The ketch was drifting in the current, slowly being pulled toward the icy shore. Cassie remained motionless on the helmsman's bench, her hand resting on the steering oar's handle. Her unseeing gaze was distant.
After a while, she sighed.
"I guess I should explain it from the start."
A crooked smile appeared on Sunny's face.
"That would certainly be nice... considering that you have arranged for this moment for that exact purpose."
By then, he had plenty of time to realize that Cassie had manipulated the events of the previous days for the exact purpose of having this conversation this Sunny away from the ears of their companions.
Why? What did she want to achieve? And why now, just before the final battle of this Nightmare?
Did they have to talk alone because the Mad Prince and Torment had orchestrated this entire cycle of the Great River alone?
He was about to find out.
Sunny felt a lot of pressure drain from his heart, knowing that Torment was gone and the only obstacle between the cohort and salvation was the harrowing, but mindless First Seeker. But, at the same time, he was on edge because of what was happening between him and Cassie.
The ease with which she was revealing her secrets was... ominous.
picked up the Guiding Light and rested it on her shoulder, the light
that I only saw darkness in my visions after entering
Sunny shifted slightly.
is she bringing
Cassie smiled.
Ariel itself. Rather, my inability to perceive its secrets was engineered by Torment. My abilities were suppressed with the help of a sorcerous item. You should be able to guess
memory... the image of golden shackles wrapped around Cassie's hands, connected by a golden
she had broken before leaving Fallen Grace.
Those shackles were worn by Dusk, and therefore, they were on my wrists the moment I entered the Nightmare. Dusk had not created the suppression enchantment, though... instead, it was Torment. She had countless years
an eyebrow,
"Why break them, then?"
Cassie shrugged.
Plus, the visions come to me in my dreams. And your
a moment and continued, her voice
past self — one who was destined to become Torment — did not have that luxury, though. In her own cycle, she managed to create the suppression
strange smile appeared on her
she wasn't planning to. She did, however, create several countermeasures to achieve her goals
silent Echo sitting by her
Torment's power simply cannot be used by an Echo. Her power has to do with memories, with remembering and forgetting... something that Echoes aren't capable of. So, she
She shook her head.
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