Chapter 478: Don’t Leave Me Behind!

The world around Nala was a nightmare.

Wind whipped at her hair, the salt from the crashing waves stinging her eyes as she blinked through the thick, suffocating mist.

She was currently standing on a jagged rock jutting up from the middle of a furious, dark ocean.

The sky above was nothing but swirling gray, thunder rumbling somewhere in the distance, lightning crackling like fractured glass across the clouds.

Her heart pounded and her tail flicked wildly behind her, slick with seawater. She spun in every direction, trying to make sense of where she was—but there was nothing.

Nothing but endless, roiling water and the suffocating sense of being completely, utterly alone.

“Wh–Where am I?” She breathed, her voice trembling as she looked around. “Where…Where are the rest of the villagers?”

She tried to peer through the fog, but it was so thick she could barely see past her own outstretched hand.

Every direction looked the same, water, mist, and more water.

“Grandma?” She called, her voice shaking slightly. “Grandma, are you there?”

No answer.

The only sound was the ocean’s wrath, waves pounding against the rock like a living beast trying to tear her from it.

Her tail drooped as she looked around again, her voice rising with panic.

“C-Cassius?” She called. “Cassius, are you there? Miss Julie? Aisha? Skadi?”

Nothing.

Only the crashing sea and the hollow wail of the wind answered her.

A cold pit formed in her stomach. Her chest tightened. Her heart pounded faster as the mist thickened until it seemed like the world was closing in on her.

And then—

A faint shape appeared through the fog.

Nala’s breath hitched. She squinted, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand to clear the saltwater.

It was a small wooden boat, rocking gently on the waves. A single figure sat inside it, rowing slowly.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “C-Cassius?”

She blinked rapidly, trying to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

But no, it really was him.

That familiar white shirt, those broad shoulders, and that annoyingly calm posture, as if he were just out on a peaceful fishing trip…It was Cassius.

“Cassius!” She screamed, her voice cracking with relief. “Cassius, I’m right here! I’m right here on this big damn rock! Help me!”

For a moment, she thought she saw him look in her direction. His face turned slightly, his eyes, those same crimson eyes, locking onto hers through the mist.

Her heart leapt.

“Cassius! You see me, right? Don’t just stare, come on, row over here already! It’s so boring here! There’s no food, no tavern, and my tail’s freezing off! Just come pick me up!”

But Cassius didn’t move toward her.

He just…watched her.

His oar dipped into the water again, and he started rowing, but not towards her but—

—away from her.

Nala blinked in disbelief.

“H-Hey! Wait, what are you doing? I know you see me, you jerk!” She shouted, waving both arms over her head. “Stop joking around! Come back here!”

But he didn’t.

He didn’t say a word. Didn’t even smile. He just kept rowing slowly, steadily, his boat fading further and further into the mist.

The smile on Nala’s face faltered. Her tail drooped, her long ears twitching with concern.

“Cassius…?” She called, her voice breaking slightly.

The boat drifted on, swallowed up by the fog.

“Cassius—please, please don’t go! Don’t leave me here!” Her voice cracked into a sob. “Cassius!”

She slithered toward the edge of the rock, slipping on the wet stone.

“Come back! You can’t just leave me! You promised! You said you’d never leave me behind!”

Her voice echoed across the vast sea, lost to the sound of the storm.

And then the fog thickened once more—and Cassius was gone, completely gone.

Nala stood there, trembling, the wind howling past her.

“Why…Why did you leave me?” She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “Why did you…”

Then she felt it.

The rock beneath her feet shuddered. A cold rush of seawater washed over her ankles.

She looked down and saw that the tide was rising, fast. The waves were climbing higher, slapping against the rock and dragging at her feet.

Her breath quickened.

“No, no, no—” She scrambled backward, but there was nowhere else to go. The rock was small, barely the size of a dinner table, and the water kept rising.

It soaked her tail. Her waist. Her chest.

“Don’t leave me, Cassius.” She whispered, shaking her head in disbelief as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Don’t leave me…Don’t leave me…”

The next wave hit hard, slamming into her chest and knocking her off balance into the ocean

Spash!

She gasped as icy water swallowed her whole. The salt burned her eyes and throat as she tried to kick upward…But the current was too strong.

Her lungs screamed for air. She clawed upward, reaching for the light that was fading fast above her, but she could do nothing but drown.

Her last thought before the darkness swallowed her was his name.

“Cassius…”

And then—

Nala jolted upright with a violent gasp, her chest heaving.

