Shadow Slave

"Draw! Aim! Endure!"

Just as Night shouted these words, Aiko tripped and fell. The bundle of arrows she was carrying in her arms scattered on the ground.

"Ouch…"

Picking herself up from the coral, she hurriedly gathered the arrows and dashed to the nearest archer, then placed them near his feet.

In this battle, the role of people like her — those who were too weak to fight and did not possess a useful Aspect — was simultaneously the most simple and the most chaotic. They were charged with supplying the Sleepers participating in the battle with everything they needed, be it arrows, crossbow bolts, stones for their slings, or anything else.

There were several teams of runners doing different things. Initially, she was supposed to help carry the wounded from the first and second lines to the makeshift hospital at the back of the formation. There, a few people with Aspect Abilities having to do with healing waited, ready to help. Her friend Stev was one of them.

…But as it turned out, there wasn't a lot of wounded in this battle. Most simply died on the spot. So she was left with nothing to do and ended up here, helping to supply the archers.

She had just brought two quivers to Night, and was on her way…

…Wait, how crazy was that?

Trying to catch her breath, Aiko glanced around and shivered.

'Crazy, this is crazy…'

The scene in front of her was just too bizarre to be true. Several hundred Sleepers were besieged by a horde of Nightmare Creatures on the ground, with another falling on them from above. All that in front of an ugly, endless tower of crimson coral. Surely, she was dreaming…

'Of course you are! This is the Dream Realm, you dimwit!'

most girls her age back home. Despite the fact that the two of them had known each other for more than a year and were even… uh… on friendly

the kind of weird dream a

from her. Turning her head to the sound of a muffled curse, Aiko saw Stev and another Sleeper carrying a crude stretcher. On it

though he was wounded himself, albeit not too seriously. Running up to them,

her tiny body was not easy, but she gritted her teeth

they hurried to the back of

crews of the siege engines, who were slowly but surely running out of the massive lances to hurl

things weren't going well for the Dreamer

how much longer those poor people would be able to hold. The second line was now entangled with the Nightmare Creatures, too. The initial plan had been for these two forces to switch positions

the flying abominations did not seem to diminish at all. The metal wires were groaning, having to carry

we all

dread spread through her body, Aiko trembled and involuntarily turned her head to the tallest point in the Dreamer

other was her blind oracle. And

that

the strange young man who had gotten her into

the Changing Star's faction, Aiko had quickly learned who the important people were and what positions they held in the Bright Lady's cohort. Everyone's role

…Except for Sunny.

Nephis's cohort, but Sunny himself always insisted that he was not. He was thought to be a competent fighter, but actually, no

people just knew him for his tendency to keep to himself, ridiculous bragging, and carefree attitude. They simultaneously

appear from the shadows and kill the Guard who had been strangling her with one relaxed

was very mysterious. He was a

she suddenly felt a

Changing Star

they were going