Shadow Slave: A visionary's guide

Turning his head in a direction, he could have sworn he felt a gaze on him, but when he scanned the area, there was nothing. In the dream realm, there is one rule: never directly gaze over, or else you risk exposing your position. That is why the awakened never directly look at a nightmare creature until they are ready to attack and kill it.

Scanning the area one more time and seeing nothing, he decided to turn his head back to the still-talking Cassie. She was continuing her life's story. One of the things that surprised him was the fact that she had actually been struggling with her studies and that before her first nightmare, she was almost certain she would fail her class. Coming from her, it was a surprise, especially considering she was, if not one of the smartest humans to ever walk, certainly one of the most intelligent. She had almost entirely on her own planned on breaking fate, and she had succeeded. It was one of those achievements that even if it was witnessed by the entirety of humanity, they would still refuse to believe it. And to top it all off, she had done so as a master. It was almost impossible to imagine someone who almost failed school achieving such a ridiculous feat.

Just then, the duo stopped talking as they heard noise coming from the side of the elevated rock formation. Cassie tensed up, but unlike in the past, she wasn't too shaken. Instead, she was waiting for instructions from Adam. But the instruction didn't come, and she was starting to get worried, so she asked in a hushed voice.

But Ivan simply didn't say anything; he kept looking in the direction of the noise.

Eventually, a figure of a woman entered the scene. She was tall and lithe, with silky silver hair and clear, grey eyes. She wore a simple tunic. She was poised, alert, and barefoot.

Cassie had long gone silent. Ivan suspected that she must be following after his actions.

Standing up and envisioning a random sword, he stood between the two ladies.

"Gods, why does this feel like a really badly written drama? It's like the MC protecting the women he loves against the villainess fiancée," he mused as he raised the sword.

"State your identity," he said with a commanding voice. Of course, he knew who she was and her identity, but that was the problem—he knew too much, and that was an issue. He was just a spectator and background character, and if he didn't show surprise in front of the immortal flame's last heiress, that would incur suspicion. Considering how mad she was, recalling her suicidal conquest of the crimson spire, there was no telling what might happen if a variable like himself appeared in the middle of the main cast's play.

However, the next scene was absolutely out of his expectations. Nephis entirely ignored him as if not even noticing his presence, walking over to Cassie and extending an arm, asking the same of her.

"Give your hand," Nephis requested.

Cassie was visibly confused as well. She didn't recognize the woman's voice. This woman had ignored Adam's question and simply approached her, ordering her to give her hand. In such a situation, no matter what, it was not normal to ignore someone like Adam.

She didn't give her hand. Instead, she asked a question in return, "Why? And who are you?" She was unsure of what to do or even what to ask. Adam seemed to be silent for some reason.

Nephis tilted her head slightly, as if confused. "It's not safe to traverse the dream realm naked. You need some protection against the elements, or else you might die. As for who I am… I am Nephis."

Cassie's eyes widened behind the laced blindfold. In front of her stood none other than the last member of the immortal flame clan. But she was equally confused. What did she mean by "naked"? She couldn't possibly mean me, could she? No, Neph wasn't blind, she was, but she was fully clothed, and it couldn't be because of the darkness, because Adam had said it was still evening time and the sun hadn't set.

"U-uhh, Neph, as you can see, I am not naked. I'm fully clothed. Adam made these for me," she said while showcasing her dress. Nephis, in return, became confused, then scanned Cassie from top to bottom before suddenly her eyes widened. She turned her head in Ivan's direction as if only finally noticing his presence.

She narrowed her eyes. Her face remained expressionless, but in the eyes of a spectator reading emotions, no matter how hidden, it was the same as reading an open book. There was a hint of panic, which was replaced by cold reasoning. Then the emotion turned mild but still weary.

"Who are you?" she blatantly asked.

"Excuse me, that's a question I should be asking you." That aside, she must have come to the reasoning that if Ivan was an assassin sent by the great clans, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to get a burden. And in a sense, she wasn't wrong. An assassin simply sent to kill her wouldn't bother saving someone like Cassie.

Outwardly, his expression remained calm, but inside, there was a storm. Everything, every plan and possibility he had thought of, might have been wrong. First, his appearance in the story seemed to be completely disregarded. Nephis seemed to fail to notice his presence entirely. Second, no matter what, the story would always go according to how it was fated. Then there was Cassie's and Nephis's interaction. Cassie had dropped honorifics and directly called Nephis by her nickname, Neph, almost as if they had known each other for a while.

Ivan even suspected that if he had not formed a bond with Cassie prior to this interaction, all his progress with her might have been reset, forgotten, to go with the flow of the main story.

Ivan was in a dilemma. He didn't know what to do. Until now, he had been worried about how the story would turn out, but instead, he should have been worried about how he would turn out. No matter his plans and predictions, all would be pointless if nothing was changeable. No, it was changeable. The fact that Cassie was able to remember him and refer to him was proof. The only problem was that Cassie was the only one who had changed slightly due to him.

"For f*ck's sake, when did fated and fateless have a baby?"

"Should you be asking that, Lady Changing Star?" Ivan answered shortly. For now, he had no choice but to go with the flow.

"As for my name, you can call me Ivan…"

***

Cassie's Mother POV

Walking through a wide hallway of Saint Aria's cathedral, the walls were inscribed with majestic paintings and murals, depicting stories from the Church's Bible.

