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.

hard coral, she hugged her knees and tried not to cry. Abandoned and forgotten, she waited for

of death, a cold and indifferent voice

"...What are you doing?"

and protected her ever since. Without even asking anything in return, not before, and not after learning of what Cassie's Aspect was able

because she wanted

prison

Sweet Sunny, who pretended to be callous and cruel, but

she had to make

had to live with

Or die with it...

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

and slowly turned to face the

moment later, her face paled, and

'No!'

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

there is

***

became much smaller, but still held on. In fact, it was

of archers ran out of 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,

seemingly endless reserve of fresh bodies. With no more abominations crossing the bridges

to give the rest of the humans time to mend the breaches in their

two opposing forces seemed to finally be

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

"Come on! Hold strong!"

"Lit yourself on fire!"

"Follow the Immortal Flame!"

was about to be decided, a gust of wind suddenly

The light dimmed slightly.

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

impenetrable wall of darkness was slowly devouring the world. It was approaching the battlefield with

A storm was coming.

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

it began

the black whirlpool swelled and moved forward, swallowing the crimson coral meter after a meter, its dark vastness

sea was coming to devour the

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

shrieked in eerie triumph, and