Cassie vs Nightmare Gate pt 1!
6k-word special
***
Cassie was nervous which was apparent by how her hand was shaking while holding her echo, the Rapier. Her nervousness wasn't without a reasonable cause as before her was a Nightmare Gate of the second level. Behind her was a small group of 3 awakened nearby, and her two personal Fire Keepers by her side, weapons drawn. She wished Jet were here instead of her because how was she, a blind girl, going to hold back a Gate, even with support? But she had to try, she owed that much at least to Sunny to protect his sister, even if it took her life.
As the rift fully opened and gave off a sense of dread and sleepiness, she could hear the distant roars of the creatures about to come through it, and her thoughts wandered to what had happened before this disaster.
***
Cassie was walking down a street with a black-haired girl next to her and two Fire Keepers on each side. Today was Cassie's turn to protect Rain for the whole day because Jet couldn't. She had just been permitted to relocate to the Chain Isles this morning and she wouldn't be back for a while. Cassie didn't mind since she needed a break from trying to find the seed, which proved to be a harder job than Cassie realized even with her visions.
For now, her task was to bring Rain to school and make sure her classmates don't do anything to her. Cassie had gotten permission from the principal to be allowed inside the school with Rain for her protection, which wasn't saying much since she was very willing to let this accommodation. The Fire Keepers she brought with her though couldn't enter with her so they would normally wait outside near a coffee shop until school ended. It had been about 3 weeks since the meeting with the cohort and she was hoping to find the seed in about 2-3 weeks to match the time of when Jet would arrive in 2 weeks to face the corrupted creature living in the ruined ship with Effie and Kai.
'Only time will tell,' Cassie thought as she felt a light tap on her shoulder and turning around saw it was from Rain.
"Um, so Master Jet told me that she will be gone for a while to go on a mission, how long will she be gone?"
"For about two weeks maybe but she'll still come and take shifts but not as often anymore."
"That's alright although I feel like sometimes when I'm with her she feels...cold."
"That's just how she is Rain, don't take it too personally. But she has been warming up to you from what I've seen, or well heard I suppose."
Cassie pointed at her blind fold with a swirling motion with her finger.
"I understand Cassie, I'm just worried about her. I've heard stories from my father on how dangerous the dream realm is, especially the Chain Isles."
Cassie rested her hand on Rain's shoulder, startling her.
"Are you saying that Master Jet is weak?"
"WA- NO OF COURSE NOT!"
"Then don't fret, I'm sure Jet is probably having a good time killing monsters and will be back soon."
'After all, this is more like a vacation for her than anything.' It wasn't hard for Cassie to notice that the government loved to overwork Jet and barely gave her time to rest or even take a break, which was truly not the best job for an awakened. Plus, Jet had told her she was low on essence anyway so this trip will help her replenish it since she hasn't killed in a while. Jet was also strong enough to survive on her own in the Dream Realm and could even kill corrupted creatures and fallen tyrants so calling her weak was insulting.
"Okay then, oh we're here!"
In front of them was NQSC's best school for mundane humans, Highflower High School. Giving the Fire Keepers a nod to leave, Cassie walked with Rain who was already ahead of her towards the school. Rain's school was one of the most prestigious schools in NQSX, only rivaled by Awakened Academy which is more prominent for teaching sleepers. But for everyone else who wasn't infected by the spell, this would be the academy they wished they would get into. Only the most famous, or richest, citizens were allowed to go into it and Rain wasn't exactly either of those things but her father worked for the government.
Cassie's father worked for the government too but in a different branch so they never bumped into each other. Cassie had even planned on going to the same school as Rain before being infected. She had also been quite popular in school and was taught fencing too which helped in her First Nightmare. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as they reached the school's gates and had to wait for a moment before they opened. 'This reminds me of when I went to Awakened Academy for the first time, when I thought I would die too.'
"Cas can I ask you a question?"
"You already did Rain."
Rain looked at the seer and gave her a stern stare, although Cassie couldn't see she could feel Rain's stare.
"Haha very funny, can I ask two questions then?"
