Shadow Slave

‘Not here, either’

The answer to Cassie’s condition kept eluding her. She grasped a different memory and absorbed it, learning the meaning of maddening thirst that could never be quenched unless fragrant blood was spilled.

In that memory, she was Seishan, the Lost Princess of Song...

Looking into the window, Seishan could not help but think of time. Time had no power over her mortal vessel anymore, but it was difficult not to feel like it was leaving her behind.

Outside the window of a spacious manor that stood on the great bridge of Ravenheart, ash rained upon the blackened walls of the Jade Palace.

It was strange to look at the palace where a vast span of her childhood had taken place

from the outside. It was also peculiar to see Ravenheart completely transformed, having turned into a sprawling city in the blink of an eye.

Seishan had been disoriented after returning from the Forgotten Shore. The world seemed to have changed entirely in the decade she missed, becoming almost unrecognizable. The undercurrents governing the Awakened society had shifted, the skyline of NQSC looked different, the people whom she knew were gone...

Her sisters, who had looked up to her, were now all of a higher Rank than her, having grown up and become adults... those who survived, at least. They had experienced life in all its many colors, while all she had experienced was the blood-red darkness of the Forgotten Shore. They had outgrown her.

Seishan had never been one to surrender, though, so she steeled her resolve and dove into this unfamiliar world, swiftly making up for the time she missed — only to be thrown into the bloody, dirty war between the Great Clans.

Now, ten years after her return, the world had changed once more.

The Great Clans were gone, Ravenheart had grown into a vast city, and someone else now lived in the Jade Palace. The pace with which time erased the present and built the future was almost too great to comprehend. But if people were good at one thing, it was adapting to change. Only the fittest survived, and Seishan... Seishan was the best at surviving, no matter the cost.

So, perhaps this terrifying era was a good fit for her after all.

Looking away from the window, she sighed. ‘Things are changing again.

Her scarlet lips twisted in displeasure. Walking toward the door, she spoke to the Blood Sister waiting silently by the wall.

“Felise, invite my sisters to the parlor.”

The Song clan had found itself in an odd limbo. Officially, it did not exist anymore — however, unlike Clan Valor, it had never been systematically dismantled by Mordret. So, its core forces simply split to follow the seven Transcendent princesses that Queen Song had left behind, spreading across the basin of the River of Tears.

Each of the former princesses was now a ruler of her own clan... technically. However, they were still sisters, and therefore, the ghost of Clan Song wielded immense influence in the West. In fact, its power was second only to the Immortal Flame itself.

Seishan and her sisters ruled a number of Citadels, even if some of them did not govern the cities that had grown around those Citadels themselves, instead entrusting that duty to loyal advisers. Beastmaster spent most of her time in Ravenheart. Lonesome Howl and Silent Stalker could usually be found on the frontlines, leading the warriors of the Human Domain in their conquest of the Dream Realm. Moonveil controlled the estuary of the River of Tears, while Seishan herself controlled its source. Death Singer wandered between the worlds, often crashing at their Citadels. Revel...

Well, Revel was a... a proponent of a strict separation between work and private life. So, she had refused the Citadel offered to her by Nephis, preferring to stay in her den below the Jade Palace when she wasn’t leading troops into battle.

And now, in an ironic twist of fate, she was on the Forgotten Shore.

Seishan headed toward the parlor, full of heavy thoughts.

She and her sisters were scattered across the Dream Realm, but today, they gathered in Ravenheart once more. Meeting in NQSC would have been far more convenient, but the situation was dire enough to demand a united front.

“Hey there, Shan.”

Beastmaster was already in the parlor, lounging in a chair with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her dress was flattering enough to be considered perilous, and her languid smile was positively decadent. The scar that was supposed to mar the deadly beauty of her face was somehow only making it more alluring.

She seemed the same, but Seishan could tell that her sister felt... more relaxed, somehow. The fall of the Song Domain was treating her well, as she had been able to blossom as the logistical overlord of the Western Reach of the Human Domain instead of being a powerful, frightening witch who controlled an army of monsters. Despite her dark mood, Seishan could not help but smile.

”Hey, Bin.”

The door opened, and Lonesome Howl entered, immediately sprawling across a sofa with an exhausted sigh.

”Do you have food in this manor? Gods, Stalker and I had to rush back to Ravenheart across entire regions of the Dream Realm. Our essence is almost entirely gone”

As soon as she said those words, Seishan noticed that Silent Stalker was already leaning on the wall in the corner of the parlor. It was unclear when and how she had gotten there.

Beastmaster scoffed.

“So what? You don’t hear Stalker complaining. Right, Stalker?”

Silent Stalker just stared at her without saying a word.

Beastmaster grinned.

”See?”

At that moment, Moonveil entered the parlor as well, gifting them a soft smile.

“You really should not complain, Howl. I had to rush here from the shores of the Stormsea... so, if anyone is going to complain, it should be me.”

Finally, Death Singer arrived, looking at them with a pale face and terrified eyes. Beastmaster winced.

“Let me guess, Hel. We’re all going to die?” Death Singer gave her a look of incomprehension.

“What? No. Of course not.’

A mournful expression appeared on her face.

”Instead, we’re all going to be brainwashed and turned into obedient slaves! Our free will will be trampled upon by a wicked Supreme! Our minds will be broken! Oh, the shame, the humiliation... the anguish!” Seishan sighed.