Shadow Slave: Eternal Madness

Raphael saw a harrowing, but beautiful place. The somber grey sky and the black earth created a perfect backdrop for the vibrant crimson sea of twisting coral blades. Here and there, strange landmarks broke the monotony of the landscape.

"Finally.. I escaped that hell."

Raphael was elated—he had not only reached the Forgotten Shore but had also escaped the Nightmare Desert!

Raphael looked behind him at the white dunes and then ahead at the Forgotten Shore.

"Sigh.. we have a problem, Tank."

The Nightmare Desert was an open area where there were no obstacles to slow you down or trap you. On the contrary, the Forgotten Shore was riddled with obstructions. Its other name was literally the Crimson Maze.

So riding on Tank was out of the question, which meant it would take much longer to reach the Crimson Spire.

The problem was, he had already spent eight months getting here!!

"Sigh.. fuck me sideways, man, why is my luck so bad!!"

On his way here, he had killed more than 80 monsters, raising his Soul Fragments to 140, but he still hadn't gained a single memory!

"Did all my luck vanish when I killed Tank?"

Raphael unsummoned Tank and began walking into the Crimson Maze.

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Raphael crouched behind one of the red coral blades, watching a group of ten creatures feasting on what seemed to be a massive shark.

Nine of the creatures were two and a half meters tall, resembling a twisted amalgamation of a demonic crab, a centaur, and a nightmare. They had four pairs of long, segmented legs ending in scythe-like protrusions. From their carapace, a humanoid torso jutted forward, encased in thick chitinous armor. Their heads sat directly on top of their torsos, with no neck in between, and featured narrow eye slits and a slimy, mandible-lined mouth. Instead of hands, the monsters had enormous pincers.

The last one, clearly the leader of the group, was even larger, its jagged spikes protruding menacingly from its thick carapace. Its chitin was black and crimson, resembling ancient armor splattered with fresh blood. Instead of pincers, its arms ended in two terrifying bone scythes.

'Nine Carapace Scavengers and one Carapace Centurion... this will not be easy.'

Raphael could bypass them and move on, but he was a greedy bastard. Inside the massive shark's body, he saw four Shards brighter than any he had encountered before.

'It's at least a Fallen, maybe even a Corrupted!'

'The plan is simple: kill the leader, which will throw the Scavengers into confusion, and take out as many as possible before they regroup.'

Raphael made a cut on his arm and focused on creating the sharpest blade he could muster from his blood.

After completing the blade, he began approaching the Centurion with silent steps.

'One chance, Raphael... one chance.'

Once he was within striking distance of the Centurion, he stopped sneaking and sprinted toward it.

The Centurion, engrossed in its meal, only noticed Raphael when it was too late. It tried to raise its scythes to protect its head, but Raphael's momentum was unstoppable.

With a powerful slash, Raphael's blood blade severed the Centurion's head from its body.

He wasted no time and turned toward the shark, only to be jarred by a loud sound.

[You have slain an awakened monster, Carapace Centurion.]

[You have received a Memory: Hunter Scythe.]

'What? You gave me a Memory in the middle of a battle?'

But Raphael had no time to dwell on this as one of the Scavengers charged at him.

Raphael raised his blade to deflect the attack, only to realize his mistake—he had focused entirely on sharpness, neglecting durability! The blood blade shattered like glass under the Scavenger's pincer, caving in his armor and sending him staggering back.

Cough!

Raphael coughed up a huge amount of blood.

"That hurt, fucker."

He didn't waste a second and summoned his new Memory.

'It'll take seven seconds for the Memory to fully materialize. I need to survive for seven seconds.'

All nine Scavengers lunged at him. The first came from the left; Raphael dodged backward, evading its strike. The second came from the right, and with no time to dodge, he ducked, narrowly avoiding being skewered.

Stepping backward, he stumbled on a rock and fell.

'Fuck!!'

Looking up, Raphael saw a Scavenger poised to impale him with its pincers.

But before it could strike, the scythe fully materialized. Its blade emerged behind the Scavenger's head. Raphael wasted no time, pulling the scythe downward and cleaving the Scavenger's head clean off.

Quickly standing, Raphael examined his new weapon.

The blade curved like a crescent moon, jagged and raw. The handle was wrapped in tattered, flesh-like strands, giving it an ancient and cruel appearance, made to reap more than just life.

With a crazed grin, Raphael faced the remaining Scavengers.

"Now come at me, you fuckers."

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Raphael looked down at himself. His left hand was missing, his armor was dented in several places, and blood covered his face.

"I was so thrilled with my new scythe that I lost focus."

After an hour, Raphael began collecting the Shards from the Carapaces and the shark.

Soul Fragments: [194/1000]

'So the shark was a Corrupted Devil.'

Raphael glanced at the sky and sighed.

'Night is coming. I need to find a high place.'

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Raphael sat atop a statue, the very same statue Sunny had been summoned near.

Taking a deep breath, Raphael summoned his new Memory's runes.

Memory: [Hunter Scythe.]

Memory Rank: Awakened.

Memory Type: Weapon.

Memory Description: [A hunter's job is to hunt. Nothing else matters.]

Memory Enchantments: [Transformation], [Bloodfeast].

'Hmm... so the first makes the scythe change shape, and the second strengthens it with each kill.'

He summoned the scythe and began examining it. After a minute, he found a button near the base of the pole.

Pressing it, a mechanical sound erupted as the blade detached from the pole, transforming the scythe into something resembling a sword.

'This'll come in handy.'

Satisfied with his new Memory, Raphael lay down and gazed at the grey sky above him.

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A month and a half had passed since he reached the Forgotten Shore.

Raphael stood on a tall hill, one that could become a real island once the tide rose. Its shape resembled a colossal barrow, covered in gray sand left by dead coral. It looked like a mountain of ash crowned by a giant tree.

Raphael stared at the tree.

'Soul-Devouring Tree...'