Shadow Slave

Chapter 1997: Human Cost

The pilgrims were consumed by the tidal wave of steel warriors, only managing to fell the vanguard of unfeeling Echoes. There were more of them on other parts of the battlefield, but here at the epicenter of the calamitous clash between the two great armies, the Knights of Valor were too shrewd and callous to allow the dead to rise en masse. The indomitable formation of the Sword Army elites surged forward like an iron wave, crashing into the Seventh Legion and shattering its offensive line. However, not long after, the momentum of the Valor forces stalled. And then, it was exhausted entirely, leaving them in a deadly mire. Their enemy was not to not be trifled with, either — the seven Royal Legions consisted of the best warriors of the Song Domain, and among them, the Seventh Legion was the fiercest.

It only lost to the First Legion, perhaps, which had vanished into the darkness of the Spine Ocean and was not present on the battlefield today. After suffering the initial blow, the broken formation of the Song warriors did not buckle, and the warriors themselves did not lose themselves to fear. They were not routed — instead, they descended upon the Knights of Valor and their auxiliary forces like a deadly swarm, burning with wicked resolve and primal fury.

These men and women were neither enthralled by the promise of glory nor intoxicated by the raucous hymns of war. However, they weren't willing to taste the bitterness of defeat, either. …A wide swath of the hellish battlefield turned into an even harsher hell, with thousands of powerful Awakened and hundreds of fearsome Masters clashing in a deadly melee. The cacophony of deafening thunderclaps, the litany of human screams, and the violent tremors of the bloodied ground fused into a nightmarish choir of destruction, as if the world itself was in the throes of death — or rebirth, maybe. Perhaps it was the dead deity of Godgrave that was being reborn, its ancient bones soaked by human blood. In any case, the warriors of both the Sword Army and the Song Army seemed to have forgotten themselves, consumed by the dire and macabre necessity of battle. Their previous doubts were washed away by the shock and awe of the harrowing battlefield, and their minds were hollowed by the dreadful, demented noises of the disastrous havoc. The world had gone insane. Nôv(el)Bjnn

Rain was so afraid that she did not even feel fear anymore. It was as if that part of her that had been responsible for knowing fear overheated and went up in flames, leaving only cold ashes in its wake. Now, all she felt was fury and resentment. She did not even know what she was furious about, and whom she resented. In the absence of an answer, Rain could only focus her reeling mind on the enemy in front of her. Tamar was the first to clash with the warriors of the Sword Army, vaulting over their loose battle line with the help of her Aspect Ability and using the second floating step to abruptly arrest her momentum, twist on one leg, and lunge herself at their backs. As soon as her foot touched the ground, her brutish zweihander flashed in a wicked horizontal arc, breaking someone's armor and throwing them aside.

She was putting herself in terrible danger, of course, all alone behind the enemy line…

But a moment later, her soldiers collided with the front of the enemy formation. Attacked from both sides, the Feather Knights momentarily fumbled. That was all the opportunity Rain and her comrades needed, tearing into them with urgent determination. Steel rang against steel, and tasted human flesh, as well.

Blood spilled on the pristine white surface of the ancient bone.

Rain raised her tachi and forced her hands to stop trembling.

Somewhere not too far away…

The elites of Clan Valor were struggling to hold against the vicious attack of the Song warriors. Acting with astonishing precision and stalwart poise, they maintained their formation and refused to give ground, which was already drenched in blood. The enemy would not allow them to retreat, anyway… and there, behind them, the dead were already stirring, ready to rise. If they were to be saved, they had to carve a bloody path to salvation with their own hands.

And so, they held fast...

However, a few moments later, a swift figure in crimson garments flashed between the soldiers of Song and crashed into the formation of the ironclad knights. It was a beautiful woman who wore no armor, her ebony hair fluttering behind her in the wind. Her skin was pale like snow, and her eyes were just as cold.

Her scarlet lips were pressed tightly against each other. She was one of the Blood Sisters who followed Princess Seishan… A Master of the Song Domain. Wielding a sharp dagger with a wavy blade, she collided with the warriors of the Sword Army and pushed them back. Her thin hand moved with inhuman speed, slicing up the throat of one soldier, blinding another, piercing a third one's chest. The knights staggered back in a haze of blood, opening a breach in their formation. The Blood Sister dashed forward, ready to widen the gap…

Only for her kris to be stopped by a sword's blade.

Sid, one of the Fire Keepers who had been sent into battle with the Knights of Valor, pushed the enemy Master back and looked at her with a scowl. Her dirty-blonde hair was wet with sweat, and her shield Memory was gone, destroyed by a ferocious Echo… which was a real shame, considering that it had been wonderfully modified by the charming guest of their island not too long ago. As the breach in the formation widened and the soldiers of the two armies descended into a frenzied melee, she sighed and spoke with a hint of regret: "Elly."

Her voice was somber. "...You should have stayed away from this war, stupid girl."

The Blood Sister — the former Handmaiden — forced out a defiant smile. "It's good to see you again, Sid." With that, she raised her beautiful dagger and prepared to attack. A moment later, the two former members of the Dreamer Army clashed under the merciless grey sky, aiming to end each other's lives.

Sid knew the Handmaiden… the Blood Sister… quite well.

Her name was Felise. The two of them had been at the Academy together, and arrived at the Dark City at the same time. There were many others that year, as well… although not everyone made it to the Bright Castle alive. Those who had either turned out to be lucky enough to become Guards or were left to rot in the outer settlement.

