Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 60 – A World Without Them

— Celestia’s POV —

*Chirp* *Chirp*

The birds outside the window continued their song, light and carefree, as if the world were still whole. As if it hadn’t been painted in blood and flames just days ago. Their melody was meant to welcome a new morning, a new beginning, but inside this room, the air remained heavy, stagnant.

The dim room around me felt like a prison, but no walls could hold me tighter than the chains of my own mind. The door remained shut, the curtains drawn as if even the sunlight had abandoned me. I didn't deserve the warmth of the sun. I didn’t deserve anything.

I sat motionless on the bed, my hands resting limply in my lap, my gaze locked on the wall. The light from the window was muted by thick curtains, casting long shadows across the room. The sun had no place here.

A week.

Seven days had passed since Aster Village was wiped from existence. Seven days since the ground beneath me collapsed and left me with nothing.

Time had moved forward for everyone else. Life in the town had resumed. The streets were bustling, the market was filled with voices, people laughed, and adventurers drank in the guild bar as if nothing had happened.

But for me, time had stopped.

I had stopped.

The only survivor, I remained frozen in the wreckage of my own mind.

The memories played on an endless loop in my head. The scent of burning wood. The crackling of flames consuming the homes I once knew. The shrieks—so many screams—cut short as steel met flesh. The smell of blood, acrid and thick in the air. The sight of their terrified faces as they were dragged away into the darkness, their voices screaming my name.

I should have died.

I shouldn’t be here.

I had done nothing.

I was still doing nothing.

I sat here, unmoving, breathing only because my body refused to stop. I had only slept once since that day—and only because Shuri had hit my back hard enough to knock me unconscious. Otherwise, I simply existed, staring ahead without seeing, breathing without feeling, waiting for nothing.

I had no appetite. Food had no taste. Even lifting my arms felt pointless. My limbs felt heavier with each passing hour. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, but it barely registered. I hadn’t eaten on my own since that day—and I had no desire to. Most of the food Sasa and the others brought me remained untouched.

What was the point?

What was the point of eating? Of sleeping? Of existing?

My parents were dead.

If I stayed like this long enough, maybe my body would finally give in. Maybe I would simply stop.

Maybe… I would join them.

Daisy.

Her small hands clutching the hem of my clothes. Her bright eyes filled with admiration whenever she looked at me.

Where was she now? Was she crying? Was she calling my name, waiting for me to save her?

Freed.

Always smiling. Always trying to prove he could protect us.

What was he feeling right now? Pain? Rage?

Was there even a chance they were alive? What if they had already been—?

No.

I clenched my fists.

I couldn't think about that.

But the thoughts came anyway, creeping in like shadows, whispering their cruel truths.

I heard voices outside my door sometimes. Familiar ones. Karin. Sasa. Shuri. The guild members. Even Count Ronan, a man I had never met before. They spoke through the wood, urging me to answer, to acknowledge them. I never did.

Why should I?

Their words meant nothing. They didn't understand. They hadn’t stood among corpses, helpless, useless, while everything was ripped away.

I was the only one left.

Aster Village had been erased from existence.

And so had I.

*Knock* *Knock*

A soft, almost hesitant knock at the door. But, I didn’t move.

“I’m coming in.”

The door creaked open, and Sasa stepped in, carrying a tray of food and water. The scent of warm porridge filled the air—a meal meant to comfort, meant to heal. But it meant nothing to me.

*Click*

The door clicked shut behind her. She crossed the room and settled into the chair beside my bed with a quiet sigh. I didn’t look at her.

For a moment, she simply sat there. Watching me.

She did this every day.

A sigh slipped past her lips. “How long are you going to stay like this?”

She waited for an answer she knew wouldn’t come. Her words drifted through the room, but they might as well have been spoken to a wall. I didn’t respond. My body didn’t even twitch.

She knew better than to expect an answer. I hadn’t spoken in a week. Words felt unnecessary, pointless. What could I possibly say that would change anything?

