Shadow Slave

’Ah... I remember that pain.’

The being who had been Song of the Fallen once almost lost herself in the torment of the dark, dreary memory. The iron stench of blood, the warmth of sunlight shining upon her bruised face, the texture of the blood-soaked bedsheets, the familiar scents of her friends and companions...

She remembered it all now.

In fact, even if she wished to... unless she wished to... she would never be able to forget a single excruciating detail.

She knew now how the calamity had begun, and who the foe was. So, these memories were of no significance anymore — the memories of what followed were more important.

Perhaps they could explain how she had ended up in this peculiar and eerie state.

So, she wanted to abandon the memories of that day and turn her attention elsewhere...

But before that, she could not help but pull one last recollection closer.

That memory was not at all important, in the grand scheme of things.

But it was important to her.

In that memory, Cassie returned to the waking world after leaving it bloodied and broken. She had left in the evening and returned on the cusp of dawn. The streets of NQSC were still dark, and the desolate expanse of the abandoned outskirts was utterly lightless.

Not that it made any difference to her, who spent most of her life in the darkness. Cassie exited the PTV with a tentative step. She had washed away the blood and donned a new attire, appearing no different from her usual self. The empty socket where her left eye had been was pulsing with a dull pain, but its gaping hole was hidden behind a blindfold.

Nobody would know that she had been maimed unless she took the blindfold off.

Cassie was blind and had not perceived the world with her own eyes for more than a decade. Her eyes were useless to her, so losing one should not have affected her much.

And yet, she felt its absence.

Without her left eye, she felt peculiarly unbalanced.

Cassie was hurting, but far worse than the pain was the cold recognition that she had been maimed.

’How will I show my face to people?’

The question startled her.

Without the protection of the blindfold, everyone would see how gruesomely she had been brutalized. There was no shame in that, but...

Cassie almost smiled.

’I guess I have some vanity left, after all’ She knew, naturally, that she was beautiful... had been beautiful, at least. She had assumed that it was of little importance to her, and she had definitely never put any meaning into her looks.

But now, Cassie realized that they mattered to her far more than she had thought. Perhaps it was because she could not see, but she cared about how people saw her deeply.

Schooling her expression, Cassie entered the abandoned factory. She did not want to appear rattled to the staff of the quarantine facility... to them, she was like a messenger of their goddess. A saintess in the true meaning of the world, not the Rank designation brought upon by the Spell.

If a messenger of heaven appeared bloodied and afraid, how would simple mortals feel? Passing the security checks and entering the quarantine facility, Cassie soon stumbled upon a familiar face. Despite the early hour, Awakened Yutra was dragging an alloy crate somewhere... naturally, it was a crate of synthetic beer, and he was dragging it to the generator room, where he always hid it.

Cassie stopped, listening to the sounds Yutra made quietly.

He had managed to replace the beer every time she wiped his memories, never breaking the cycle. Cassie had even joined the tenacious Awakened and his drinking buddies in the generator room once to sample the cheap beer... not that any of them would remember it.

And despite that, she still had no idea where he procured the synthetic swill, let alone how he managed to procure it without fault each time. It was actually quite astonishing. Yutra, meanwhile, finally noticed her presence.

”S—Saint Cassia, m’am!”

He stood straight, looking at her with admiration and awe, as if he met a living deity.

That expression of his never changed. Cassie forced herself to smile.

”Good morning, Awakened Yutra.”

He scratched the back of his head shyly.

”Oh, is it morning? It’s hard to tell here, underground.”

Cassie remained silent for a while, looking at herself through his eyes. She felt deeply regretful that she could not see his face instead.

Her hand hovered close to her waist, as if wanting to rest on something. But then, Cassie froze.

’Oh... right. Quiet Dancer is gone.’

The loss of her trusty rapier hit her more than the loss of her eye.

She slowly made a fist, then relaxed her hand and lowered it.

Cassie had told Nephis that she would show no mercy to anyone... and that included showing mercy to herself. The world did not afford them the luxury of being sentimental at the moment.

Her smile dimmed a little.

”Actually, Awakened Yutra... I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”

Cassie sensed the muscles of his face move, forming an expression of surprise.

”A favor? How can I... I mean yes, Saint Cassia! Just say the world.”

She nodded in gratitude.

”Could you please gather all the staff in the main production hall? I have some news to share.”

Yutra threw a furtive glance at his crate of beer, then nodded energetically.

”Of course! I’ll gather them right now.”

Abandoning the beer, the man hurried away. Cassie, meanwhile, remained in place.

The smile slowly drained from her face. Soon enough, she was standing in front of an alloy door. Behind it, the staff of the quarantine facility was waiting in the darkness of the empty production hall, whispering as they excitedly discussed what kind of news Song of the Fallen had brought.

