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.

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

of death, a cold and indifferent voice came out

"...What are you doing?"

was how she met Nephis, who saved and protected her ever since. Without even asking anything in return, not before, and not after learning of what Cassie's Aspect

she wanted

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

who pretended to be callous and cruel,

she had to make

now, she had to live with

Or die with it...

of slaughter, a sudden gust of

turned

paled, and

'No!'

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

there is

***

but still held on. In fact,

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

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

give the rest of the humans time to mend the breaches in their defense lines, for a few minutes, the flow of the battle

forces seemed to

humans to turn that balance in their favor was one last

"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 blew over the battlefield,

The light dimmed slightly.

and froze for a few moments. Their

It was approaching the battlefield with terrifying

A storm was coming.

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

it began to crawl

and then faster and faster, the black whirlpool swelled and moved forward,

coming to

guarded the Crimson Spire, however, did not react

scurrying away to find shelter, they howled and shrieked in eerie triumph, and then crashed into the Dreamer Army