The sun was still high; after all, it was not even past twelve, and Cassia was already hungry. She had tried hiding it, but the growling of her stomach was far louder than any attempt to cover it.
Still holding hands with her guide, she was mapping the path in her mind.
Step by step.
The tapping of her staff against the pavement was the only sound there was at this instant. Yet she heard far more than she wanted to. She was just a mere Sleeper, so her body was "almost" no different from a mundane. But humans tend to lean toward a certain equilibrium, and when it loses a sense, it would try to compensate for it with the others.
So it was quite normal for a blind person to hear and smell from greater distances, which was only limited by what the human body can do. This was no small thing, since its adaptability was the main reason their race survived to begin with.
But Sleepers, compared to mundane people, did not possess that same limitation. After all, they were at the start of a new evolution. They were destined to evolve; their strength would destroy vehicles, walls…Heck, even buildings, depending on their Aspect.
And so, her hearing had grown far sharper than it would have if she had stayed mundane.
Sounds of the wind blowing away those dry leaves on the floor or the sound of her own heartbeat, but more importantly… the sound of life emanating from the building situated around one hundred meters from here. It was just a muddle of buzzing noise; she couldn't understand anything, but she still recognized it as a collection of discussion held in a single room.
Cassia was already making faces thinking about how loud it would be inside. Yet another headache she would have to endure.
[John]:"If you don't feel like going inside, I can try and ask if you can go to your room instead… Or the cafeteria, from the sound of it."
'I'm dreaming, right? He made fun of me, just now!'
She was not dreaming; she had heard him chuckle! Despite that exhausted voice, her guide had the strength to comment on that, as if she wasn't self-aware enough.
So it was, of course, without a thought that her staff-turned walking stick moved weirdly fast toward his kneecap. She had hit him, forcing them to halt. Cassia had not let go of his hand, and she was feeling every one of his movements. Or, like, she deduced them.
The guide was now rubbing his knee with his unused hand, making noise as if he was trying to smooch the pain away. Weirdly enough, the blind girl felt her lips curl up.
[Cassie]:"Ohh~! What a sad and unpredictable situation that we have here. My poor guide is injured~ Oh~~! I know, I might be able to lend him my staff. Here, let the hungry blind girl help you."
Who could have known that her staff would move again toward his knee, hitting it even harder this time. The growl of pain that followed had a nice ringing to her ears, even if it didn't last long enough to be truly satisfying.
[John]:"Slow down… I- I admit that my words were possibly covered with a mocking tone."
[Cassie]:"Possibly? Choose your next words wisely, John."
Her arm was already moving, arming itself for the next blow it would inflict. The girl's voice had turned from defeated to menacing in an instant. This resulted in a scared yet dry laugh coming from the guide.
[John]:"Possibly? What a bad choice of words… I did speak before with a mocking tone. But you're hitting quite well for a blind girl. Are you sure that you're truly blind? You know, maybe you just forgot how to open your eyes."
…
...
She would have gladly bashed his head against the very ground they stood on if not for the fact that she needed him right now. Saying all that while she was not even closing her eyes to begin with. She didn't even wear a blindfold!
Turning a compliment into a mockery.
She didn't know if she really wanted to break his skull open or simply laugh at his demeanor. After all, she could do nothing to change her situation, so if she had to decide, she preferred to laugh about it rather than to cry.
She had shed a year's worth of tears in a single week after all.
A simple choice she had to make right now, one that brought a moment of silence. Her head turned toward her guide, estimating where his head would be. Glared at him, only to chuckle, a sound that grew into laughter. Not the shy one you tried to contain, hoping not to disturb anyone around you.
A large one, a real one.
[Cassie]:"You-... You're surely the worst guide I've ever seen. How old are you supposed to be? I won't accept jokes from someone younger than me."
[John]:"Complicated to see worse, blinded as you are. As for my age, I'm turning seventeen this year."
[Cassie]:"Darn it, you're older than me. I turned sixteen in June. But how come a student finds himself being a guide? Isn't it supposed to be a role for those with experience?"
Like, students still needed to be…students, right? To practice and improve, surrounded by teachers, giving themselves chances to come back alive? But the Academy wasn't made only for Sleepers; there were also Awakened who lacked connections with the Greater Clans and who had decided to stay independent.
Working in collaboration with the Academy for research purposes.
But it would mean that her guide had been infected by the spell last year, and so there was a chance that he had been infected while being only fifteen. He might actually have enough experience to be a guide.
'You won't be the first, and you won't be last…'
His words started to sound a bit heavier compared to before.
