Shadow Slave

Cassie shifted to a different memory.

It took place far away in Bastion, where she was tall and overflowing with ferocious vitality, her every sense and impulse heightened to such a degree that the world felt ten times sharper and more vivid than usual — both brilliant and overwhelming, full of overpowering scents, sights, sounds, and sensations.

Her flawlessly sculpted body was finely tuned and indescribably powerful, making her feel like she could topple mountains with bare hands... in fact, she very well could. She had.

She was Saint Athena, Raised by Wolves, the ruler of Bastion.

Effie was walking toward the gates on the northern edge of the city, surrounded by an escort of Awakened warriors. They were her Wolves — the former soldiers of the Wolf Army who had been under her command since Antarctica.

These days, the Wolves had become an independent force and were in charge of maintaining peace in Bastion. They had accepted numerous new recruits, undergone relentless training, and even wore enchanted uniforms now, complete with shared colors — grey and blue — and a stylized coat of arms.

The Fire Keepers might have been the highest-ranked force of humanity, but it was the Wolves who dealt with everything that happened on the ground here in Bastion and around it. So, a squad of veterans was escorting Effie today — her old war buddies, with whom she had traveled to hell and back on countless occasions.

Not that she needed their protection, of course.

It was just that Effie’s public appearances often caused a commotion, so the Wolves went around with her to gently push people aside and prevent her from getting stuck in a crowd.

They were busy right now, as well. The street was lively, and countless people froze in place at the tantalizing sight of Saint Athena, staring at her with burning eyes. Her fame and the peculiar nature of her presence contributed to these strong reactions, but she was used to them.

Many citizens were used to her, as well. The reverence they felt toward the famous Raised by Wolves quickly evaporated after they spent a minute or two in her company — very much so by design.

Effie couldn’t stand being treated with the same kind of reverent awe Nephis was always subjected to. Being down-to-earth was much more her style, and speaking with ordinary people without putting on airs seemed much more productive if she wanted to rule their city effectively. So, Effie had to break the ice from time to time.

Now, too, she noticed a couple of young people staring at her with awed expressions and winked at them mischievously, making the boy flinch, while the girl blushed and hurriedly looked away.

At any other time, Effie would have laughed at their cute reactions. But today, all she could do was force out a smile.

She was painfully aware of the threat that had taken residence in her city.

In fact, she was very close to the church where the Dreamspawn dwelled.

‘What an odd situation’

Usually, Effie would have chosen one of two courses of action — either storm the modest church and eliminate the enemy, or stay as far from him as possible. But the man in question was too devious, forcing a strange pact of non-aggression on Nephis. Now, Effie could not attack him... not that she would, being a mere Saint... and the Dreamspawn was not supposed to harm her either.

Physically, at least.

As for staying away from him, that was what she had been doing for the last few days. However, the Human Domain could not come to a halt simply because a dangerous adversary had revealed himself — there were a million things that needed to be done, and most of them had to have been done yesterday.

Today, she needed to inspect the progress in the construction of the Northern Gate. So, here she was, doing just that.

The Northern Gate was where the merchant caravans arriving at Bastion stopped, as well as where a district of the city called the Bazaar was located. It was also where the Church of the Moon had placed its headquarters, and where the Dreamspawn made his home.

“Saint Athena! It is such an honor!”

She nodded at the Master in charge of constructing the gate. He gave her a tour of the construction site, explaining the details of what fortifications would go where, how they would be built, and how the runic array developed by Cassie — and the Lord of Shadows, in secret — would be incorporated into the walls.

Effie only listened to him halfheartedly. Even though she never looked in the direction where the Church of the Moon stood, she was painfully aware of its existence.

She was also painfully aware of the man with golden eyes who sat on the steps of the church, carving something out of a piece of wood with a small knife.

”..Are you really a god?”

Still, even if hundreds of meters and countless noises separated them, she could not help but hear a naive question asked by a child’s voice.

Turning her head, Effie looked at the distant church darkly.

There was a crowd of curious bystanders surrounding the modest building, but they all kept their distance, hesitant to approach a lofty Supreme being. Children, however, were often oblivious to the weight of such distinctions — so, at some point, a boy who looked no older than five had wandered close to the steps of the church and asked the Dreamspawn a question.

Effie’s expression darkened.

Far away, Asterion looked up from the wooden figurine he had been carving and glanced at the boy with a smile.

“A god? No... well, at least not yet.”

The boy tilted his head in confusion.

“My mom told me that a god lives in this church.”

Asterion chuckled.

“Your mom sounds like a wise and wonderful person. But no, I am not a god.” The boy smiled sweetly.

“Oh... are you a human, then?”

The Dreamspawn studied him for a few long moments, his golden eyes glistening with a nebulous emotion.

Effie’s fingers twitched, as if ready to grasp a Memory out of the air.

Eventually, though, Asterion just chuckled again and continued carving.

”Are these the only two choices I have?”