The wind brushed against her skin, cold and crushing, as Cassie sat on the cliff's edge trembling.
The explosion of the Unholy Titan moved relentlessly closer, an inevitable end to everything. But she couldn't face it. Not yet.
'It's too soon. It's not real. This can't be real.'
Her blindfold was gone, soaked and useless as it was placed by her side. Her sight had been stolen long ago, but she had always known. She had learned to live in the darkness, until now. Now, her flaw felt too much, like a crushing boulder on her shoulders if she were a mere dormant human.
She let out a hollow laugh, the sound forced and brittle in the empty air. She gripped the rock beneath her, trying to hold herself together.
'This isn't real. It can't be. It's a n-nightmare.
Yeah, it has to be.'
But the rumbling flames grew louder, swallowing the silence, growing nearer.
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into her knees, pulling them close to her chest. Her body rocked violently, as if trying to shove the truth away. She bit her lip, drawing blood, trying to hold onto any shred of sanity.
But the memories wouldn't leave. They kept flooding back.
Sunny's eyes, wide with confusion. "Why did you enslave me?"
She shook her head, as if trying to physically throw the thought out.
'No. I-I didn't mean to. I did it for her. I-I wanted to save her.'
Her breathing grew erratic, her heart hammering in her chest.
'Nephis. Effie. Sunny. They're all-'
Her breath caught in her throat.
'No. I didn't mean to. I didn't want this. It wasn't supposed to be like this.'
Her hands flew to her head, pressing against her temples as if she could stop the thoughts, stop the memories, to stop everything. But they wouldn't.
"We trusted you, Cassie." Nephis' voice echoed in her mind, cold and unforgiving. The image of her, face full of disappointment, twisted into a vision she couldn't escape.
"You lied to us."
"N-no, I didn't-"
The voice interrupted.
" You lied to me."
Her mind screeched in protest, but their words, the faces, kept coming.
'No, no, no. This isn't real. It can't be. It can't..'
A faint chuckle escaped her lips, the sound too sharp, too broken. She gripped her knees tighter, the laughter bubbling up again. It was all she had left, denial. A thin thread of hope she still clung to.
But deep down, she knew. It was. It was real.
The ground beneath her feet was shaking, as if the earth itself was tearing apart. It was facing the wrath of the Unholy Titan of course.
The blue flames were too close now. The light, it was coming for her, and she couldn't run.
She clenched her fists, slamming them against the cliffside, her body stiff with frustration.
Her head dropped forward, her forehead pressed against her knee, and she began to bang it softly, rhythmically, against her leg. She didn't know why, but the small pain grounded her. Maybe it was to wake her up from this never ending nightmare.
'I'm sorry.' her mind whispered, barely a thought. It wasn't a confession anymore, it was a mantra.
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…'
Her body jerked as the laughter bubbled up again—hollow and manic, bouncing off the cliffside.
'This can't be real.This isn't happening. It's not real.'
Whatever tears she could conjure up came, hot and sharp against her cheeks. But she couldn't see them. She couldn't see the end coming, the dark light swallowing the sky.
Her blindness made it worse; she couldn't even witness the death she had caused. She could only feel it, an overwhelming presence.
The weight of it. The crushing truth.
Her heart pounded. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run, to hide from what was happening.
But she was already gone.
Gone.
And with that thought, her hands fell limp by her sides. She stopped banging her head against her knees, too tired to deny it any further.
It was too late.
The light grew stronger, surrounding her. There was no escape. No way to undo what had been done.
But in that final moment, before it consumed her, she whispered one last time:
"I'm sorry…"
And then, the blue fire took her.