Shadow Slave

Left on the top of the tall mound of crimson coral, Cassie stood alone in the darkness.

Now that the Quiet Dancer had left her side, she was back to her previous self.

Lost.

Weak.

Frightened.

Utterly helpless.

The oppressive nothingness surrounded her from all sides.

But that nothingness was full of sound.

It swelled with the deafening cacophony of the nightmare horde's onslaught. Cassie heard howls, growling, inhuman screams, shrieks, and the scraping of chitin.

She heard the clangor of steel and the sound of flesh being ripped apart.

She also heard countless human voices calling out to any kind of deity that could save them. Full of fury, agony, bravery, fear, resolve, sorrow, strength, helplessness, hope, faith, despair, disbelief.

She heard them dying.

Standing above it all, Cassie shivered. She wanted to press her hands against her ears, but didn't.

…Her terrible vision was coming true.

And she was back to being lost in the darkness.

Just like before. Worse than before. Almost like on that first day in this cursed, forsaken, lightless land.

In this forgotten hell.

Back then, she had found herself stranded on a similar mound of coral. Only what surrounded her was the dark sea and not a horde of Nightmare Creatures.

But Cassie didn't know that. She didn't know where she was, and what was hiding in the boundless darkness. She only knew that she was alone, and helpless.

That she was going to die in that lonesome, cold nothingness.

had given up. Sitting down on the hard coral, she hugged her knees and tried not to cry. Abandoned and forgotten,

death, a cold and indifferent voice

"...What are you doing?"

even asking anything in return, not before, and not after

she wanted

darkness and destroyed the bitter, all-encompassing prison of her loneliness. How was Cassie supposed to

to be callous and cruel, but was actually

had to make

she had to live with

Or die with it...

to the sounds of slaughter, a sudden

turned to face

moment later, her face paled, and her lips moved

'No!'

who could have heard her, Cassie closed her eyes and whispered into the

storm… there is a

***

but still held on. In fact, it was slowly pushing the horde of the

their melee weapons and joined the vanguard, reinforcing its dwindling numbers. The Artisans had done the same, abandoning

crossing the bridges of crimson coral and lunging forward to join

Star serving as the unassailable core of the human formation and rallying fighters around her, with Effie stalling the entire horde to give the

two opposing forces seemed to finally be

the humans to turn that balance in

"Come on! Hold strong!"

"Lit yourself on fire!"

"Follow the Immortal Flame!"

feeling that the fate of this battle was about to be decided, a gust of wind suddenly

The light dimmed slightly.

and froze for a few moments. Their faces became as white as

impenetrable wall of darkness was slowly devouring the world. It was approaching the battlefield with terrifying speed, numerous bolts of

A storm was coming.

the black water that swirled around the island of the cyclopean tower

then, it began

and moved forward, swallowing

cursed sea was coming

the Crimson Spire, however, did not react in

in eerie triumph, and then