Shadow Slave

The Awakened warrior was simply gone. The whole facility was swept, both by the soldiers of the garrison and Sunny's shadows, but no trace of him were found. Verne even made the decision to unseal the dome of the old observatory. However, there was nothing but old equipment, darkness, and dust inside.

Sunny then sent his shadows to scour the coastal plain outside the fortress, hoping to discover a clue. He did not.

A sense of unease and foreboding spread through the isolated fortress.

As people were crowding together to alleviate this tension, Sunny, Verne, and Professor Obel gathered in the security center to have an emergency discussion. However, none of them

seemed too eager to speak first.

They simply had nothing to say.

Eventually, Sunny rubbed his face with a sigh.

"Well, there are only three possibilities, right?"

Verne looked at him darkly.

"And they are?"

Sunny hesitated for a moment.

"First... he might have really deserted."

The stern Master simply shook his head. There was no hostility or defensiveness in this gesture, since Verne was not the type of leader to be insecure about his people or himself. He did not have the kind of fragile pride that would make the statement sound offensive.

"That is improbable. I know this Awakened very well. He was... is a stalwart man."

on

outcome. The other two possibilities are

frown appeared on

that he was killed, for whatever reason, by another person stationed at LO49. The killer subsequently disposed of the body and removed the signs of the crime. Considering that it is not easy for a mundane human to kill an Awakened,

Obel let out

that one of

him with a

into monsters. With how much pressure Antarctica exerts on people... many will inevitably start to break. In any case, we should pay attention to those Awakened that have Aspects suitable for getting rid of incriminating evidence. Verne, you know your soldiers best, so this task will be

lips, but then silently

the last

lingered for a few

walls. Considering that we failed to find any traces at all... it has to be either very powerful, very elusive, or both. Since I am the best scout among us, investigating

a while, then

a plan. However, what happens if neither of us discovers

him. His eyes

arrive and hope that no one else disappears. According to the last communication we had with the outside, it will reach us in four days at the

noise of the Call kept

his eyes for a

is what

***

while Sunny climbed back on top of the Rhino and sent his shadows to explore LO49 for the third time that day. He had little hope of

had something to do

a new, unknown threat looming somewhere just out of sight, their moods grew even more bleak and unstable. Most held up fine, for now, due to

how important it

humans were prohibited from remaining alone, and a mutual

from succumbing to the First Nightmare unexpectedly. Living quarters were fitted with additional sensors and alarm locks, Awakened were supplied with