"Sure what is it?"
"How was your high school experience before becoming infected with the spell?"
'It's time to pull a Sunny,' Cassie thought, a mischievous smile slowly forming on her delicate lips.
"Well, it was nothing special or interesting...I was just the most popular girl in school. I had boys falling to their knees for me and girls gossiping about my looks and beauty. Even the teachers feared me-"
"Did you have bf's then?!"
Cassie's jaw was opened slightly mid-question.
"I've...had situations with boys yes."
"But did you have a bf?"
"...No, no I did not."
Cassie muttered begrudgingly that her Sunny moment was cut short as a grin spread across Rain's face.
"Oh, how could the great queen Cassie not have dated anyone yet?"
"I-I just didn't want to date anyone from my school, none of the boys were in my league either."
"Sure~" Rain said giggling as she started skipping.
Eventually, they reached the front entrance of the school where they had to give their student IDs, in Cassie's case a special pass, to get in.
"Hello Rain, have a good day and don't cause trouble, mate." Said the doorman as he opened the door to let them inside.
"I won't!" Rain said yelling back as they entered her school.
Once inside Cassie turned on her ability to make sure she didn't bump into anyone in the hallways. As they stepped into the grand hall, the air itself seemed to change—cooler, stiller, thick with the quiet hum of reverence. Her shoes tapped gently against the polished marble floor, each step echoing as the two made their way around the crowd to reach Rain's class. The faint scent of old wood and distant incense from the cafeteria reached had also Cassie's nose, 'seems like we're having meatball sub, with a side of strawberries, not bad and infinitely better than public school food.'
The walls, though unseen by her, seemed to echo the students' voices around her—muffled in some places, booming in others. She could hear the careful rustle of papers, the soft clink of metal against glass, and the low murmur of casual conversations spoken just below yelling out loud. Every voice sounded mundane and casual and so were their conversations, some were about homework, and others about sports. Cassie did her best to ignore the conversation as they were nothing but filler to her to fill the background with noise. Even with her ability on Cassie still had to depend on Rain and her cane for guidance, she was sure she was also the only blind girl in the entire school so the school wasn't very accommodating.
They had reached the stairs so Cassie held the railings tightly under her fingertips, the railings were smooth, soft even like baby's skin. Eventually they reached Rain's locker, and after putting her stuff away, they entered to classroom right next to it. Once inside the murmurs in the hallways dropped in volume drastically as Rain sat down at her desk and placed her notebooks and papers on her desk. Cassie on the other hand leaned on the wall, trying to get in a comfortable position.
She didn't have to participate in class as she was an awakened but she still had to attend it which sucked. It was moments like these that she wished she still had her vision to at least watch videos or go on social media again to pass the time, but sadly she couldn't. She could play music though she thought as she plugged in her headphones inside the communicator's aux port, after failing multiple times, and started playing her music using voice command. Although she would never admit it, when she first met Kai, or Nightling, she wanted to ask for his autograph. After all, he was her favorite music artist and her playlist was filled with his music as one of his top songs started playing.
She hummed along with the beats as Kai sang throughout the song, almost magically even by how enchanting it was. She remembered when Neph confided with her when she first met Kai and met Sunny again after a long time. Cassie had laughed when Neph said she regretted not bringing him to the base of at least getting an autograph.
She had also confided that she felt a certain unknown way for a certain raven-haired boy, especially more so when they started living in the Dark City. Nephis had always spent the morning looking out the window with the excuse of "being on lookout". But in reality, she had been waiting for Sunny to return which Cassie found cute of her to do. When Sunny did return Cassie distanced herself from Sunny which she now regretted, maybe things would've turned out differently if she had talked to him about the vision of the angel dying to shadows.
A frown appeared on her face as the vision of Sunny crying as he murdered Harper appeared clearly to her, embedded in her mind. How he admitted to himself that killing Harper was easy, and spilling his true name in the empty hut. She hated that she distanced herself from him, that she was too much of a coward to not even try and break fate, but it was too late and Cassie pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind. Cassie continued listening to music while Rain paid attention to the lesson that was happening, something about geometry.
