No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

Levi had gotten up before even thinking.. he had summoned [Pale Thorn] and imbued it with his arm immediately. After hearing that scream , his mind was repeating the blind girls name in his mind..

'Cassie!'

He looked around , he didn't sense any creatures around.. everything was dark.. the sun was rising but it was not lighting up the stone.. He felt someone move and finally spoke up..

"I got her!" Sunny yelled, letting Changing Star know that there was no need to stab him with a sword.

And then, in a quiet voice, he said to Cassie:

"I got you. It's alright. Everything is fine. Calm down..."

Nephis was listening to the sea for the same reason. After a few seconds, she asked:

"Do you see anything?"

Sunny helplessly shook his head.

"No."

He helped Cassie sit down in the center of the platform. While Nephis and Levi stood guard above them, he looked the blind girl over to make sure that there were no wounds on her body. Everything seemed to be fine.

"She's not hurt anywhere."

Levi let out sigh , his mind had been filled with terror a few seconds earlier. After all his only duty was to guard Cassie and he had almost failed it..

He stared at Cassie , was that really the only reason..? The blind girl looked painfully similar to his little sister... A frown crept up to his lips.

Changing Star looked down. Although her face remained indifferent, he could tell that she was a bit flustered. After a second or two, she asked in something that might have been her version of a calming tone. It sounded pretty much exactly the same as usual:

"Cassie? What happened?"

Magically, that did seem to calm the blind girl down a little. At least enough for her to speak in a quivering voice.

Cassie extended one hand and pointed down.

"Th-the head ... I saw ... oh gods!"

Sunny frowned and looked at Nephis.

"Did she see a vision? The past?"

The tall girl was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. It never happened before."

Both of them turned to Cassie, not sure what to do.

Since there was no apparent danger around, they took turns trying to calm the horrified girl down. However, after that one sentence, she fell quiet and refused to speak again. Nothing seemed to help. Levi himself.. was.. just observing them from the back.. Why did she have to look like someone he had lost..?

These thoughts had also confirmed that Levi still had a long way before he lost his humanity. He was feeling many things and he didn't know which one to focus on.

After a while, Nephis sighed.

"Let's ... leave her be, for now. Maybe she needs time."

Sunny nodded:

"Okay. I'll keep an eye on her."

As the sun was rising and the surging sea was receding, Nephis chose to give Cassie some space and led Sunny to the edge of the platform , Levi followed them. He made sure to always have the blind girl in the periphery of her vision.

Cassia sat hugging her knees. Her eyes were closed, but small tremors that periodically ran through her body betrayed that she was awake.

Sunny's eye twitched.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave her like this?"

Nephis gave him a complicated look.

"Yes."

Then, after some thought, she added:

"Cassie is strong."

"If you say so."

Then, Nephis made him summon the Azure Blade. After studying it for a while, she nodded and took her longsword out of the air.

Despite its size, it was an elegant weapon. The narrow, double-edged blade was much longer than that of the Azure Blade, with an incredibly sharp, symmetrical tip. The whole blade, as well as the simple cross-shaped guard and the pommel, seemed to be made out of silver and reflected the pale morning light. The handle was tightly wrapped in black leather.

Putting the two swords side by side, Nephis spoke:

"Your sword can be used with one hand, but its true potential can only be revealed when held in both. It is created primarily for cutting and severing, hence the higher center of gravity. However, it can thrust as well."

Seeing that they were going to train.. Levi immediately lost interest and walked to the side. Making sure Cassie always stayed in the corner of his vision.

Sunny was performing downward slashes.. and Nephis was watching him. Levi himself was sewing Nephis her clothes. The ones that he would make would be better than her seaweed stuff.

***

A few hours had passed , and Levi was finally finished with the clothes.. He had sewed a brassiere and shorts. The shorts were baggy so she would have no loss in mobility. 

He got up from his seat and walked up to Nephis. Sensing that he was walking to her she turned to look at him with a raised brow.

'Sharp.'

Without a word he held out his hand , presenting her newly sewed clothes. He looked at her with no expressions present on his face , just eerie calmness.

Nephis seemed a bit surprised by the fact that Levi had sewn her some clothes. But she most likely going to refuse it since her own makeshift ones were not practical at all. 

"Thank you."

Levi nodded in response.

She said calmly and took the clothes. She would most likely change once its dark.

Levi looked at Sunny.

"Still practicing?"

Sunny scowled , and said with an annoyed tone:

"I need to perform a thousand of them.."

Levi looked at Sunny , a small smile crept up to his lips. It seemed that Changing Star was working him to the bone. Then he walked to his usual corner and sat down.

As he was starting to get bored.. Cassie was finally ready to speak.