"Captain... what do we need to talk about?"
Cassandra's long hair fell over her delicate face, her green eyes shyly averting her gaze.
"Hmm... Cassandra-san should know what I want to discuss, shouldn't she?"
Bell looked at the girl wrapped in fragility, teasingly asking in return. Cassandra had always acted alongside Daphne; being alone like this was a first.
"Well... isn't that a bit too soon... I'm very happy the Captain invited me... but someone might see us here... so..."
Cassandra lowered her head, her voice growing fainter. Her deep blue hair danced in the breeze as her murmurs became almost inaudible.
"No one will come now."
Bell reminded her.
"But... but... I'll be so embarrassed..."
Cassandra gripped her robe nervously.
"Cassandra-san, are you really so reluctant to tell me about your past?"
Bell dropped his teasing tone.
"Huh? My past...?"
Cassandra blinked, her cheeks flushing instantly. "I... I see..."
"So, are you willing to tell me?"
Bell pressed again. He hadn't stated it plainly at first precisely to deny Cassandra any chance to evade. Bell intended to probe her past experiences while she was still flustered. In his estimation, those memories were undoubtedly profoundly sorrowful—the very source of Cassandra's current disposition.
"Captain... must I speak of these things?"
A shadow crossed Cassandra's face.
"Well... if you're willing to share, I'd be glad to hear it."
Bell answered honestly.
Mystery shrouded Cassandra. This was a fact Hestia had revealed to Bell with Cassandra's consent. [Five Dimension Troia]. Cassandra possessed this skill, deemed [Unknown]. No annotations, impossible to decipher, true nature unknowable. Even Hestia, a goddess herself, could only guess its name through conjecture and intuition. Viewed rationally, it likely transcended the divine, existing in a higher dimension. And this young girl before him bore it all alone.
"Captain, those are all sad things. Hearing them won't make you happy..."
Cassandra lowered her brows in melancholy.
"It's fine. Tell me everything. I want to understand Cassandra-san better—it's also to help you interpret your dreams."
Bell declared his resolve. In his eyes, Cassandra was both kind and deeply concerned for her companions. To evade Apollo's pursuit, she had fled her familia alone, just like Daphne, wandering between city after city. Why did such a strong young woman show weakness because of her dreams? What exactly did the foreknowledge she spoke of signify? Bell believed he must uncover the truth.
Cassandra met the youth's resolute gaze and sensed Bell's determination to share her burden and support her.
She exhaled deeply and spoke slowly:
"[Prophetic Dreams]... I can't even remember when it started..."
At first, Cassandra found them terrifying. The dreamscapes were always blurry, accompanied by inexplicable prophecies. Whenever she had nightmares, Cassandra would throw herself into her mother's arms, letting that warmth melt her fear away. As she grew older, she gradually realized that her dreams had the power to foresee the future.
"I was excited by this newfound ability, but it came with endless fear and worry." Cassandra was a kind person. The thought that her nightmares might be foretelling the suffering of others... it made her tremble uncontrollably.
So Cassandra made a bold decision. She began sharing the visions from her Prophetic Dreams, determined to save those who were about to face tragedy. From that moment on, a deeper, darker nightmare began to unfold.
"The first one was a rather stubborn adventurer."
Tears glistened in Cassandra's eyes, as if the past was still fresh in her mind. She dreamt of the adventurer being killed by a monster. Cassandra shared the vision truthfully and begged him not to venture into the dungeon. But the adventurer dismissed her warnings entirely, calling them nonsense. The very next day, Cassandra heard of his death. That was just the beginning.
Cassandra foresaw an old man drowning in water. After failing to dissuade him, she decided to wait outside his house. Still, the old man fell into the well. Similar things kept happening. No matter how much Cassandra cried, how many times she swore, the nightmares never reversed. People refused to believe her, even when her [prophecies] proved true time after time. Those who learned about her dreams always dismissed them as Cassandra's delusions.
Apart from the guilt of being unable to change fate, Cassandra endured an unprecedented loneliness. Some not only mocked her [prophecy], but after the tragedies happened, they called her a witch spreading [curses]. No one listened to her explanations. No one believed her words.
"In the past, I always felt like a monster, like I didn't belong in this world..."
Even though she could speak normally, not even the gods believed Cassandra's words. How could this be? The prophecies had come true—anyone with a bit of reason would have reconsidered!
Why didn't anyone believe her? Why did she have such an extraordinary ability? Just like people said... she was spreading calamity and curses...
Cassandra's heart sank deeper and deeper into the abyss. Finally, when the dream came true for her as well, she was met with despair. She had compromised with Apollo Familia, only to have Daphne unleash her fury on her when they first met. Though Cassandra was still alive, her spirit was on the brink of death.
"From that day on, Daphne tirelessly urged me to get myself together..."
Although she didn't believe in prophetic dreams, the girl named Daphne pulled Cassandra's body forward—step by step. The despair that had consumed her began to ease, even if only slightly. But for Cassandra, this was merely a brief escape from the dreams, not true salvation.
Until she met Bell.
"The Captain was the first person to believe in the dreams..."
Cassandra struggled to express the joy in her heart. It felt like someone who had never seen water in their life finally tasting sweet dew. It wasn't false comfort, but real trust.
"I'm happy, yet I'm afraid... I might dream of terrifying things related to the Captain..."
Cassandra didn't try to hide her feelings. To her, Bell had become the anchor of her soul.
"I understand, Cassandra-san. Please come tell me every day what you dream of."
Bell spoke softly.
"...Really? There might be calamity or curses—"
Cassandra responded, trembling. She was an ill-omened presence; sharing these dreams with the boy might bring him suffering.
"Your dreams are nothing like that."
Bell met Cassandra's gaze, cutting off her despondent words. "Do you remember the dream of the bow and the crescent moon? It was precisely because you foresaw the bow's disappearance that I was able to make up my mind." Defying divine will, challenging the [Unknown]. In a way, Cassandra's visions had lent a measure of reason to the boy's gamble.
Bell gazed at the silent girl and continued: "Listen, Cassandra-san. Thanks to you, we saved a kind and righteous goddess. So please, never speak of curses again. I'll bear these dreams with you and help decipher their meaning."
Cassandra pressed her lips tightly together. The mere thought that her dreams could aid the youth filled her with boundless joy.
"But..."
Bell smiled softly, once again cutting off her deep-rooted timidity and hesitation. "Cassandra-san, I promise you this: I will stand by your side until the dreams fade."
"Even if calamity truly strikes, I will never die."
"If you feel yourself to be unlucky, then entrust everything to me. After all, I am an incredibly lucky person."
"..."
Sincerity lay before her, trust surging into her heart. Faced with such unadulterated sincerity, Cassandra could no longer bring herself to utter the word "but."
"Mm....."
The girl responded with a sob.
Under the moonlight, those tears scattered by the wind seemed to bid farewell to the past.