I had no arrows left and two Wretched Shamblers barreling down on me. My only chance was to run and recover the single arrow from the stone column or fight them using the bow as a melee weapon. I got lucky hitting the Shambler but looking at its condition, it didn’t do enough damage to hurt it.

  I decided on the former and ran for the arrow. I felt a bit slow in my steps as I no longer wore my windbreaker and my movement speed bonus was gone. I was still faster than the Shamblers but I had to shuffle out of the way of a wild swing as the final Shambler had managed to get close enough to attack me. It’s grotesque claws cut across my shirt and left a scratch on my side. I winced against the cut but kept moving. I made it within seven feet of the column holding my arrow when something rammed me in the back. I was launched forward into the base of the column and slammed my shoulder into the hard stone. I felt something crack and lost my breath. Spots began to appear as my vision blurred.

  Falling to my side, I looked up to see the arrow mocking me to take it. I reached up in a desperate attempt to grab it and was blocked by the silhouette of the mangled, squirming face of a Wretched Shambler. It bent down and brought its face within inches of my own. I could smell its foul breath against my face. It smelled of iron and sewage. The Wretched Shambler let out a scream. Spit flew from its lips as the tentacles crawled across my face. I was too dazed to do anything. In fact I was too tired. Tired of fighting for my life, even for a chance at gaining powers. I had made it to the final steps of the trial and it was here I was going to give up. Not even in the Tower itself but in the appraisal of a class.

  The Wretched Shambler lifted its head back, opened its mouth with another scream and finally snapped it down on my neck. I closed my eyes and waited for death to get me. I expected to feel a great deal of pain when I died. However, it was peaceful and quiet. There was no sudden sensation of my flesh being torn apart from my body mixed with the smell of the creatures foul scent. In fact I noticed the air was clean once again and my body felt weightless. When I opened my eyes the Wretched Shambler was gone. The arrow was still taunting me high above my head, but there was no longer a monster pressed against my chest ready to kill me.

  Though I couldn’t see or smell the Shambler I could still hear its terrible scream. The same horrible, high-pitched wailing sending shivers across my body. There was something different about the yells than from all the many times I’d heard them before. They were filled with a frantic panic like those of an animal caught in a trap. I let my head fall to the side and focused my eyes on the two remaining Wretched Shamblers.

  It was hard to explain what I was looking at. My eyes were still blurry, and my head was throbbing in pain so I’m not sure if what I saw was real or not. The monsters were both floating in the air. Their arms flailed out, mouths wide open in mid scream, and fingers clawing the air for something to grab onto. One Shambler was thrown suddenly thrown far into the distance, slamming against a stone pillar. I watched its body crumble like a marionette doll released from its strings. It fell to the ground in a broken mess of squelching flesh and shattered bones.

  The other Wretched Shambler’s body began to convulse in the air. Its yell turned into a cry of pain as one of its arms was torn free. The sound, like velcro being torn from a piece of rotten fruit, made my stomach flip. My mouth went dry as my tongue swelled. Acid burned my throat as I watched the creature’s arm get tossed to the ground next to my head. Its foul blood splattered my chin. The Shambler’s suffering was far from over as its leg was next to be torn from its body. Another screech echoed the halls as the leg was thrown far away.

  I turned my eyes away from what was happening. I couldn’t stand it. The tearing and the wailing were too much for me. This was all too much for me. I didn’t want to stand up and keep fighting. I wanted to sleep if only for an hour. The adrenaline keeping me alive was gone now. All the pain and anguish I had allowed myself to ignore was rushing back to me now. The death of Tala and Theo. The horrible things constantly trying to kill me. The rising and falling off of the sense of purpose and power. It was dragging me down now into a deep slumber.

  Before I closed my eyes I caught a glimpse of someone above me. A dark figure, arms outstretched towards my chest, head tilted to the side in a curious expression. I watched as the thing touched my chest, raised its hand and then reached for my face. Before it touched me I faded to sleep.

  When I opened my eyes I was standing before the [Thief] version of myself. His eyes were watching me carefully as if expecting me to attack him or run away. My shoulder no longer hurt, and my mind was beginning to clear. “What happened?” I asked my other self. He didn’t answer. He only continued to stare. Looking around the room all of the other Class Pathways were standing watching to see what I would do. Perhaps, they were waiting for me to make my choice. I felt confident in what I wanted to choose but I still had one more Specialization to appraise.

  [Thief Specialization: Shadows]

  The world turned on its side as I selected to appraise the final Specialization. I found myself once again in the endless room of white columns. There were no Wretched Shamblers either dead or alive. I was alone. I looked down at my hands and found no weapons. Not a single blade or bow. I opened my [Codex] and checked my inventory. There were no weapons or armor for me to use. I then opened up my [Equipment] to inspect if I had anything equipped. I had only one thing. It was an Accessory. The first one I had seen.

  Shadow Vessel (Rare)

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  Accessory

  ? +2 Spirit

  ? +20% duration for Shadow conjured weapons/armor.

  Combat Power: 148

  I dropped the [Codex] and looked down at my chest. I didn’t notice it before but I had a necklace around my neck. It was made of a dull silver, with a simple triangle charm at its end. The metal chain was short and only let it drop short of chin. The charm on the end reminded me of The Trinity. There must be some kind of meaning for that.

