“I see…”
“Yeah…”
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Neither he nor Cassia felt like continuing to talk—even though they knew they had to. There was so much left to discuss… And yet, both knew that the boundaries they kept prevented them from revealing everything.
No, it was moreso a factor of Soren’s own dishonesty than it was Cassia’s. Out of all the members of Star Fate Guild, he was likely keeping the most secrets. And Cassia knew that perfectly.
It was fairly obvious to her that Soren was holding back on many things. She felt that way the most when they found him near the plaza after that night of horror ended. But, even though she wanted to pry his mouth open, she knew she couldn’t blame him.
This was a young man who had been thrown into another realm, away from both family and friends alike. The sheer loneliness of it all… It was hard for her not to relate to his circumstances. After all, was she not a stranger in this kingdom as well?
And even though he refuses to open up about himself, Cassia found it hard to resist not trusting him anyway. There was something about him that compelled her to feel that way—her instincts have never been wrong.
“Alright, I’ve said enough…”
Just as she was about to turn around and leave the room, Soren’s dry voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Say… What was life like before you joined the guild?”
Her tail flinched as she turned around to face him. Soren’s face was half covered by the brim of his cone hat, making it hard to read his expression.
“Why are you asking this?” She didn’t know whether to feel irritated or swayed. Even within the guild, the mention of each member’s past was somewhat of a taboo. After all, it was Mistress’ goal that united them all, regardless of their backgrounds. Whatever tidbits each member knew about each other were given out by the person in question themselves.
The only exception to this rule was Soren, but even during the interview, they avoided asking him anything personal that he himself wasn’t willing to share. And yet, he was now the one asking for that exchange.
Seeing her awaiting his answer, Soren sighed.
“Just curious, that’s all. You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel like it.”
“.....”
Cassia stayed silent for a while. He was unsure whether she was angry or simply contemplating what to say… But either way, what he had said was the truth. He was simply curious about her circumstances, especially now that Gunther was out of the picture.
It was only a minute or so later that he heard her sigh. She walked toward the bed and sat next to him in silence. Soren didn’t bother to say anything and simply waited.
“There isn’t really much to my story,” she said plainly. “No grand battle, glory, or deeply thoughtful experiences.
“No, if I had to use two words to describe it, it would be bloodshed and hunger.” She smiled eerily.
Soren glanced at her briefly. He could tell she was hiding her expressions beneath a mask… One that she was desperately holding onto.
“Fifty years ago,” her voice quivered, “I was born and raised in a faraway village somewhere in the grand Hedra Plains. Ah, if you’re not aware, it’s located in between the northern border of the Staterra Kingdom and the Tolarion White Expanse. The climate there was almost always so cold…”
He could feel the yearning in her voice.
“Were you happy there?” He asked, yet the answer seemed obvious. Cassia’s lips curled.
“Yes, very much so. I had my mother Tynia and my older sister Elara who were always by my side. I was a fairly naughty child back then so they would take turns scolding me. Whenever one of them was out hunting, the other was always beside me…” It was as if she was mentioning their names to not forget.
“But of course, none of that really matters now…” She stared up at the ceiling—smiling. “My entire tribe has perished, after all. No one remained.
“I am the last survivor.”
The words left Soren speechless.
“H-how? Why?”
Cassia’s smile widened. “Soren, what do you know about orthodox deities?”
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The question startled him. “There are six of them. They are widely accepted across the Yarian continent.”
“Correct,” she nodded. “But Yarian doesn’t only have the orthodox deities. There are also three other deities that are deemed heretical to worship across the nations of order and disorder.
“They were known as Heavenly Distorted Loop, Tower of Runes, and Serpent of Untruths.”
Soren’s lips parted, but no words came out. He crossed his arms.
“I am guessing your tribe worshiped one of these unorthodox deities?”
“Indeed, but we had another term for Them—The Old Gods. That is because Their relevance was heavily tied to the first and second ages of fantasia. Many speculate that They have already long perished.”
“I see…”
Cassia nodded. “Our tribe, the Nagashi, worshipped He who slithers between words, the Serpent of Untruths. According to the elder’s teachings, our tribe has roots that trace back to the Avalon Empire. Of course, back then, I never bothered to care about such traditions. I was much more fascinated with the magecraft my mother and sister would use.”
Hearing Cassia tell her story, Soren frowned. An image began to form itself in his mind. One that he didn’t like.
“Let me guess again… someone discovered the existence of your tribe?”
