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.

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

cold and indifferent voice came out

"...What are you doing?"

protected her ever since. Without even asking anything

she

all-encompassing prison of her loneliness. How was Cassie supposed to

who pretended to be callous and cruel, but was

then, she had

she had to live with

Or die with it...

listening to the sounds of slaughter, a sudden gust of wind rustled her beautiful blond

slowly turned

paled, and her lips

'No!'

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

there is a

***

but still held on. In fact,

and

of fresh bodies. With no more abominations crossing the bridges of crimson coral and lunging

around her, with Effie stalling the entire horde to give the rest of the humans time to mend the breaches in their defense lines, for a few minutes, the flow of the battle froze in fragile

forces seemed to finally

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

"Come on! Hold strong!"

"Lit yourself on fire!"

"Follow the Immortal Flame!"

of this battle was about to be decided, a gust of wind suddenly blew over the battlefield, bringing

The light dimmed slightly.

they suddenly stumbled and froze for a few

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

A storm was coming.

surface of the black water that swirled around

it began

and faster, the black whirlpool swelled and moved forward, swallowing the crimson coral meter after a meter,

was coming to devour

react in the same way

shrieked in eerie triumph, and then crashed into the Dreamer