She was drenched in sweat, her hair clinging to her forehead, her breathing sharp and desperate. For a moment, she didn’t even know where she was, the sound of her heartbeat still roaring in her ears.

Her eyes then darted around wildly.

No ocean.

No storm.

Just the bright glow of a window flickering by her bedside.

The soft creak of wooden walls. The familiar smell of linen and herbs.

She was in her room.

“It was…a dream.” She whispered to herself, her voice barely audible. “Just a dream…”

Her chest still hurt, her throat raw as though she really had been screaming underwater.

She then looked down at her shaking hands and gave a shaky laugh that turned into a choked sob.

“Damn…what kind of nightmare was that?”

She buried her face in her hands for a moment, her voice muffled. “Stupid Cassius…why would you leave me even in my dreams?”

But this sort of dream wasn’t new to her.

No, these dreams had haunted her before. She’d known them since childhood.

Back when she was a little girl, when she first began to realize the truth, that Grandma Wanda wasn’t her real grandmother—and that her true parents had abandoned her, those nights had been filled with the same kind of torment.

Night after night, she’d dream of chasing after faceless figures through the dark, shouting,

“Wait for me! Please, don’t leave me!”

Only for those figures, her parents, to walk away without ever turning back.

And the worst dreams were the ones where even Grandma Wanda left her too.

She would call out, but Wanda would just fade away into the mist, like everyone else.

That was when she first realized she had what the old healer called abandonment sickness, the ache of someone who had been traumatized by their abandonment.

The ache of someone who could never quite believe she was worth staying for.

Her Lamia villagers hadn’t helped either. They’d treated her like a curse, like some serpent-born omen meant to be avoided rather than loved.

So she learned to smile. To laugh. To act like none of it hurt.

But in her sleep…it always came back.

“I thought I’d gotten better.” She whispered to herself. “I really did.”

After all, Cassius had come into her life, a man who had brought laughter, love, warmth. He’d made her believe that maybe she wasn’t alone anymore.

That maybe she was…worth staying for.

But even now, it seemed her past refused to let her go.

Even her dreams turned the one person she trusted most into a ghost that left her behind.

Her lips trembled into a faint smile.

“No way.” She murmured to herself, shaking her head. “There’s no way Cassius of all people would abandon me. That’s the most ridiculous thing ever. What a stupid dream.” She let out a small chuckle. “Not even a nightmare…Just a bad joke.”

She pushed herself up, stretching.

Morning sunlight streamed through the window, spilling gold across her sheets.

But as soon as she tried to slither out of bed, her tail gave a sharp tremor.

“O-Oh god, that hurts…” She whimpered, blushing as her muscles shuddered weakly.

Her entire body felt drained, aching in places she didn’t even know could ache.

“Cassius…you really went overboard last night…” She groaned softly in a fluster.

Even though he hadn’t gone all the way with her—she was still far too shy for that, having decided she’d only give herself completely after marriage, he had still found…other ways to completely destroy her composure.

Especially when he’d made her use her own tail…for ’pleasuring’ the other girls. The memory alone made her face turn from blue to red.

“Ugh, stop thinking about it!” She muttered, slapping her cheeks lightly. “Get a grip, Nala.”

After a short bath and fresh clothes, she combed her hair and perked up again.

“Alright! Time to find Cassius!” She declared brightly.

The memory of last night melted away as she stepped out into corridor, excitement bubbling in her chest.

But as she looked around, there was no Cassius. No Julie, no Aisha, no Skadi. Not even a trace of them in their rooms or any of their baggage.

“Where’d everyone go this early?” She frowned, tapping her chin.

She then went out and searched everywhere around the Tavern but she still couldn’t find any of them.

That’s when she spotted two local women sitting under a large tree, mending fishing nets. Both were in their late twenties, chatting as their fingers wove the thin ropes together.

Nala smiled softly and began to walk toward them.

Maybe they’d seen him.

But just as she was about to call out—she froze when one of them spoke.

“Well…” Said the first woman, her voice tinged with pity. “It truly is tragic what’s happening to Nala, isn’t it?”

Nala stopped dead in her tracks.

“Yeah, poor thing.” The second woman sighed. “The whole village was so happy when we heard she was finally getting married, to that fine young man. We were all so happy for her.”

“But who’d have thought it was all just…a lie?” The woman finished, her tone turning bitter.

Nala’s heart skipped a beat. “…A lie?” She whispered under her breath.

“Yeah.” The first one replied. “I mean, really, he promised to marry her—then suddenly decides to leaves one morning without any prior notice? Without even saying goodbye? Or telling where he’s going?”