Cassie inhaled deeply, then exhaled, then inhaled again.

After a while, she put on a confident expression and opened the door.

Dozens of eyes immediately aimed intense gazes at her. All of these people had been thralls once, and all of them were freed from the jaws of the Dreamspawn by her. Then, they volunteered to stay and help her treat other patients.

After all the time they had spent together, she knew them all well.

Yutra... Tegrot... Rit...

And all the rest.

Cassie faced them with a smile.

”Greetings, everyone. Today, I have an announcement to make.”

She fell silent, the benevolent smile glued to her face.

Then, it widened a little.

”First of all, I want to sincerely thank each of you for the work you’ve performed under my command. Your conduct has been stellar, and your contributions to the safety of the Human Domain are deeply appreciated. It has been a personal pleasure of mine to lead such an exemplary group of individuals.”

The members of the staff listened to her with rapt attention. There were a few cheerful smiles and excited whispers, but most seemed shy and embarrassed.

Cassie forced herself to keep smiling.

”So, it is with pride and satisfaction... that I announce the conclusion of our mission. The threat we’ve been battling is thwarted. You have all done well. There is no need for this quarantine facility anymore, so you can all go home.’

The staff members fell silent.

Cassie lowered her head and sighed quietly. Then, she repaired her expression and faced them once more.

”Senior members of the Fire Keepers will arrive shortly to handle the handover and begin decommissioning this facility. In a few days, you’ll be free to return to your families and enjoy the fruits of your service. That is all. Congratulations!”

She could not treat the enthralled anymore. So, there was no point in maintaining the quarantine facility anymore. She could not treat the staff members either, so they had to be separated from the thralls.

So, she was going to set them free.

That was the least she could do, after all they had sacrificed for the Human Domain. Cassie cast one last gaze at the production hall — through the eyes of the Awakened gathered there, of course.

Yutra was confused and baffled. Standing by his side, Tegrot seemed excited. Rit was frowning, like she usually did.

There was nothing she could do for these people anymore.

Bowing awkwardly, Cassie turned around and left before they could ask any questions.

She deactivated the marks she had left on them, as well, leaving herself alone in the darkness.

Without anyone to escort her and lacking the support of the Quiet Dancer, Cassie had to navigate the quarantine facility by memory. Luckily, her memory was absolute, so she remembered each crack on its walls perfectly.

Things always changed in a place where so many people worked and lived, though, so she bumped into a few things on the way, regardless — or rather, she would have if not for her Awakened Ability, which allowed her to experience these stumbles before they actually happened.

Tracing a cement wall with her fingers, Cassie walked down a dark corridor and stopped in front of a thick door of a patient cell.

She remained standing in front of that door for a while, as well, gathering her courage. Finally, she unlocked the door and walked inside.

A familiar voice came from the darkness: ”Cassie! Thank the gods! I was so worried!” A weak smile appeared on her face.

”I’m alright, Mom. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

For the first time in a long while, Cassie felt happy to be blind. She did not think she could have endured the sigh of her mother locked in a barren patient cell.

She hesitated for a few moments, then said in a bright tone:

”Dad is also fine. Oh... our home might need extensive repairs, though.”

Her mother suppressed a gasp.

”Home? Who cares about our home right now, Cassie?”

Cassie walked slowly to the cot and sat near her mother, sensing a familiar, calming scent.

”Right. Who cares? I am wealthy enough to buy us a new home. In fact, why don’t we all settle in Bastion? What do you think, Mom?” Her mother did not respond, though. Instead, what met her was an unsettling silence.

Then, a shaking hand reached and pulled down her blindfold.

Cassie heard a sob.

”Oh, baby...”

She caught her mom’s hand, squeezing it in hopes of sharing warmth.

She did not know which one of them needed warmth, though.

”How could this have happened?”

Her mom’s voice was brimming with pain and anguish.

”It’s terrible...”

Cassie smiled weakly.

Her mother, meanwhile, continued in the same pained, loving tone:

”It’s terrible that you still have your second eye, Cassie. Didn’t Lord Asterion want to take it? Oh, baby, you should have let him rip it out...”

Cassie’s lips trembled.

She remained silent for a while, holding her mother’s hand.

Eventually, she asked:

”Should I have?”

Her mother answered in a stern voice:

”Of course! Lord Asterion only wants the best of you! For all of us.”

Cassie smiled.

”Alright.”

She inhaled deeply and then turned a little, casting the unseeing gaze of her one remaining eye at her mother.

”Don’t worry anymore, Mom. It’s all going to be alright.”

As the light in the cell seemed to dim, the beautiful blue depths of her eye changed. And as her mother froze, falling into a trance, red drops rolled down Cassie’s cheek.

They fell to the floor and scattered in the dust, disappearing.

But more drops fell soon.