Chapter Text
"Have you brutes no mercy? What more do you want with me?"
Yuria sobbed as she saw a new figure wearing that dreaded Official's cap that all her tormentors wore. They had left her alone for the past few days, or so she believed, but clearly a new member had joined their ilk and was here to get her turn with her. The official quickly knocked her hat off to the side and snuck closer with a finger to her lips.
"Ssssh. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not here to hurt you." She pointed down to the shackles binding Yuria's wrists. "Do you know where the key to these is? I cleared a safe route for us outside but that won't mean anything if you're still chained up here."
"Safe route?" Yuria replied. "You mean you...you're here to...save me?" Her voice cracking as the realization hits her.
The stranger gently shooshed her once more. Yuria took a breath, trying to steady herself,
"N—No. They've never taken these off since they put them on. To tell you the truth, I doubt the key's even in this tower anymore."
"I see" the stranger whispered, clearly hoping for a better answer. "Let me see if there's another way to break you out."
She ran her fingers across the chain up to the wall it was connected to and then ran them back until she reached roughly halfway down.
"Ah! This one link looks weak enough to break. See the divet?" Yuria looked at her outstretched hand and, sure enough, the rusted little thing had a sharp chip in it.
Has that always been there? When was the last time I even looked at this thing?
"Now," the stranger remarked as she unfastened the axe off her back. "There's something I need you to do."
"W—what? What do I need to do?"
"Move as far away from the wall as you can; it'll be easier to cut the chain with it taut."
Yuria shifted away from the wall until the shackles were cutting into her wrists. She couldn't remember the last time she yanked on this chain so desperately, but the pain was still familiar. The stranger hoisted the axe over her head and made a couple experimental motions towards the chain, trying to position herself just right. Finally, she looked to Yuria:
"Ready?"
No.
Yuria gave a small nod and braced herself. The axe came down in a swift, fluid motion and smashed the chain into the ground, giving a sharp tug that cut into Yuria's wrists.
"Are you alright?"
Yuria gave another tight nod. Though, her grimace betrayed otherwise. Still, actual concern over wellbeing was a welcome change. The stranger knelt and inspected the chain. Not a clean cut, but she did break one side of the link. She unhooked the following link and just like that Yuria was freed from the wall.
"I'm afraid we can't do anything about those shackles until we get to the Nexus, but at least we can get out of this tower now."
Yuria stared at the broken chain, wondering.
Is this it? All I have to do is follow this woman and I'll be...free?
It was everything she could have ever hoped for. And that was just the problem. Why now? This was all too good to be true and it came out of nowhere.
Heavens, I don't even know if this woman is telling the truth.
As Yuria grappled with all of this, the stranger gathered the chain together into her hands and shyly offered it to her.
"Could you, um, hold on to this? I don't want it to drag on the floor or get caught on anything and, well...if I held onto it myself it would kind of look like.... a leash. An—and besides, I need to keep my hands free in case we run into trouble. So if you could j—just hold it instead?"
Yuria felt herself start to relax; oddly endeared through hearing this previously confident stranger stumble over her request... It helped alleviate some of her anxiety; just enough to give her the final push to make her decision.
If I don't trust her, I'm guaranteed to stay here.
"Of course."
She took the cold, wadded up chain into her hands and, with some help, got to her feet...only to fall right back down. The stranger caught her in time.
"Woah there. Easy."
"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."
The stranger helped her up once more, slower this time, and Yuria managed to stay on her feet. Hopefully, the walk back wouldn't be too far. She doubted she could stay upright for very long. As ready as she'd ever be, she just needed to know one more thing:
"What's your name?"
The stranger blinked in response, seemingly surprised at the question and Yuria hoped she hadn't crossed a line.
"Reah."
"Yuria."
With that, she followed the former stranger and trusted that she'd guide her out of this awful tower.