Shadow Slave

Master Jet studied the map for a few moments, and then traced a line across the ocean that lay between the four continents. Then, she suddenly asked:

"Do you know a lot about seafaring, Sunny?"

He slowly shook his head.

"As much as the next guy, I guess."

She smiled.

"Understandable. In truth, navigating the oceans is not an easy task. If it was, we could have just used the Pacific or the Atlantic to transport food from South America. But trying to sail them is pure suicide, for now."

Soul Reaper leaned back and took a sip of coffee.

"Most of our planet is covered by water, and most of that water is infested with dreadful Nightmare Creatures. That is because most Gates open underwater. And since we have very few methods of battling them below the sea — and very little reason to — we just leave those Gates be. Humanity might still hold four and a half continents, but we have surrendered all of Earth's oceans to the enemy."

She sighed, then dejectedly shook her head.

"Still, no civilization can exist without efficient transportation, and shipping cargo across water has been the mainstay of transportation since the dawn of time. So, we maintain a presence in the Indian ocean. Navigating it is not easy, however, because there are unspeakable and uncountable horrors dwelling in the depths."

Sunny hesitated for a moment, then asked with a bit of curiosity:

"Wouldn't it be easier to ship stuff through space, then?"

Soul Reaper grimaced.

"It is not cost-efficient. Getting to orbit requires considerable resource commitment, more so with heavy cargo, and resources are something we desperately lack. Plus… space is rife with its own dangers."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"What dangers?"

She simply shrugged.

above even my pay grade. So I don't know. Suffice it to say that simply maintaining a scattering of satellites that support the network and the Obel Scale is already a dire challenge. Whether you like it or now,

He frowned.

we manage to make use of the ocean if

Master Jet smiled.

is pretty simple…

a couple

"The Great Clan?"

She nodded.

excel in guiding ships through turbulent waters. They are not called Nightwalkers just to honor the clan founder, after all. To move across the ocean, convoys that consist of massive, heavily armored ships employ

bit about the third and the least prominent Great Clan, but not

had originated from a single family, House of Night was born from an alliance of several prominent clans. They resided in a dire region of the Dream Realm known as Stormsea, and controlled one of the three Great Citadels — which, as far as he knew, resembled a giant ship and was most likely left behind by one

knew that the House of Night did not possess a Sovereign of their own. Anvil of Valor and Ki Song ruled their families, but Asterion was seemingly not related

the pivotal role Nightwalkers played in sustaining

they controlled might have simply been too hazardous for either Valor or Song to invade, or their existence created

Storm God. There were just too many coincidences

bear the lineage of Storm

certainly explain

Master Jet, meanwhile, continued:

a curse. The problem with that situation is that while there are more

She sighed.

years to evacuate the population of Antarctica that way. That is even if we commit the bulk of our

Her voice grew dim.

in a few months, at most. It won't be too severe at the beginning, but quickly ramp up, drowning the entire archipelago in

remained silent for a bit,