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.

the hard coral, she hugged her knees and tried

and indifferent voice came

"...What are you doing?"

anything in return, not before, and not after learning of what Cassie's

she wanted

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

Sunny. Sweet Sunny, who pretended to be callous and cruel, but was actually

then, she had to

she had to live with that

Or die with it...

the sounds of slaughter, a

and slowly turned to face the

face paled, and her

'No!'

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

storm… there

***

still held on. In fact, it was slowly

no suitable Memories to replace them summoned their melee weapons and joined the vanguard, reinforcing its

bodies. With no more abominations crossing the bridges of

and rallying fighters around her, with Effie stalling the entire horde to give the rest of the humans time

two opposing forces seemed to finally

the humans to turn

"Come on! Hold strong!"

"Lit yourself on fire!"

"Follow the Immortal Flame!"

to be decided, a gust of wind suddenly blew over the

The light dimmed slightly.

they suddenly stumbled and froze for a few moments. Their faces

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

A storm was coming.

closer, the surface of the black water that

began to

the black whirlpool swelled and moved forward,

cursed sea was coming to devour

guarded the Crimson Spire, however, did not react in the

shelter, they howled and shrieked in eerie triumph, and then crashed