As the first light of dawn broke over the Forgotten Shore, two figures stirred atop a towering stone statue.
After a quick meal of dried scavenger meat, Sunny and Cassie began their descent into the sprawling coral maze below. The twisting paths tangled into an endless puzzle, but they moved through it with quiet assurance, speaking in unbothered tones.
"Repetition and training are key to getting started, but after that it's all experience," began Sunny. "A thousand hours of practice can't compare to one real fight. Only those who survive countless battles can truly hone their skills."
Cassie nodded, and spoke with casual indifference. "So, we will be fighting then?"
Sunny placed a hand on her shoulder, halting her with a gentle hold. Gloomy returned from around the corner ahead of them, and wrapped around his body.
"Yes," he replied, his tone shifting to a more serious note. "The Carapace Scavengers have three weak points. First, the gaps in their armor near the joints. Second, the area where the carapace connects to the torso. And third, a critical spot along their back at eye level, where the chitin plates converge. Thrust there, and you can breach their armor; strike at the right angle, and you'll hit their brain."
As the two Sleepers rounded a corner, they spotted a lone Scavenger hunched over the remnants of one of its fallen kin, uncaringly consuming its rotting flesh.
"You'll stalk through the shadows and deliver fatal blows to any scavengers we encounter, while I draw their attention," he instructed. "But understand this: my soul core is unique. Instead of growing by absorbing soul shards, it grows by absorbing shadows. The most effective way to feed it is by landing the killing blow on enemies... so we'll turn this into a game. I'll handicap myself by fighting without a weapon, and you'll try to strike down our foes before I can.
Sunny sent essence through his body using Serpent in its [Shadow Guide] form. If he did not have rudimentary control over essence, fighting Awakened foes without a weapon would be an impossible feat. Between the augmentation from his shadow, and the essence flowing through the tattoo along his skin, he would have just enough strength to crack their chitin.
That was all he needed.
To his side, Cassie gripped the hilt of the Azure Blade with silent resolve. With a nod, she stepped into the shadows.
***
The two Sleepers proceeded cautiously. Sunny was a master of combat, but his underdeveloped body was unable to keep pace with his mind. Fighting the Scavengers directly while unarmed was a truly dangerous feat, bordering on unwise. He focused on avoiding the sharp pincers of their attackers, dancing just out of reach. The goal was to bait them into reckless strikes; when one lunged too carelessly, he would leverage their weight against them, sending them off balance. After that, targeting the joints in their legs with essence infused strikes was enough to cripple their movement. The vulnerable enemies would then only have pincers remaining, though they struggled to use them effectively against enemies to the side, above, or behind. It was then that Sunny struck, delivering a blow where their carapace and torso connected. With a clean hit, their spines broke and they perished soon after.
Cassie, by contrast, stalked her prey from the Shadows, attempting much faster and lethal takedowns. Her initial attempts at dispatching the Scavengers were met with failure; mostly due to her not having a clear mental picture of where their weak points lay. Once she better understood the location however, she began to see success. By her third try, she successfully hit her mark and landed a killing blow.
As the duo advanced deeper into the maze, seeking out isolated Scavengers, Cassie's confidence surged. Each skirmish sparked a fire within her, pushing her limits further. Sunny intentionally drew less attention, encouraging her to engage more directly with her foes. She quickly saw the utility in the swordsmanship taught to her the night prior, dodging and redirecting crushing blows with those very movements.
Their enemies were a higher rank than them, with better physicality and natural defenses. To fell her prey, Cassie had to strike faster and more accurately. She had to defend more fluidly. Her skills demanded sharpening.
Though her progress was swift and each absorbed soul shard empowered her, Sunny demanded even greater feats. He purposefully led them to a group of three Scavengers, where the girl would experience her first real test.
"We will lose too much time avoiding this group, so we will push through."
Serpent uncoiled from Sunny's body and flowed toward his right hand, collecting in his palm before growing into a fearsome black odachi.
"I'll take the two on the right, and you'll handle the one on the left."
Sunny knew he could unleash Serpent into its [Soul Beast] form if the situation became dire. For now, he aimed to immerse himself in the challenges of his new body while giving Cassie her first unsupported fight.
When the two took their positions, Cassie leapt from the shadows to strike down her mark. Just as her blade approached its target, the Scavenger stirred, its body pivoting as a piercing shriek erupted from its mandibles.
Cassie hadn't been caught off guard; she sensed the creature's awareness before it even turned. Even without a line of sight to its head, or sight at all, the subtle shifting of its shadow had warned her. She had hoped to blitz the creature and take advantage of the element of surprise, but unfortunately her raw physicality was not there yet.
Rather than allow her blade to harmlessly graze the adamantine chitin along the creature's back, she redirected her strike to its exposed flesh at the joint of its right pincer.
The improvised blow struck true, disabling the Scavenger's arm. Cassie biased herself towards the limp pincer's side, and deftly sidestepped attacks from the Scavenger's legs and remaining claw. The blood of Shadow ran through her veins, so her mind retained an icy cold focus despite the flood of adrenaline released by her brain.
Their dance of death continued, though she made no progress. Eventually, her patience paid off and she found her opportunity.
The Scavenger's shadow shifted its weight slightly backward, and extended its arm wide to the side. Cassie recognized the impending strike and prepared to exploit the opening it created.
The moment the Scavenger swung wide, Cassie slid under the blow, sprang up, and vaulted over its legs behind the creature. With its arm now extended forward, and its body slightly rotated, she seized its shoulder with her right hand, pulling herself towards the beast. Then, before the creature could throw her off, she used her left hand to plunge the Azure Blade into the exposed weak point along its armor.
The Scavenger spasmed twice before collapsing, its form crumpling toward the ground.
Shifting her attention to Sunny, she sensed the shadow of him leaning casually against his odachi, the aftermath of his own battle around him. Two felled Carapace Scavengers lay at his feet, their faces split open, oozing greenish chunks of brain matter.
Sunny's eyes filled with pride as he regarded her triumph, though the girl would not see it.
Within Cassie's ear, a familiar voice whispered:
[You have received an Echo: Carapace Scavenger.]