“…What kind of man does that?”

Nala’s eyes widened.

’Leave? Cassius is leaving?…He never told me of this.’’

She slithered a bit forward, but stopped herself, her tail rolling tightly behind her.

“That’s how these nobles are.” The second woman shook her head. “They come to small villages, charm the girls, make all these promises—then disappear once they’ve had their fun. Leave the poor girls behind, heartbroken and humiliated. I heard it’s practically a hobby for some of them.”

The words hit like stones.

“No…No, that’s not true.” Nala whispered under her breath, her hands trembling slightly.

But they didn’t stop.

“And to think, he seemed so different too.” The first woman sighed deeply. “He was such a gentleman. He spoke kindly to everyone. Saved us from those raiders, helped solve the Leviathan problem—he even treated us like equals.”

“But who would’ve thought he’d turn out to be just another noble scoundrel?”

“Kind or not, men like that always have two sides.” The second woman nodded somberly. “He can save a village and still break a girl’s heart. And his reputation with women?…It’s not exactly saintly.”

She exhaled sharply.

“What a shame though. Poor Nala. What’s she going to do when she finds out he’s leaving?”

The first woman was about to agree—

—but then she noticed the eerie stillness behind her.

When she turned, her voice caught in her throat.

Because when she looked up, she saw Nala, standing there, silent, eyes wide, her face pale as moonlight.

The two women went stiff, their weaving forgotten.

“N-Nala…” One of them stammered. “H-how long have you been standing there?”

Nala didn’t answer. She just stared at them, her tail unmoving, her lips trembling as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t.

“Ah, Nala! Sweetheart! We, um—” The first woman stammered, her face going pale. “D-Don’t listen to what we said, alright? We were just—just gossiping! You know how village women are, we talk too much sometimes!”

The second one nodded so fast her scarf almost slipped off. “Y-Yeah, exactly! None of that is true! We were just repeating silly rumors! You know how stories spread after a big event!”

Nala didn’t say a word. Her wide, stunned eyes were fixed on them, unblinking.

Finally, in a quiet voice that was almost trembling, she asked, “Is it true?”

The two froze.

“Is what true, dear?” The first woman asked, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“That Cassius is leaving today.” Nala said. “That he’s leaving this morning.”

Neither of them wanted to answer. They glanced at each other, the silence stretching long enough for the sound of the distant waves to creep between them.

But finally the first women sighed, shoulders slumping.

“…It’s true.” She said softly. “He and his companions said they had important business elsewhere. That they couldn’t stay any longer.”

Nala’s body turned cold, while he woman continued, almost apologetically.

“Everyone was surprised when we heard. He told your grandma this morning. They said they’d be leaving any time now and when we asked where they were going so urgently, they wouldn’t say so.”

For a moment, Nala couldn’t move. Her throat felt dry, her heart thudding painfully against her ribs.

Her eyes darted to the direction of the Tavern, then back at the women, her lips trembling into a small, bitter smile.

“I-I see.” She whispered. “That makes sense then…His room was empty.”

She tried to laugh, but it came out weak and cracked.

The first woman immediately waved her hands, flustered.

“B-But! They haven’t left yet! I saw them by the shore not too long ago. Young Master Cassius himself is still there, standing near the lake.”

“Yeah!” The second woman jumped in quickly. “If you go now, you can still talk to him. Don’t listen to us, alright? We just—talk too much! You should hear it from him directly.”

Nala’s eyes softened, but her expression was unreadable. She nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“…Thank you.”

Then she turned away.

Her movements were slow, her tail dragging faintly against the dirt as she began slithering toward the direction of the lake. Every step felt heavier than the last.

Her mind was a storm of voices, her own and others.

’Cassius wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t.’

’He promised me we’d go to his home together…’

’But they said he’s leaving. Right now and he didn’t say anything.’

’No. No, he wouldn’t—’

But the memory of her nightmare crept back into her thoughts, the image of him drifting away into the mist while she called out for him. The sting of being left behind again.

It wasn’t just a dream anymore. It was fear, made real.

She pressed her palm against her chest, trying to steady the ache there.

“Don’t…Don’t do this, Nala.” She whispered to herself. “Don’t think like that. Cassius would never…”

But the more she repeated it, the weaker her voice became.

Because deep down, buried beneath her hope, was that same old wound, the same one that whispered to her since she was a child: Everyone leaves me eventually.

Still, she forced herself forward, toward the lake.

Even if her heart broke all over again…she needed to hear it from him.

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