I hadn’t spoken to anyone. Not to Karin, not to the guild staff, not to adventurers, not to the town guards, not even to Count Ronan, who had personally come to see me. Why would a noble bother with a nameless girl from a burned village? I didn’t care enough to wonder. I had shut them all out.

Yet their words still reached me.

My parents—discovered lifeless outside the village. Freed and Daisy—taken by the bandits. Esta and Hazel—captured by even stronger enemies. I had learned these truths the night after the massacre, and since then, no one spoke of them again. As if silence could soften the cruelty of reality.

Sasa sighed again, shifting slightly in her seat.

I knew she was frustrated. Worried. But she didn’t push me. She never did.

Instead, she lifted the spoon from the bowl and held it up to me.

“Here,” she said gently. “Say aaahhh.”

The spoon hovered close to my lips, waiting.

I remained still.

I didn’t open my mouth. I didn’t even acknowledge her presence.

She had been doing this every day—three times a day. Spoon-feeding me like a child because she knew I wouldn’t eat otherwise. She and Karin had conspired to keep me at the guild for this exact reason. They were afraid I’d waste away if left alone.

It was laughable.

Why did it matter?

I didn’t move to accept the food. The spoon hovered for a moment before she let out another sigh and placed the bowl on the nightstand. The sound of it clinking against the bowl was faint, but in the heavy silence, it felt louder than it should have.

She wouldn’t force me. But she wouldn’t give up, either.

She was stubborn.

It didn’t matter.

Nothing did.

“…You have to eat, Celes.”

Still, I didn’t move.

A long pause. Then another sigh. She set the tray down beside the bed.

It would stay there until the next meal, just like all the others.

She didn’t say anything else. She just remained beside me, as if hoping her presence alone would be enough to stir something inside me.

But it wouldn’t.

Nothing would.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

The silence shattered as the loud footsteps were heard and the door burst open.

“Morning, Celes!”

A voice too loud, too bright for this gloomy room.

Sasa exhaled sharply. “Shuri, I told you to be quieter.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! I have important news!”

Shuri’s presence was like a storm, filling the space with her energy, forcing the stillness away. I didn’t react.

She strode over and plopped down beside me, grinning.

“Listen, Celes! There’s gonna be a parade tomorrow! It’s to reassure the townspeople after the stampede. You remember the guildmaster saying the lord would reward the ten people who contributed the most? Well, guess what? You and I got selected!”

I stared at the floor.

Silence.

She didn’t seem discouraged.

“We get to pick a reward—weapon, armor, or a magic tool! I’m choosing a magic bag! Do you know how expensive those are? What about you?”

I didn’t blink.

“Wow! Really?” Sasa clapped her hands together, smiling. “Congratulations, Shuri! Celes, that’s great news, right?”

Silence.

Nothing they said reached me.

A parade? A reward? Magic tools?

What did any of it matter?

Nothing they were saying had any value.

Nothing could change what had happened.

Nothing could bring my family back.

Shuri let out a long, frustrated sigh.

“Come on, aren’t you supposed to be a genius?”

My fingers twitched.

Genius.

The word felt like a cruel joke. A cruel, mocking whisper.

A genius wouldn’t have let this happen.

A genius wouldn’t have stood frozen while everything was taken from her.

A genius would have saved them.

A genius wouldn’t be sitting here, drowning in regret, too broken to move.

Mom and Dad's demise might have been unavoidable, but if only I hadn't urged Freed to go home that day, Freed and Daisy would still be by my side.

I wasn’t a genius.

I was a fool.

A useless, pathetic fool.

I hate myself, a wretched girl consumed by regret.

Shuri let out a sharp breath, frustration rolling off her in waves.

“Damn it, Celestia…”

Her voice, usually filled with reckless energy, was now strained.

"Are you even listening?"

But I didn't answer.

I simply stared at the nothingness, lost in the echoes of my own failure.

The sun rose, the birds sang, the world spun on—but I remained frozen in time, fading with every breath I did not deserve to take.