Things kept going like this until a blaring alert went off which spooked Cassie and made her jump. 'Gah! What the hell why is it so god damn loud!' Pausing the music to listen to the alert, a pint of blood drained from her face, 'No...'
The alert voiced:
EMERGENCY ALERT
EMERGENCY ALERT
GATE ACTIVITY DETECTED IN YOUR PROXIMITY
ETA: 201 SECONDS
EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!
A cold feeling took place in her heart as she stared at the alert and taking off her headphones she could hear other communicators going off too, bearing the same mortifying message.
'A Gate... there's a Gate...'
Cassie wanted to run, run as fast as possible, away from the school away from everything—with Rain of course—but quickly strangled the instinctual fear.
Cassie quickly pressed on her screen until a map popped up for a second due to her ability as it did in real time. The map showed her the location of where the Gate was going to appear, as well as optimal evacuation routes.
'201 seconds...that's not nearly enough time to make any significant distance from the Gate, even if I use all my essence!'
There was no way that Rain's school was going to be able to evacuate thousands of students in time if she couldn't even do it with just Rain. There were also hazard protocols established so she was sure the school wasn't even going to try with a Gate this close and opening in 3 minutes. Rain and her school would just gather the children in the most protected part of the school, activate their defense systems, and pray that help would arrive in time. As for her...she was going to have to assess the situation outside, after all the government was most likely praying nearby awakened like her would hold off the Gate.
Immediately the classroom started to cry out and panic from the devastating news, certain that their deaths were inevitable. The teacher was visibly stressed and shaken but was trying their best to calm the students down. Who can blame them though, even Cassie would feel the same if she were still a mundane human, but she wasn't mundane, not anymore. Cassie quickly moved to Rain, who was shaking with her communicator in hand.
"Cassie w-what do we do, we're going to die aren't we?" Rain said, her breathing unsteady as she started hyperventilating.
"Calm down and do as instructed by the teachers and wait for the P.A. System to tell you what to do next."
As if hearing her, the P.A. System turned on as an old, scruffy voice blared from it.
"Attention all students, faculty members, and staff. For your safety, immediately and safely go to the gymnasium as we are going into lockdown due to the Gate! Again we are going into lockdown due to the Gate!"
The classroom, once hectic, was now forming a loose line by the door with the help of the teacher as similar lines of groups of kids were making their way down the hall.
"Go with them Rain, stay safe, and make sure to take care okay?"
"What, where are you going? Aren't you coming with me?"
"I can't I need to go out and face the Gate, I'll...I'll try my best Rain but if worse comes to worse don't hesitate to run.
Rain, with tears in her eyes, hugged Cassie tightly as tears flowed down her cheeks and onto Cassie's shirt, soaking it with tears.
"Promise me you'll be safe, promise me you won't die, I can't lose you. If worse comes to worst with you then you run, promise me that!"
Cassie was about to say yes but paused. If she promised and she was forced to run away then Rain would be in danger and most likely die along with the rest of the school. If she said no then Rain would most likely not let her go and beg her to stay. 'This must've been how Sunny felt when I asked him to promise me not to hurt Neph and protect her.'
"I... I'll do my best to survive okay?"
"You didn't pro-"
But before Rain could finish her sentence, Cassie held Rain's hand and brought her to the loose line that was leaving.
"Wait!"
But after a few moments, she was pulled into the blob that formed outside as it took her to the gymnasium. Cassie sighed as she took another look at her communicator, and fumbled with the controls until she was finally able to get additional information played the audio.
ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED
REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION
ATTENTION ALL AWAKENED
REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION
Gate Category: 2 (89% probability), 3 (10% probability), HIGHER (undefined).
Strike Force ETA: 14 minutes, 14 seconds.
'Fourteen minutes! That'll take too long!'
The earliest any government agent would be able to arrive at the Gate was in fourteen minutes from now. Fourteen minutes might as well be an eternity!