Sid and Felise were not lucky, but they happened to possess a few soul shards by then, so they paid the tribute and entered the Castle together. Naturally, they stuck close to each other once inside.

Their shards did not last long, though. Eventually, they had nothing left to pay tribute with… that day, Sid decided to leave for the outer settlement, while Felise decided to become a Handmaiden.

Sid did not blame her for that decision. Felise was… a soft girl. The harsh life in the outer settlement would be a death sentence for someone like her, most likely.

Hell, Sid was quite pessimistic about her own chances of survival.

But she did survive, somehow.

Their friendship did not end immediately, either. Felise used to sneak out food for her when she could, in those first few months on the Forgotten Shore. The two hid in a threadbare shack and shared their hopes, their fears, and their scars — both physical and mental.

But it was hard to maintain a connection when separated by the impenetrable walls of the Castle. Eventually, they grew apart. Felise became one of Seishan's people, while Sid became a hunter of the outer settlement.

And after the war for the Bright Castle and the siege of the Crimson Spire, well… Sid followed Nephis of the Immortal Flame, while Elly followed Seishan of Song. Their paths did not cross again in the many years since.

…Until today.

'Gods…'

Sid had been a passable fighter all the way back on the Forgotten Shore — otherwise, she would not have survived the streets of the Dark City. And in the years since, she only grew more deadly.

The Chained Isles, the Southern Campaign, the Second Nightmare, and the countless battles fought side by side with Changing Star — both across the Sword Domain and here in Godgrave — had tempered and sharpened her already outstanding skill, turning Sid into a unique existence among Ascended.

She had even fought the Lord of Shadows once!

That monster…

And yet, she was being pushed back by Felise.

Her former friend was just too swift, too strong, and too cunning. Her kris was shorter than the arming sword Sid wielded, and yet, it seemed to be everywhere all at once. Worse yet, the moment their blades clashed, Sid felt her hand trembling from the dire force of the impact.

It did not make any sense. Having long saturated her core and armed with Memories that no amount of money could buy, Sid was at the peak of what a Master could be, while Elly's Aspect — its Dormant Ability, at least — was tailored to Utility. How had she become so monstrously powerful?

Staggering back, Sid barely managed to activate her Awakened Ability in time. Her body became intangible for a split second, and the wavy blade of the beautiful kris passed through her forearm without cutting her tendons.

Sliding back on the bloodied surface of the sun-bleached bone, she regained her balance and raised her sword into a defensive stance, breathing heavily.

It did not make any sense at all…

"...When did you become so strong?"

Her voice came out hoarse and heavy.

Felise gritted her teeth, and then lunged forward with the speed of lightning.

"I... have always been strong..."

Sid used her Aspect to give herself a few moments of tremendous might, and battered the sharp kris aside. There was a deafening boom, and an explosion of fiery sparks.

Her free hand turned into a fist, flying toward the Handmaiden's beautiful face…

…Some distance away, Rain pushed an enemy aside, deflected a downward slash aimed at her head, and slammed the pommel of her tachi into the visor of another Awakened foe's helmet.

Gaining a moment to breathe, she swallowed a mouthful of searing air and looked around.

All around her, the warriors of the Seventh Legion were intertwined in a bloody struggle against the elite forces of the Sword Domain. The Feather Knights had turned out to be tough adversaries, even if they were no match for the true monsters of Valor.

Still, they possessed that eerie quality that all soldiers of the Sword Army possessed… they moved as one, seamlessly weaving a net of sharp steel to defend themselves and cut the enemies down. This strange ability was hard to explain with words, but very easy to become a victim of.

Many were already dead.

…Many dead were already rising from the ground, too.

That sight was both deeply horrifying and shamefully reassuring.

At least the Queen was with them.

Rain shuddered.

Not too far away, a vaguely familiar Blood Sister was fighting against a Knight of Valor, her crimson garments and his vermilion cloak turning into a red blur. The enemy Ascended was bleeding from a dozen hideous wounds, but it only seemed to make him stronger.

Apart from him, there was another dire problem on their section of the battlefield…

It was one of the Feather Knights — a young woman wearing light armor and a white cape, her pauldron and the plume of her helmet adorned with white feathers. Her youthful face was pretty and somber, and her hair seemed to be gold.

From the way she moved and her threatening presence on the battlefield, she gave Rain the same impression most Legacies did.

Sharp, grounded.

Deadly.

Among all the Awakened warriors they were facing, the young woman was the most dangerous, having already killed several of Rain's comrades.

That was why Tamar had fought her way in that direction, and was facing her personally.

'Damn it…'

Their battle was both breathtaking and chilling, since both were at the very pinnacle of what ordinary Awakened strived to be… but mostly chilling, for Rain, because her heart skipped a beat every time the enemy's sharp blade whistled past Tamar, missing her vitals by a few centimeters at most.

Feeling an ominous premonition, Rain exhaled through gritted teeth and lunged back into the furious melee.

She was trying to make her way to where Tamar and the young Feather Knight were clashing, but it was taking her a long time…

There were too many people fighting, bleeding, and dying between her and the two Legacies. There was too much mayhem.

She could become one of those dying people at any moment, too, falling to the ground in a fountain of blood...

Even if her brother was a powerful Saint, he was not omnipotent. On a battlefield like this one, life and death could be decided in a split second.

And Rain… Rain was wasting too many seconds trying to reach Tamar.