Remnants of Dreams

ROSE

I kept running through the rain.

I didn't have a destination. I didn't have a plan. I just kept my legs moving until, at some point, the sky finally ran out of tears.

I found myself in the middle of a forest. The sun was starting to poke through the gaps in the rain-soaked canopy, creating those shimmering pillars of light that usually signal a plot development.

I slumped against a tree, my breath coming in ragged, pathetic gasps.

My mind was a total mess. My father, my country, the fact that I was currently the world’s most wanted princess... it all swirled together into a giant knot of anxiety.

No matter how I tried to spin it, I was a criminal. I’d killed the King of Oriana. I wasn’t going to deny it, and strangely, I didn't even feel like taking the easy way out via a quick death anymore. I was ready to shoulder the blame. I was ready to carry the weight of my father’s death and the future of the kingdom on my back.

The only problem? That weight was freaking heavy.

The more I thought about it, the more I started to shake. I had all this "resolve" and "conviction," but they were being slowly crushed by the sheer pressure of reality.

I told myself I could still fight. I told myself I had to. But honestly? I was a seventeen-year-old girl. What was I supposed to do against the entire world?

I curled into a ball, burying my face between my knees. I just sat there, a tiny, trembling speck of a princess, until the sunlight turned that deep, "end-of-the-episode" shade of madder-red.

"Let's go..."

I forced the words out, mostly just to see if my voice still worked, and stood up. I still didn't know where I was going, but standing still felt like dying.

I took my first step forward.

"You have two choices."

A voice reached me from behind. It was beautiful—the kind of voice that belonged to someone who definitely wasn't struggling with their life choices.

"!!?"

I spun around. Standing there was an Elf clad in a Jet-black Dress.

She had golden hair, blue eyes, and a face so perfectly defined she looked like a museum exhibit.

"You're... Alpha..."

Alpha crossed her arms, a mysterious, slightly predatory smile playing on her lips.

"Fight alone, or fight with us. Make your choice."

"With you...?"

I knew Shadow Garden’s enemies were the same as mine. But just because we were shooting at the same targets didn't mean we were on the same team. Still, it wasn’t like my calendar was full of other offers.

If I stayed solo, I was looking at a life of hiding in caves or trying my luck in the Lawless City. And as an "atrocious regicide," even the outlaws would probably try to cash in my head for the bounty.

"Can you save the Oriana Kingdom?" I asked.

"That's up to you," she replied coolly. "We don't move for your sake. If you want to save your country, prove you're worth the effort."

"Value...?"

"Your value... and the value of your kingdom."

"If I show you that... it can be saved?"

"We have the power to do it."

Alpha didn't do "flowery speeches." She just laid out the options like a cold-hearted career counselor. She wasn't going to hold my hand or guide me through my feelings. The ball was entirely in my court.

"...Slayer-san... I mean, Shadow. Is he the head of your organization?"

"...He is."

The image of him flashed through my mind. The boy who saved me years ago, the man who was still out there playing the world’s most overpowered vigilante. I decided right then to put my chips on him.

"...I swear to fight by your side."

"Good. Welcome. Follow me."

Alpha turned and headed deeper into the woods, her voice as flat as if she’d just finished an errand at the grocery store.

"Can I ask one more thing?" I called out, scurrying to keep up with her.

"Go ahead."

"Who... who is Shadow, really?"

The guy had the heart of a hero and the power of a god. He was a complete enigma—no background, no logic, just pure, unadulterated strength.

"If you want to know that, earn our trust."

"Trust..."

"If you prove you're worth believing in, you'll find out eventually."

After that, we just walked in silence. Very dramatic, very intense silence.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

We eventually hit a patch of fog so thick I couldn't even see the sun.

"Is this... no way."

"The Abyss Forest," Alpha confirmed.

Great. The legendary "forest of no return." I was two seconds away from losing Alpha in the soup. The bluish-purple mist was so thick with Magic Power it was actually messing with my internal compass.

"This mist is the Dragon's Breath."

"A dragon?"

I’d heard stories, but dragons were basically mythological at this point. No one had successfully hunted one in a century.