Cassie was about to go to the hallway but saw herself get squished and being taken with the crowd, suddenly she felt bad for pushing Rain into the crowded hallway. Deciding there was no other choice Cassie went up to the windows, opened one, and making sure she wouldn't break something from the fall, she jumped and crashed into a grass field. 'Ouch,' Cassie thought as she got up and brushed off any dirt or grass that clung to her before feeling the call of the Gate.
Navigating her way towards the Gate was quite easy since all she needed to do was follow where the call of the Gate was strongest. Eventually, she reached the gate, where the guard opened the gate for her since she was an awakened, and made her way onto the street before hearing her name being called out.
"Hey, Cassie over here!"
She made her way over to the voice, realizing it was one of the Fire Keepers.
"Where is Shiren?"
"Right here Cass."
"Oh sorry Shiren, anyway we'll have to hold off the Gate until government forces arrive, if you're willing of course.
"Of course here take my hand and let's get going, the Gate will open in less than a minute so we'll need to move fast."
Cassie nodded as she took Shirens's hand and ran with them while making sure not to hit anything along the way. Eventually, they reached the street and the feeling from the Gate was almost overwhelming for Cassie as she felt sleepy. Snapping out of her daze she started trying to assess the situation when she heard hushed voices up ahead. Brian, the other Fire Keeper, saw Cassie's troubled expression.
"Don't worry those are some local awakened we talked to before you arrived, they'll help us out with the Gate."
"How many, what's their aspects, and are they skilled?"
"There are only five of them, and they know how to swing a sword at least. One of the girls has an Awakened aspect that enhances their agility and allows them to strike with deadly precision. Two guys have Dormant Aspects centered around endurance and strength, and the other two can perform ranged elemental attacks, both Awakened Aspects."
So, three weak Combat fighters, two support fighters, one capable of healing, one strong oriented Combat fighter, and one seer who's blind. 'Yeah, we're definitely not about to get slam dunked by the Gate, definitely not~.' Cassie knew their chances of clearing the Gate on their own with these numbers were unlikely, and killing the Gate Guardian was near impossible while at it. So in simple terms, they were fucked and doomed to fail horribly, probably. But the good thing was, they didn't need to beat the Gate Guardian, hell they didn't even need to beat all the waves. All they had to do was stall for enough time until more help from nearby awakened arrived or government agents.
But Cassie didn't even know IF they would be able to stall them out long enough. Cassie knew that the Obel scale had failed, and that was the reason for their predicament. The Obel scale was used by the government to monitor Gate activities and signs to alert the public of them before they opened. Normally it would be able to predict a gate opening hours or even days ahead but Jet has confided with her about the Obel Scale, something secretive. The Obel Scale...was bugging out ever since 1 month ago and has become less and less reliable. Although today was a special case even for the bug since they only had a three-minute warning which was a very new low for it.
Cassie throughout all of this found it ironic that Ran had been worried about Jet dying when now, if Cassie fails to hold back the Gate, they would all die horrid deaths. Though, Cassie didn't plan on dying anytime soon.
"Brian, you take the other three melee fighters with you to the front, and you will lead the defence. Shiren, you stay behind them with the two support fighters and try to lessen the load of creatures while also providing heals. I will kill any creatures that get past the vanguard."
They both nodded before leaving Cassie to meet with the Awakened cohort and get them in formation.
'Only 30 seconds left,' Cassie had been counting ever since she heard how much time they had before the Gate opened. She summoned her dagger, a cape that could camouflage her, and a lightweight armor that increased her agility, endurance, and decreased fatigue. Once she held on to the dagger she was able to sense what it sensed which helped her make her way towards the agate behind the frontline. Once she made it the call of the Nightmare increased tremendously as she then reached zero as the Gate fully opened in all its nightmarish glory as Cassie's hands began to shake...from nervousness
***
The Gate was open now, revealing a dark rift in the fabric of reality, as wide as the street itself and as tall as the buildings. It seemed to devour all light around it as it called for the nearby Awakened who were in front of it to sleep.