  Checking my [Codex] for the Class Pathway Specialization of [Shadows], I had a new ability. I was unfamiliar with the [Shadows] Specialization as no one in The Quarters had chosen it as their path. In fact no one had ever mentioned it, whether in our many study lessons, or even in our Archives. It was a complete mystery to me. The ability itself didn’t quite make sense either.

  Shadow Smithing: The shadows that crawl across the Fallen States are not merely the absence of light but the flesh of The Trinity. Thieves who devout themselves to living in those shadows can work them like metal and wool. To craft unique weapons or to conjure up special armors. It is even said those who let the shadows take them can create anything they can imagine.

  With the fading of my [Codex] came yet another Wretched Shambler to challenge me and teach me what this Specialization could do. I took a step towards the monster but my body froze. Fear clutched my chest as I thought of the Shambler who nearly tore my throat out. I was becoming to content with these things. They may be a Level 1 monster but they could still kill me. I had to be careful.

  I concentrated on my ability and imagined a blade in my hand. Pulling at my spirit I attempted to cast the ability. Nothing happened. I flexed my fingers and tried again. I whipped my palm open similar to how I saw Tala conjure up the fire spell. I focused on a small blade materializing in my hand as if forged from shadows. My hand remained empty. No shadows crawled from my fingers, no weapon popped into existence. How the hell am I suppose to do this?

  The Wretched Shambler had stepped up to challenge me. It reached out with both hands, fingers black as obsidian, and tried to grab me by my throat. I ducked out of the way and rolled over to my side. I rose quickly, took several steps back and attempted to summon a baseball bat. I took a heavy breath, widened my eyes and practically yelled within my mind to summon the weapon. Yet again I was left with nothing.

  “Umm… Hello!” I called out. “How does this work? How am I supposed to create something from nothing? Hello!”

  I don’t know what I expected. The eclipse headed figure wasn’t going to suddenly come to my aid when I needed it. No one commanded an eldritch god. I called out again, this time directing my question to The Trinity. “If my future is so important then help me. Show me what I have to do!” When no voice or presence appeared I said screw it and tried again.

  The Wretched Shambler didn’t get me the time however, as it stumbled toward me and whipped its arms out at my side. I narrowly managed to dodge its attack and sprinted for the closest pillar. If I could buy myself some time, perhaps I could figure out how to use this ability. Something told me I needed to figure it out before I would be let out of the appraisal. As things stood now without a weapon I wouldn’t stand a chance in killing the Wretched Shambler.

  I fell behind a column and out of the creatures eye-line. I put my back to the column and fell to sit on my heels. I held both hands out in front of my chest and tried to activate the Shadow Smithing. This time I took in a slow breath, calmed my mind and imagined a blade being formed from shadows and falling into my grasp. Nothing. No blade. No shadows. Wait… Shadows!

  Looking around I saw no shadows. The entire room was filled with light that came from everywhere and nowhere. Not a single line of darkness from any of the pillars, even holding my hand out to the ground yielded no shadow. How can I create something from a shadow if there weren’t any shadows for me to use.

  The Wretched Shambler screeched as it smashed its forearm into the stone pillar right above my head. The stonework cracked and dust fell all around me. The Shambler pulled its arm back and went to attack again. This time I dove forward to dodge the attack and I landed hard on my chest and stomach. The creatures arm crashed right into where my head used to be. The cracks of the pillar grew and stones tumbled down its wrists.

  I turned to my side and saw the creature was stuck. Its black nails had pierced deep into the column and it couldn’t pull them out. This was my chance to figure this ability out before it got free. I frantically looked around for any remnants of a shadow I could use. To my dismay everything was bright. I never thought I would regret not seeing the darkness. In frustration I slammed my hand to the ground in a fist. I felt my whole arm shudder from the hit and my fingers stung.

  As I lifted my hand to slam it down again then stopped. I brought my fist up to my eyes and looked deep into my fingers. There were shadows within my hands. Darkness in my grasp. I brought my hands together and cup them to hide my palms from the unseen lights. This time I focused my mind on the shadows of my hands twisting and curling into the shape of a long blade like those of the Twin Blade weapons. As I pulled my hands apart the weapon stretched from the shadows as if I hand molded the darkness like clay.

  I had done it. I had created a Shadow weapon. I stood in surprise and held the blade out before me. It was weightless despite feeling solid. It made my attacks effortless and quick. Quicker than any weapon I had used before. It was amazing. It was magical. I turned to the Wretched Shambler a grin rising in the corner of my mouth. I lifted the blade and swung. There was a moment of silence before the creature finally fell to the floor. Its torso had fallen forward as its legs crumpled backwards. Its body split perfectly in half. The upper body teetered to the side and hung in the against the stone column. Its stuck hand kept it dangling in the air.

  I stood there in amazement at how swift the kill had been. I felt no resistance against the edge of the shadows blade. Nothing to slow the attack down. As I admired the quivering shadows of the weapon, it vanished. It was certainly a powerful weapon, but it didn’t last long. I couldn’t help but smile wide and breath deep. I think I knew what I wanted to choose. I went to end the appraisal when I heard a grinding sound. It started low. A barely audible brushing of stone against stone, then it grew to a deafening crumbling as the pillar holding up the remains of the Wretched Shambler slide off its self and tumbled to the ground in a heap of dust and broken stones. The only thing remaining was a four foot tall column with a perfectly sliced top.