Land of the Blades

40. Shadows

—No, not at all. In fact, it is quite refreshing seeing my old cute face.

Caster threw me a glance, as Mantis blushed.

—I was also wondering if that has anything to do with what the Prince said about you being the one who convinced the rest to seek our help.

—H-he exaggerates about that bit —she said, looking away—, everyone was tired of that woman giving us orders, I just... was spouting some idealistic things now and then. For why I copied your face —she lowered her voice to almost a murmur, as she placed her hands on the sides of his neck again—... a long time ago, when you still looked like this... you chocked me while attempting to communicate with us.

—T-that was you? —I said incredulous. I only vaguely remembered the incident, but she sounded so earnestly I didn't doubt her—, I... am sorry?

—Don't be! At that moment, I was forced to breathe the air of the planet. And as the Prince said, it filled my mind with sad memories. I remember crying for a whole month once I returned to the moon, but then I started to see everything on a new light! —she said, getting really exited—, I started wondering about the reason of our actions, the meaning of our words, how our machines worked. Everything used to be dull and repetitive, but I found a new reason to keep living, and it was all thanks to you!

Mantis told us she mimicked my face in an attempt to re-establish communication, trying to search for me every time she was on hunter's duty, all the while discretely sabotaging the bows and arrows of their colleagues. She even attempted to convince the Prince to stop the alliance with Franny before the meteorite, but while he thanked her for her advice, he decided to go through and fell into Franny's trap. After that, the Prince lost his will and just sat depressed all day. And while all the Lunarians rebelled against Franny at first, they were no match for her shadow and the true servants she still had, especially Saber, Berserker, and the second Assassin. Franny herself could also cause them pain apparently, but I wasn't sure if her method was the same as mine. The Lunarians eventually resigned as their leader has done, but Mantis keep searching for me, unaware that by that point my head had been blown into pieces and stolen.

—I kept saying that you were our only hope, so much that everyone was starting to become tired of it, but one day the Prince rose from his depression and told everyone I was right, and now even Assassin and some of the shadow servants have come to our side!

—Wait, did you said shadow servants? —I felt a shiver run through my back, as just in that moment I saw a figure emerge from a room and lock eyes with me.

—Ah! Anchin-sama!! —the snake lady from before said before jumping against me.

I was thrown to the ground, diminishing the impact with my alloy and readying myself to fight, when I realized she was just hugging me.

—Kiyohime-sama, please don't bother our guest —Mantis spoke.

—There is no way I would be bothering Anchin-sama, isn't that right? —she said, standing up and helping me do the same.

To avoid fighting her, I just nodded. She threw a glare towards Caster until she said she already had a fiancé. That seemed to calm Kiyohime and she dragged us towards some sort of cafeteria, where we get to know the other shadow servants that were on "our side". Only a few of them remember their names or anything about their lives, so most of them had a very limited use of their powers. There was one deemed "Assassin of Serenity" who could make all sorts of poisons come out of her body, pretty much like Cinnabar's mercury, but hers didn't affected me. They were effective against others shadow servants and Lunarians. This has made her a bit unpopular and nobody wanted to work with her, even if they all were able to respawn. Caster also seemed to get a little lightheaded just by getting near to her. I felt pity for "Serenity", and wanted to ask Caster to give her a seal like she had done with Cinnabar, but there were other matters to attend first, and Caster was already overworked.

Another one, "Faust's harlequin" was dressed like a clown, and cackling madly at random times. Antarc had told me about him, he used bombs as weapons, as well as a pair of very sharp scissors. Even Kiyohime warned me to not let my guard down around him, even if he was supposed to be our ally. Finally, there was another who did remember his name, and weirdly enough he had refused to obey Franny from the very start. "Andersen" just sat on a corner minding his own business and actively ignoring everyone else. I didn't get to know each of the other twenty or so that were on the room, as Mantis said it was already pretty late, we had to go to our room so she could start working on the assignment that the Prince had given to her. She had to convince Kiyohime to let go of my arm and return with the others, but surprisingly the snake-lady seemed to listen to her.

—If you need anything, just push this button on the wall and someone will come to attend you —Mantis said before leaving us on our room.

—I think it is for the better if we take turns to sleep —Caster said, and I agreed. We were deep behind what has been enemy lines for quite a long time, and I was not sure I could thrust the Prince—, you can sleep first, I'll go ahead and set up the barrier now that we have the opportunity. I'll wake you in four hours or so.

—Are you going to be fine?

—Yeah, of course. I'm used to go to sleep only when the sun is rising!

—Then I'll be counting on you.

I laid my body on the bed, which was too soft for my liking, and the pillow was way too flat. I somehow managed to fall asleep after rolling on the bed for what seemed to be half of an hour. I then found myself again in some sort of mindscape like before, but this time, there was only pitch black darkness around me. I kept hearing a weird buzzing noise, but it was too far to know what it was or where it was coming from. I looked up and saw the planet at the distance, but more importantly, I saw the ring with everyone's shattered remains floating over my head. And it was closer than from the planet. I could actually reach Ghost from there, if I only stretched a bit.

But no matter how much I tried to reach, I felt as if I was sinking in the ground, and when I looked down, I realized I was actually sinking. Hands and faces started to emerge from the ground and tried to pull me down, the noise I had heard before was their screams filled with despair. I tried to run away, but there was nowhere to run, and nothing to pull me away from them. In a finally attempt, I jumped and tried to reach Ghost, but he was barely out of reach and I fell hard into the darkness, sinking into it by the force of the impact. I tried to get up and escape, but the hands kept pulling me down, no matter what I did. I kept sinking into that dark ocean full of despair, unable to save Ghost, and I started to lose myself into the darkness.