Shadow Slave

Chapter 873: And Full of Terrors

Chilling darkness veiled Antarctica like a burial shroud. The twilight of the dusk had finally succumbed to the inevitable advent of the cruelly lasting absence of light, and the long night had come to the Southern Quadrant, pregnant with countless horrors.

This night was going to last for many months, and by the end of it... who knew if any of the humans it embraced would still be alive? How many of them would be lucky enough to see the light of day again?

...Sunny had never experienced a night quite like that.

The sun was gone, and the empty sky was full of brilliant stars. The pale visage of the moon lingered among them from time to time, coming and going as it pleased. Despite how dark and cold the world had become, it was strangely beautiful.

Back in the alloy jungle of the Northern Quadrant Siege Capital, stars were rare guests. Light pollution kept them away. Similarly, there were no stars shining upon the cursed expanse of the Forgotten Shore...

Antarctica was different. Despite the coming of the night, it only grew more dazzling. The stars, the moon, and the breathtaking tapestry of the Aurora Australis that shimmered above them as ethereal shades of green, blue, purple, and red flowed into each other... all of it was very beautiful.

However, that beauty hid oppressive horror.

'Dread... that's the word to describe it. This is a land of dread!'

Sunny and his cohort were walking through the encampment of the First Evacuation army, their armor covered in dents and painted by the blood of the Nightmare Creatures they had recently killed. The tense and tired soldiers hurried to get out of their way, throwing intense looks at the Irregulars.

"Look, it's the Devils! They're here."

"Thank the gods..."

rank and file of the First Army. Wherever Irregulars appeared, problems seemed to disappear and the number of casualties drastically fell. Of course,

sweat. He had received a severe wound in the last battle... even with Quentin's help, Dorn was going to be out of commission for at least several days. Which meant that they would be short a man should a new mission

but it was getting more dire with each day. The air in the encampment was full of fear and tension. More and more Nightmare Creatures poured into the waking world, and now that darkness reigned Antarctica unopposed, any area that was

unreliable. People were constantly on edge and afraid of every shadow. After all,

inside the fortified encampments. The Spell was spreading through the ranks of mundane humans like a plague, and anyone could turn into a rampaging monster

was no real safety

like that after just one month, how are we going to last

head, Sunny looked ahead and caught a glimpse of the Rhino. His eyelids suddenly grew heavy... he really needed

army dispatched to the Antarctic Center. It had already advanced almost all the way to the southern edge of the narrow landmass. All but one division - the one Sunny and his cohort

armored convoys to ferry the civilians from smaller settlements into the handful of human strongholds. Up north, the relocation was already in full swing. Here

behind a thick wall of a siege capital soon, too.' Climbing into the Rhino, Sunny

"Status?"

studied her

as a green zone. Last

zone was one with no Gates close enough to affect the Dream Realm anchors of the Awakened. People could sleep safely

tend to Dorn. Kimmy, Luster, Samara, and Belle - enjoy

got busy dealing with Dorn's injury, using both his Aspect and an extensive medkit. Sunny, meanwhile, walked over to

a moment, and then summoned