Two figures were walking through the hallway. One was a brunette in her mid-20s, her brown hair cascading down her shoulders, with a translucent veil covering her head and falling over her face, barely obscuring her eyes. It was none other than Saint Aria, after whom the very cathedral was named.

The second figure was a woman in her early thirties—Cassie's mother.

"I am really glad you chose to be a priestess of our church. I have to say, I was very surprised when I heard 'God' had answered your call immediately after you prayed. You should consider yourself really lucky, especially since you weren't a believer. Even I don't get such a miracle that often," Saint Aria said, her voice melodious, almost like a lullaby.

Cassie's mother only gave a humble reply and downplayed herself. Occasionally, she would ask questions regarding the murals and her job as a priestess.

"You don't actually have any great duties here. Instead, we are quite free-spirited. You only need to show up at least once or twice a week. You can choose your job, whether it's cleaning duty, feeding the poor people from the outskirts, attending scripture lessons, or being on preaching duty. Food and any needs you might have for yourself and your family will be covered by the church, as well as a salary. But to officially become a priestess, you would need to wait for approval from the deacon, then attend training for several months. However, since your situation is more special than anyone else's, the Holy Emperor himself has approved of you joining the clergy," Saint Aria explained.

Cassie's mother was taken aback. For such a large church, she expected quite a strict routine. After all, she had her own home to take care of as a full-fledged housewife. She had offered to join on impulse and excitement, but later felt worried about how she would juggle her routine. But thanks to this, she could come here every once in a while, do several chores, attend classes, feed the poor, and then be done with her day. Better yet, she would be paid, and any needs of her family would be taken care of by the church. It sounded amazing.

She then asked, "How many cathedrals or churches do we have?" She was curious about the size of the Church of Aurora.

"Oh, we have a lot of churches. At least four churches in NQSC, and many more in other Siege Quadrant cities. Recently, our Church started a massive project of expanding to Antarctica…" Saint Aria excitedly explained, while Cassie's mother simply listened with her mouth agape.

Eventually, she asked another question. "Earlier, you mentioned the Holy Emperor. Who is he?"

At that question, Saint Aria stopped talking and coughed in embarrassment. "Uh-oh, my bad. I should have explained the inner workings of our church before everything else."

"The Holy Emperor is God's representative on earth. Essentially, he is the Pope of our Church. He can directly talk to God and has no need for revelations… and 'The Holy Emperor' is simply his title…" Saint Aria explained.

Cassie's mother continued listening, but as the words sank in, her face slowly turned pale. When she had proclaimed her wish to join the church, the old man had told her she would be meeting with the Pope. Right now, she was certain there was a God. And if the Pope could directly talk to God… Was she even worthy of being in the presence of someone like that?

Her sweat and worry, however, went unnoticed by Saint Aria, who was still guiding her through the cathedral with a serene, almost blissful air.

Eventually, they reached an opaque, glass-like wall. Cassie's mother was confused, but then "Saint Aria" stood shoulder to shoulder to her right and crossed her fingers with hers. "Calm down, and just follow my lead," Saint Aria said.

Then, to Cassie's mother's shock, she was pulled into the glass-like wall. It felt as though she were walking into a dead-end cliff, but somehow—defying all logic—it felt as if gravity itself had been deceived. In a dizzying, 360-degree rotation, she found herself standing upright again. It was as though she had walked into an upside-down world, the scenery around her twisting and warping as if the very laws of reality had been bent.

The ground beneath her felt unfamiliar, the air different, even the light that filtered through seemed warped, almost ethereal. She looked around in a daze, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Don't worry," Saint Aria's calm voice broke through her confusion. "This is a special chamber known only to the clergy of the Church. It's a passage between the realms, almost like the dream realm, and only those who have been specially chosen can enter."

Cassie's mother opened her mouth, but no words came out. She had so many questions, but the sight before her left her speechless.

Saint Aria continued, "The Holy Emperor is waiting for us on the other side. Just trust me and follow my lead."

As they stepped forward, Cassie's mother took a deep breath and continued walking, following the Saint.

The surroundings kept changing. At one moment, it was an ornate grand hallway; at another, it was a garden-lined passage. The scenery kept shifting into different forms, but she didn't question Saint Aria this time, as she felt she wouldn't get an answer.

Eventually, the surroundings stopped changing, and they entered a very humble room. On the left side, there were bookshelves filled with library books. To the front and right, there was a very comfortable and fluffy couch, a bed, and a study table.

On the fluffy couch sat a young-looking man with his eyes closed.

Saint Aria bowed to one knee and gestured for Cassie's mother to do the same.

She was now in the presence of the Pope of the Church of Aurora.

"I greet His Holiness," Saint Aria greeted the young man with utmost respect.

The young man's eyes fluttered open. "Ah, you're here, Aria…"

He stood up. His hair was white with a golden hue, cascading down his back as if he hadn't bothered to cut it in quite some time.

Cassie's mother couldn't help but feel as though this room was like a prison. Shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts and prepared herself to answer any questions.

"You may stand," the young man ordered, his voice low but lethally sharp.

"It's been a while since God sent a revelation so suddenly," the young man began speaking.

"Ah, I should introduce myself… My name is Keter…"