Cassia stayed silent. Her hands gripped the seams of her dress as she resisted the urge to forget. “It… It wasn’t a person. It was the Silver Moon Church.”
His eyes widened. Soren remembered his last interaction with them… It was after he had obtained his first spellfocus—a Vagrant was slowly being corrupted by their own Soul Weapon when a Silver Valkyrie slayed him mercilessly. Even now, the image of that scene was seared into his mind.
“They raided us overnight,” she said. “Three Silver Valkyries followed by hundreds of knights. Even with every Holy Phantasm at our disposal, the adults of the tribe stood no chance.
“They slaughtered everyone. Children, women, the elderly… No one was spared. I was there that night as well. As for my mother and sister? I watched as they too were murdered mercilessly by the Silver Valkyries…”
She grit her teeth. “Even now, I cannot forget the expressions they made… The anguish they felt as their blood seeped through our ancestral lands… The screams and scents of burnt corpses…”
It was then that Soren noticed her eyes beginning to swell—tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I… I was too young back then to understand… No, I am still young! I still don’t understand! How could they?! Why?” She wiped her tears. “All of those monsters… As they slaughtered my family, I could see the joy in their eyes… They were all chanting hymns of salvation and glory, declaring this a cleansing in the name of the Mother of Silver. A blessing, they called it!” Every word carried mountains of hatred.
The descriptions made Soren’s heart feel heavy. All he could do was stay silent.
“As for how I survived… During that nightmare, I eventually passed out from shock. When I came to, I suddenly found myself laying in the middle of an unfamiliar street. I later learned that I had somehow ended up at Celestine Citadel—-thousands of kilometers away.
“But that wasn’t the only oddity… For some unexpected reason, I soon discovered that I had been bestowed a Soul Weapon by Him… Alongside that, there was a few burnt pages of the grimoire my mother once used. It was the only thing in my possession at the time.”
Soren stayed silent as she continued to recall the events… From roaming the streets of Celestine as a homeless orphan—scavenging leftovers from the trash—-to eventually meeting the mistress and becoming her apprentice…
Soren couldn’t even imagine the harshness of it all… Even though she was older than him, he wasn’t foolish enough to not understand that her mental maturity itself was still that of a child… From a human perspective, Cassia was no different in age than a regular 12-14 year old…
All that suffering, while being alone for years… It made him think—would he have stayed half as sane as her in that situation? He had always known that she was strong, but now, he couldn’t help but respect her even more…
He gripped Cassia’s shoulder tightly. “Cassia, you did a damn good job surviving. It must have been really hard… I am sure your mother and sister would be proud of you.”
A few tears fell from chin as she nodded. Soren smiled softly. “I apologize for asking about your past… You don’t have to remember that anymore.”
“No,” she stood up. “I have to remember.” Her tail flicked with resolve as she walked toward the door.
“I cannot allow myself to forget.”
Soren sat plainly on the bed, staring into the wall. Beside him on the nightstand, the lit candle’s flame flickered across the surfaces of the room, reflecting his now ambient emotions.
Ten minutes had passed since his conversation with Cassia and yet his anger toward the Silver Moon Church had failed to dwindle…
Those bastards…
He had already known of their zealotry… Even Tina who believes in the Mother of Silver refused to talk about her time at the church before joining the guild.
Soren leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. Images of everything Cassia described to him played in his mind. He imagined himself in her place, witnessing the deaths of everyone he had grown to care for as the perpetrators acted as if they were doing him a favor…
All of it made him sick.
If he were to be honest, Soren didn’t ask her to reveal her past to him on a whim… It was mainly due to his own selfishness. After Gunther disappeared, a part of him felt guilty at the fact that Cassia had lost her own father… After all, it was his involvement with the old man that led to this mess. Maybe, if he hadn’t messed with fate, Gunther’s crumbling shack would still stand in that alley—a place for Cassia to return to whenever she would like.
In a way, this was his responsibility. Uncovering the truth regarding Gunther’s existence wasn’t just something he needed to do for his own sake—it was for her, too. He owed her at least that much.
And he knew just the right person to ask to kick off his investigation.
Soren stood up from the bed and stretched. Glancing down at his Soul Weapon, his mind raced to give the command:
Enter the Realm of Realms.
Almost instantly, a faint golden glow enveloped the ancient tome as it resisted gravity. The pages magically turned and a small vortex began to form. Soren’s body disintegrated into tiny butterflies that all raced inside the ever growing portal.