"He came here once and fought the Mist Dragon."

"He...?" Shadow, obviously.

"He was young then. He could defeat the dragon, but he couldn't quite kill it. The dragon acknowledged his strength and blanketed the area in this mist."

So this magical, ethereal fog was basically dragon exhaust. Lovely.

"This mist is also a deadly poison."

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Stay close," she added. "Step away from me and you're dead in seconds."

"Understood!" I practically glued myself to her heels.

We pushed through the thickest part of the fog until, suddenly, the world opened up.

"What is this place...?"

Before us sat a massive, white ancient castle bathed in sunlight.

"The Ancient Capital Alexandria. It was destroyed by the Mist Dragon long ago. Now, it's our home base."

I’d seen the name Alexandria in history books, but the books didn't mention it being a secret utopia. There were massive fields stretching out from the city, filled with crops I’d never even seen before. I could see girls everywhere, busy with the harvest.

"They're harvesting cacao," Alpha noted. "It’s the raw material for Chocolate. You'll be doing that soon enough."

"Wait, that becomes Chocolate...? Does that mean the Mitsugoshi Company is actually...?"

Alpha just gave me a cryptic smile.

Of course. Mitsugoshi was the only place selling Chocolate. They had a total monopoly on the stuff. The fact that a global corporation was just a side-hustle for a secret society was... honestly, a bit terrifying.

We passed through the gates and into the castle proper.

"Lambda, are you here?"

"Right here."

A woman appeared out of nowhere and dropped to one knee.

"A new recruit," Alpha said. "Break her in."

"By your command."

"First, show us what you've got. If you're as good as I think you are, you'll find your path soon enough."

And with that, Alpha just vanished, leaving me with the woman called Lambda.

She was a brown-skinned Elf with gray hair and eyes like gold coins. She was tall, built like a professional athlete, and her black bodysuit left absolutely nothing to the imagination. She looked like she ate recruits for breakfast.

"I am Instructor Lambda. Move it."

"Yes, ma'am!"

I followed her to the back of the castle, where a literal army of girls was training.

"Whoa..."

I didn't need to be a combat expert to see that every single one of them was high-tier. This wasn't a hobby club; it was a factory for elites.

"Number 664! Number 665!"

"YES!"

"SIR!"

Two girls—an Elf and a Beastkin—sprinted over.

"Reporting for duty, Instructor!" the Elf shouted. The Beastkin next to her looked like a statue.

"A new maggot for your squad."

"Understood!"

Lambda turned her sharp gaze on me. "Number 666, strip."

"Come again?"

I was pretty sure I’d misheard.

"Number 666. That's you now. Numbers are the only names we care about here."

"I'm... Number 666..."

"If you've got it through your thick skull, then get naked. Fast."

"Wait, what?"

"Don't make me say it twice!"

Schwing.

In a literal blink, my clothes were shredded. One second I was a princess, the next I was a public indecency charge waiting to happen.

"W-What are you doing!?" I shrieked, diving for the floor and trying to cover myself.

"From today, you are a maggot! You are a nobody! Throw away your name! Throw away your clothes! Throw away your life and become a soldier!"

Lambda tossed a black, squishy mass at my feet. It hit the ground with a very un-soldier-like boyoyon sound.

"Number 664! Teach this maggot how to use her slime."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Hm? What's this?"

A small scrap of paper had fluttered out from the remains of my dress. Lambda snatched it out of the air and held it up.

"Give that back!"

It was the only thing I had left from Cid. A greasy, crumpled wrapper from Magronald's.

In an instant, all the feelings I’d been trying to bury came roaring back. My first love. The matches we fought, the way he saved me during the terrorist attack, the trip we took together...

Just a week ago, I was dreaming about a future with him. But I’d crossed a line I couldn't un-cross. Our paths were never going to meet again.

"What's with that face? I told you to throw it all away!"

Lambda didn't hesitate. She shredded the wrapper right in front of my eyes.

The tiny scraps of paper caught a breeze, dancing up toward the sky like confetti at a funeral.

They were the remnants of a dream that was never going to happen.

I didn't even try to stop the tears as they hit the dirt.

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