Snapping out of her thoughts Cassie shook off her primal fear and got into a battle pose and got ready for the oncoming creatures. She didn't have much hope in her ability to help her team kill monsters, after all, she wasn't a fighter like everyone else. She was no Sunny who was able to sneak behind the enemy treacherously, and stab them in the back. She was no Nephis who could burn her way through her enemies like a shining star. She was no Jet who could strike at the soul mercilessly, and could take on the Gate herself.
'But I am Cassie who will do her best to beat the Gate, after all, if it's my will then who dares stop me?' She's had enough of staying back and letting others do the heavy work for her, today she will do her part. Steeling herself, she heard the first wave of monsters go through the Gate, dormant creatures of lower classes. Cassie had already been told how Gates work via the internet so she more or less knew what to expect. The first wave would be more or less like practice, a drop of water compared to the rest of the wave that was to come.
The first few waves were not going to cause them trouble, they were skilled enough to handle it with ease. They will be comprised mostly of Dormant creatures, with some Awakened abominations mixed in here and there. Their classes and rank shouldn't be too high that they couldn't handle, their numbers will be comparatively low. But after the first few waves, the true horrors of the Gate would appear, and soon every creature that appeared was going to be of the Awakened rank. Fallen creatures will also start appearing more and more as the battle dragged out, and soon they'll be as many Demons-class creatures as there were Monsters and Beasts around.
If help hadn't arrived by the time the Gate was nearing its culmination then they would be dead as two things would happen, neither promising them anything good. Either the Gate will be a Second Category Gate, or not. If it ended up being the former then the Gate Guardian itself will manifest itself into reality. The Guardian was always at least one rank higher than the Gate Category so in their case it will be corrupted. But the worst thing was that it could be of any class, from a Devil...to a dreadful Titian that sent a shiver down her spine.
But if it was the latter then it will continue to grow, reaching the Third Category. From there, there will be more and more waves of Nightmare creatures, hundreds of Fallen abominations lunging in the Waking world from the dark void between worlds, with Corrupted horrors and creatures of higher Classes appearing among them.
...in any case that was assuming they'll survive what's to come till the end.
Immediately the vanguard jumped into action, sword swinging as they faced the Nightmare creatures. Cassie couldn't see them fight but she could damn well hear it happening, steel hitting steel and flesh being cut apart by swords. Eventually the waves got bigger and bigger as the difficulty of keeping the frontline stable was getting more difficult and difficult. Suddenly her ability showed that a creature had finally gotten through the vanguard on the left side so Cassie ran over and intercepted the creature. Fighting with her ability at first was weird but by now she has gotten used to it and eventually she was able to make an opening and killed it.
[You have slain a Dormant Monster, hellhound.]
The first creature she killed was a terrifying hound with blood-red bone spikes growing from its mottled, black fur. It resembled a dog if it were dipped into molten lava and then started growing bones on its back into spikes like a porcupine. After Cassie killed it two more got passed the vanguard, then four, then eight....and it kept multiplying after that as the waves got bigger and stronger. Even with the skilled Fire Keepers they were being overrun by the sheer quantity of dormant and awakened creatures.
Cassie was also starting to take hits as it started with a scratch, but then it turned to large cuts and then blunt hits that threatened to shatter her armor. Her once beautiful blue cloak was now covered in blood and torn all around as the battle continued, her armor wasn't much better. Her bronze armor was cracked in some places and the arm bracers had long since broke after too many blunt hits. Cassie kept slashing and cutting down any creature that dared approach her even in her current state, though she was starting to run out of essence and getting fatigued.
She slashed at a creature that had threatened to stab her in the heart and she then rolled to dodge a volley of arrows that suddenly appeared from the Gate. Soon after a group of archers came out and started shooting at the awakened.
They were tall, desiccated humanoids with skin as black as coal that resembled the dog-like creatures from earlier, and skin that was rough as the bark of an ancient tree. They wore wearing rotten remains of fur armor, and all had a mighty, black bow made of bone and wood, and had empty holes with a red fire inside where their eyes should be.
