Danmachi: My Adventure With a High Fairy Queen, Vol. 1

Two Hearts, Brave and True

Cassandra jolted awake, her heart pounding frantically in her chest as the remnants of her vivid nightmare clung to her like a suffocating second skin. The terrifying images were seared into her mind's eye, refusing to fade away no matter how desperately she tried to banish them. She could still see it all with horrifying clarity - the joyful date with Bell, filled with carefree laughter and tender moments, abruptly shattered by the sudden appearance of Medusa, the monstrous Queen of the Monsters. Cassandra's blood ran cold as she recalled the sight of Bell being devoured by one of the writhing, hissing snakes that adorned the creature's head, his agonized screams echoing in her ears and tearing at her very soul. She shuddered violently, trying to shake off the lingering dread that gripped her, leaving her feeling chilled to the bone despite the warm covers tangled around her trembling form.

And then the Earth itself had been swallowed up by millions of writhing, hissing serpents, their scales glinting in the dim light as they consumed everything in their path.

But there had been something else too, a vision that seemed to offer a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness. A fairy, cutting open the belly of a snake and pulling out a white rabbit, a creature of purity and innocence amidst the chaos.

And then the riddle, the words echoing in her mind even as she struggled to make sense of them:

"In the labyrinth where shadows twist and bend, Two hearts, brave and true, must contend. Against a gaze that turns will to stone, A hero clothed in valor, not alone.

The first, a youth with fire in his stride, Whose courage in his chest does reside. With every step, his legend grows tall, Destiny calls him to stand, not fall.

Beside him, wisdom ancient and profound, A queen whose roots in the earth are bound. With magic that dances in emerald light, Her power a beacon in the darkest night.

Together they face a foe, cold and dire, A creature of malice, of venomous ire. With eyes that could doom the world to night, A serpent, a fiend, in woman's guise alight.

To conquer the beast, they must not see, The curse in her gaze, the key to be free. In blindness, their strength, their hope must lie, To face her without sight, or else all die.

Their journey twisted, a path unseen, Through trials where few have ever been. The answer lies not in the clash of steel, But in a bond, a trust, a pact to heal.

For victory's light to grace the dawn, They must move forward, ever on. With heart and spell, their fate they'll mend, Lest all is lost, at journey's end."

What could it mean? What was the key to stopping this terrible future from coming to pass?

Cassandra stumbled out of bed, her body shaking as she made her way to Daphne's room. She had to tell someone, had to share the burden of this terrible knowledge before it consumed her from the inside out.

But when she burst into Daphne's room, her words tumbling out in a rush of fear and desperation, she was met with only skepticism and disbelief.

"A dream, Cassandra?" Daphne said, her voice thick with sleep and irritation. "You woke me up for a dream?"

"It wasn't just a dream," Cassandra insisted, her voice trembling with emotion. "It was a vision, a warning of what's to come. We have to do something, we have to find a way to stop it before it's too late."

But Daphne only shook her head, her expression one of pity and frustration. "Cassandra, you've always had an overactive imagination," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "It was just a nightmare, nothing more. Go back to bed and try to get some rest."

Cassandra opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her lips as she saw the look in Daphne's eyes. She knew that look all too well - it was the same one she had seen on the faces of countless others over the years, the look of someone who thought she was crazy, who didn't believe a word she said.