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.

up. Sitting down on the hard coral, she hugged her knees and tried

death, a cold and indifferent voice came out

"...What are you doing?"

she met Nephis, who saved and protected her ever since. Without even asking anything in

she

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

then, she met Sunny. Sweet Sunny, who pretended to

then, she had

now, she had to live

Or die with it...

listening to the sounds of slaughter, a sudden

and slowly turned to face

face paled,

'No!'

away from the battle and anyone who could have heard her, Cassie closed her eyes

storm… there is

***

on. In fact, it was

who had no suitable Memories to replace them summoned their melee weapons and joined the vanguard, reinforcing its dwindling numbers. The Artisans had done

crossing

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

forces seemed to finally be

have taken for the humans to turn that balance in their favor was one

"Come on! Hold strong!"

"Lit yourself on fire!"

"Follow the Immortal Flame!"

people yelled, feeling that the fate of this battle was about to be decided, a gust of wind suddenly blew over the battlefield, bringing with it the smell

The light dimmed slightly.

a few moments. Their faces became as

devouring the world. It was approaching the battlefield with

A storm was coming.

closer, the surface of the black water that swirled around the island of the cyclopean

began to crawl

whirlpool swelled and moved forward, swallowing the crimson

was coming to

however, did not react in the same way as the usual

in eerie triumph, and then crashed into the