[John]:"It's supposed to be for those with experience. But since everything is centered around connection, those who became 'guides' generally are just acting like a butler. A Greater clan would generally ask a lesser one to send one of its men in here as a 'guide' for an incoming student with great potential. But by doing so, those without contacts are left without a guide. So the Academy is trying right now to let students volunteer themself to be guides for those in need."
[Cassie]:"So what you're trying to tell me is that you're not experienced enough to be a guide, but since no one wants to do the dirty work, they accepted you as one."
[John]:"Something like that, yeah. But it didn't answer my previous question."
His previous question?
What was it again?
Did he even ask her a question? Oh yes, that's the reason why she had hit him to begin with. And he dared to ask for more? Still, her arm had moved down, sparing the man from a possible strike. The staff had already returned to be the support that it had been since she woke up from the Nightmare.
Putting a bit of weight on it, the girl was reflecting on the pros and cons of his offer. Yes, she would regret joining that ceremony, and yes, she was hungry right now. Going inside and being circled by all those people would not even make her gain anything.
She would lose precious time.
And yet, she simply shook her head sideways.
[Cassie]:"I know what will happen inside, and I don't need any seer's wisdom for that. But I need to experience it, to be able to truly let it go."
To truly accept that she was doomed.
That people were not going to protect her, that even if Fate was broken, it would still force upon her an end that she couldn't fight against.
That she was truly a walking corpse.
She heard a sigh from beside her; John sounded a bit sad, but also as if he had expected that kind of mindset. But hey, he couldn't blame her, after all… she did warn him. She was not part of a story where someone would save her.
She was not a princess of Greater Clan, nor the love interest of a powerful Sleeper destined to destroy every Nightmare Creature just like in some of those webtoons.
She was just Cassia, the Blind Seer.
And so, one foot was finally moved forward. Then another. The guide was still holding her hand softly, and yet she knew that he would let go of her without her asking. She had to start learning to read people without looking at them. Her guess might be false, but she still was weirdly happy about that predic– no… her estimation… some words were better left unsaid and forgotten.
She was happy that even now, she could keep hoping for the best for what's left of her life. Even if she had wrongly estimated her guide's behavior, she was certain of what was about to happen.
They would reach the doors and enter the complex.
John was already pushing the handle, and Cassie thought about how she could grab his remaining hand with a bit more strength. To act like the afraid girl that she was, for she was afraid.
And still, she stayed calm.
It seemed like she had already accepted it…
The semblance of silence that came when doors were opened. All those discussions she was able to hear from outside had died in her presence. Only to leave in their wake a wave of murmurs. Talking about the blind girl who needed a guide and a walking stick to move around.
"Wow and I thought that my Flaw was bad… That girl is doomed." Someone said. And she already knew that.
"How will she move in the Dream Realm if she needs constant help?" Another said. And she wouldn't, that's the problem.
"Who cares about the blind girl? Do you want to train with me after?" A man said. She was already discarded.
"Do you think that she would give her Memory away? After all, she wouldn't need it in there." A woman said. They were already thinking about taking over the little stuff she had.
Step by step, she was moving while following the hand that guided her. She tried her best not to react, because reacting would give them the satisfaction that she cared about what they said. From the lack of blurred text and noise around her, Cassie knew that she had reached one corner of the room.
[Cassie]:"Is there any seat around, John?"
[John]:"There is. About two meters. Around 47° to your left."
[Cassie]:"Thank you."
The guide moved in a way that helped her reach her goal without pushing her too far. He was giving her instructions without acting like she was a little child who couldn't do anything by herself. She had appreciated his thoughtfulness, but didn't even dare to show it.
Being stoic was a choice she had made reaching that room, and one she would maintain until she had reached her bedroom. Now that people had noticed her… She wanted to see how much the world would spit in her face if she didn't say anything.
After all, people tend to show their true face when they think that no one is looking at them. Listening in silence. And she had already heard quite a bit, enough for her to feel like her choice was maybe the right one.
In here, no one would mourn her death.
They didn't even dare to move close to her, as if she was a curse by herself. That she would infect them with bad luck, something she truly wished she could do. But no, all she could do was be in that corner, with her guide as her sole companion.
And to make it worse, she had that disappointed feeling, one she couldn't really understand…That she was destined to meet someone in here. An encounter that would have shaped her life in such a way that… maybe she was good enough to be friends with someone despite her current disability.
So she waited in silence, without showing that glimpse of hope, only to realise that…The person would have only met her if things had worked differently.
It had only been half an hour, and the ceremony was about to start.
[John]:"I've heard that cafeteria wouldn't have a lot of people in it for another good hour. Would you like me to show you the way?"
To wait in hope of meeting someone or…
[Cassie]:"I would love to, John."
The girl and her guide had already left that part of the complex when Awakened Rock arrived to welcome the new Sleeper.