Shadow Slave

«Mom… moooom… mommyyyy!»

Effie patted Little Ling on the head and smiled.

«What do you want, dumpling?»

She was sitting in a comfy wooden chair, staring at the wooden ceiling absentmindedly. The little boy cuddled comfortably on her lap, hugging her like a little monkey. He looked up at her with his bright eyes and grinned sheepishly.

«Story!»

Effie laughed.

«Story? Which story?»

Little Ling was suddenly very thoughtful. He remained silent for a while, a comically concentrated expression on his face, and then beamed.

«Mommy defeating the giant!»

She hugged him and shifted slightly, then said in a deep voice:

«Alright, alright. Listen then! A long time ago, in a faraway land, six evil Saints imprisoned Hope in a tall tower. Hope was very lonely in the tower, and cried bitterly. So, your mom and her friends decided to defeat the evil Saints and rescue her.»

The image of the damp stone cell under the Chalice Temple flashed in her memory. The smell of blood, the whimpers of the other girls the War Maidens, driven to madness by the Demon of Desire, were slowly «training» to death.

The graveyard of swords surrounding the ancient temple.

She chased the ghastly memory away and smiled warmly.

«Noctis, the Wicked Warlock of the East! Uncle Kai, who was a brave warrior from the Ivory City back then! Aunty Cassie, who was a wise priestess of the Night Temple! And, of course… your mom, who was a little girl! These were the four heroes who ventured to rescue Hope. Oh, and there was someone else, as well. A nameless shadow who had escaped its master and became friends with Noctis…»

Effie only had a vague recollection of the shadow devil who had followed Noctis, but it seemed rude not to mention him.

Her adorable son giggled.

«Huh? What's so funny?»

Ling Ling giggled again.

«Mommy is not little! How can mommy be little?»

She smiled.

«I was a little kid once too, you know! Actually, I was a little kid twice. In any case, after we, the four heroes, met each other and swore to save Hope, the evil Saints learned about it and sent a messenger to scare us. It was a huge giant! As tall as a mountain, with a body made of polished steel… but your mom and her friends weren't afraid at all. That was because the kind priestesses of the Goddess of Life had taught me the secret art of slaying evil giants, you see…»

Effie continued to tell the fairy-tale version of her Second Nightmare, just as she had done a hundred times before. For some reason, this story was one of Ling Ling's favorites… maybe because the very idea of his mom being a little girl excited him endlessly.

She had no idea why, but looking back, it had indeed been a bit exciting. Effie had spent her actual childhood either in a hospital bed or in a wheelchair, so getting a little taste of what it meant to be a healthy kid was… special. Even if it was in the depths of a ghastly Nightmare.

Flying ships, eccentric sorcerers, fire-breathing dragons, and a happy ending. The

shattered into a thousand pieces, and the giant fell down, making the ground shake. Auntie was perfectly fine, of course — she had jumped away just

then, the door opened, and a handsome young man walked into

at her husband and took and exhaled slowly, trying to maintain a

«Daddy!»

ran to hug his dad. Luckily, this time, he remembered to

smiled at

well, but she could see that

«It's time?»

and then looked at the little boy

about you and dad

seemed to

didn't finish the

His dad laughed.

it? Dad has an evil giant story, too! There are really too many evil giants in the world,

rose from her chair and stretched slowly, Then, she followed her husband

natural wood by none other than him, and had a simple, cozy charm to it. The

emerald meadow opened from the front

had transformed in the last four years. There were fields, vegetable gardens, barns, and livestock corrals. There were also a few other buildings, some of them hidden in the

of these buildings were built of wood, but some included more advanced materials — the latter

included barracks, armories, and all

moonlighted as a dimensional

«Boss!»

«Boss is here!»

«Attention!»

at attention. Most were hidden from sight, but some

Ling waved at them excitedly, causing a

«Uncles are funny…»

the nearest soldier and

a moment's notice. We are going to spearhead the breaching maneuver by the Western Quadrant Defense Forces. The mission is just as the briefing said — push the abominations

command from the first days of the

about the

Effie inhaled slowly.

government is sending the entire cavalry

frowned and glared

in front of Ling Ling, you reprobate, Aren't you already a Master?

times,

boss…

Itching

head and pushed

«Go get ready.»

that, she turned to her husband and

«Shall we go?»

a moment later, the three of them disappeared from