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.

hugged her knees and tried not to cry.

instead of death, a cold and indifferent

"...What are you doing?"

met Nephis, who saved and protected her ever since. Without even asking anything in return, not before,

because she

prison of her loneliness. How was Cassie supposed to

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

then, she had

to live with

Or die with it...

slaughter, a sudden gust

turned to face

her face paled, and

'No!'

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

there is

***

but still held on. In fact, it

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 done the same, abandoning their siege engines and throwing

depleted its seemingly endless reserve of fresh bodies. With no more abominations crossing

Effie stalling the entire horde to give the rest of the humans time to mend the breaches in

opposing 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!"

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

The light dimmed slightly.

and froze for a few moments.

It was

A storm was coming.

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

then, it began

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

cursed sea was coming to devour

did not react in the same way as the usual Nightmare

shrieked in eerie triumph,