They reloaded in unison and raised their bows at each awakened, straight at their heart. Cassie then saw her get covered in arrows so she picked up a Nightmare creature's body to cover her, just in time as it was then shot through with arrows. The others were luckily okay too and any wounds they had received were quickly healed. Cassie, knowing that the archers posed a serious danger as they couldn't afford to take cover each time they shot, started moving towards them. She used a bit of essence in her legs, only as much as needed as she had long since perfected how to use her essence, as she jumped over a pile of bodies in the way.
She then saw the archers reloading and getting ready to shoot again before throwing her rapier. The archer she threw it at dodged it...only for it to come back up behind it and kill it with one slash across the neck, beheading it. Cassie called it back and took cover as all the archers shot at her and she barely made it in time.
'That's one way to lessen the stress I suppose.'
After the arrow rain ended she came back up and slashed upwards at an archer for it to dodge and slash a hidden dagger at her which she blocked. Before she could retaliate though two archers met her at her sides, both slashing sideways at her in unison. She ducked as the daggers clashed over her, grabbed her dagger off the floor, stabbed one of the archers straight in the heart, and kicked the other one away from her. Taking a look around she realized that all 8 of them were forming a circle around her and surrounded her in a tight circle.
'Alright then, let's dance bitches.'
She spun just as the first arrow was loosed. The future flashed again—a white line streaking toward her ribs—and she bent backward sharply. The arrow sliced a thread from her bronze armor and vanished into the buildings behind. She then dropped into a roll after another arrow was shot towards her.
Step. Leap. Duck. Counter.
Another flash.
As her feet struck the dirt, she twisted to the left and slid beneath a second arrow. Gravel tore at her skin. A boot crashed down where her head had been—she grabbed the ankle mid-drop and twisted hard.
The archer howled, crumpling slightly as it lost balance momentarily, but she didn't wait. She stole one of its daggers as it fell and slashed upward blindly, catching fabric and flesh. It collapsed with a guttural cry as it shook violently before dying.
'Seven.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
'So their Awakened Monsters, this won't make it easy but...'
She saw a moment: one of them drawing too soon. An archer's arm quivering under pressure. She could feel it in her gut: a hesitation. Cassie dove toward the poor archer.
'My Awakened ability should be able to get me through this at least.'
Three more arrows hissed past where she'd stood. One grazed her shoulder—pain bloomed red-hot—but she didn't flinch. She threw the stolen dagger.
Miss.
It was embedded into a broken tree on the sidewalk.
"Damn."
Cassie had gotten a bit overconfident, something that could get her killed if she wasn't more careful, she berated herself mentally to humble herself before moving on.
The hesitant archer panicked, drawing too high. Cassie heard it before she "saw" the flash of the next second—his fingers releasing awkwardly. She stepped right just in time for the arrow to fly wide and impale another archer who had been chasing her. A choked grunt, then silence.
'Six.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
She didn't smile.
There was no time.
Seeing the future again that burst through her thoughts—an attack from behind. She ducked instantly, the flat of a blade slicing through her golden hair. She twisted, kicking low, hitting the shin. The creature stumbled, and she lunged upward with her palm, slamming the heel of her hand into his chin.
Its head snapped back. She grabbed his dagger, and using a bit of essence, drove it into its gut. Warmth spilled across her fingers as blood splattered all over her figure.
'Five.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
She spun, one weapon now in hand. Her breath rasped. Her shoulder throbbed. Blood slicked her wrist.
She felt the shift in the ground—a sprint. An archer was coming fast, dagger drawn, no bow.
'Fast. Left-handed. Almost arrogant.'
She reached forward—not to block, but to intercept. Its blade came at her ribs. She saw it a second too early.
She pivoted on her heel, letting his arm slide past her, then slammed her elbow into the archer's face. Bone cracked under the pressure of her strike. She turned again, catching its wrist as it faltered and yanking it into her knee. It shortly went down after. She cut its throat before its unearthly scream fully formed.
'Four.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
Her heart pounded like war drums as she moved.
Her blind eyes blinked—but she didn't see darkness.
She saw moments.
A flash—an arrow slicing her leg. She shifted, the shaft barely nicking her thigh instead of sinking deep.
