering what he had to suffer to obtain it.

But he wasn't finished—there was another prize waiting for him.

Echo: [Dreadghoul].

Echo Type: Demon.

Echo Core: Awakened.

Echo Attributes: [Regeneration], [Bulwark].

Echo Description: [A Demon who lost its tribe to this cursed place].

The attributes of his Echo were self-explanatory. The first meant the Echo could regenerate, and the second meant it had massive defense.

"So it's an indestructible tank."

"Well, that's not what's important. I finally have a way to travel. Walking for two months on foot was just wasting time. I was so jealous of Sunny having a horse like Nightmare."

After an hour, Raphael's arms fully regenerated, and he summoned his armour.

The armour was dark and durable, with sharp shoulder plates etched with circular emblems. A solid chestplate protected his torso, while leather straps and reinforced greaves ensured flexibility. A tattered cape flowed behind him, and a heavy scarf was wrapped around his neck.

Raphael summoned his Echo and ordered it to open the Dreadghoul's chest to retrieve the Soul Shards.

Inside, there were three Soul Shards. Raphael quickly took them and absorbed them.

He felt stronger than before. He summoned his Soul Fragments runes.

Soul Fragments: [6/1000].

He then looked at his Echo and asked it to sit down so he could raid it.

"I should give you a name, don't you think? Since you're my first Echo?"

Raphael smiled.

"Tank. I think Tank works well for you."

"Now let's go, Tank. To the Forgotten Shore."

Tank started running. He was at least five times faster than Raphael!

"Hahaha… This will make the journey way easier."