She sprinted towards a burnt carcass, using it to vault upward as another arrow buried into it just behind her. She ran along the side of the burnt carcass a moment, kicked off, spun midair—
And flung the dagger.
This one landed deep—into the chest of an archer who had drawn too late and couldn't dodge.
'Three.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
Cassie hit the ground hard, rolled, and used the momentum to grab a discarded bow. She stopped for a moment to grab her breath, not having realized how tired she was. She had started panting a while ago but it became more apparent as the fight continued, fatigue starting to take its toll on her as she panted heavily while holding the bow tightly.
She had never used one.
But the future could.
She felt the shaft of an arrow on the ground, Notched it, and then pulled back the string—felt the resistance, the tension, the future branching like rivers.
She let the arrow loose...
And an arrow struck a charging figure dead in the throat.
'Two,' Cassie thought while a small smirk appeared on her face from her accomplishment.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
Someone, no something, roared behind her—too close. No future to see for the moment. She flinched.
A blade sliced her back.
She cried out, stumbled.
Then turned.
Blood leaking, eyes blind, she grabbed a fallen dagger, parried once, then again—
Cassie was able to see the future after a few moments, but sadly the wound inflicted on her made her sluggish.
The attacker was overconfident. It pressed in with his left shoulder. Cassie stepped forward, too close for its swing, and slammed her forehead into his nose. Bone crunched. It staggered back, and she lunged, stabbing wildly.
The blade bit flesh.
It dropped.
'One.'
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
Silence.
Cassie staggered, her legs trembled from the pain and fatigue. Her mouth tasted like iron and dirt.
'One more... it's hiding, waiting...'
She collapsed to her knees, panting. Her blind eyes stared ahead, blood trickling from her temple. The final archer rose slowly, dagger in hand. She didn't see it walking over as the future became unclear.
But she felt him walk towards her.
Her fingers reached down to grab a stone that fit perfectly in her palm, it was rough and sharp against her grip.
She stood back up weakly, legs shaking. The archer charged.
She flung the stone towards it.
It flinched as it slightly moved to the side, dodging the stone.
'Just enough.'
She stepped aside—barely—and let its momentum carry it forward. The archer tripped. She snatched his dagger from his belt as he passed her.
And let its momentum bring it on the dagger's sharp steel tip, ending it as it stabbed through its heart.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Ancient Barrow Wraith.]
Now... there was only silence.
She stood in the center of the clearing, blind eyes turned toward the sunless sky. Blood ran down her arms, her legs, her back. Her breathing was ragged.
But her lips whispered.
"One second ahead... was all I needed."
Suddenly another Hellhound appeared in front of her, sprinting towards her. Cassie got in a fighting position, ready to fight it off...until her ability turned off due to not having enough essence left to sustain it.
'Shit!'
Cassie tried her best to predict where it would attack from but failed as she took the full brunt of its attack. Cassie got knocked back a few yards, crashing into a porch as she coughed out a handful of blood.
A sliver of essence returned as she "saw" the Hellhound get closer and closer to her, and with her being unable to do anything to prevent her death.
'So this is how I die, well at least I went out fighting...im sorry Rain but I never did promise.'
Closing her eyes she waited as she felt the creature get closer and closer before pouncing at her.
Suddenly she felt a strong wind current fly above her as she heard something get cut cleanly in half. At the same time, a subtle scent of rot and slaughter encompassed her and filled her nose.
'Huh....wha-'
Using her tiny bit of essence left she turned on her ability for a slight moment which showed a tall, gaunt man in his late fifties. But more importantly on his coat arm were four stars, showing that in front of her was a Saint.
As the Saint turned to look at her, a expressionless face on him, Cassie formed a small smile on her face.
'Looks like backup has finally arrived.'
"Thank you for saving me, Wake of Ruin."
***
I love cutting characters off, it also helps me not mess up interactions. If Cassie and Rain felt off together don't be afraid to give feedback I'm still pretty new to this. (y'all prob thought I was gonna end this chapter again in the same way I did last chapter when I wrote Cassie got surrounded in a circle didn't you.)