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."

moved on with

The other two possibilities

frown appeared on his

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

let out a heavy

you don't think that one of these brave

looked at him

have happened. However, don't be mistaken. We Awakened are always only one step away from turning 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

pursed his lips,

about the last

lingered for

to find any traces at all... it has to be either very

remained silent for a while, then

like a plan. However, what happens if neither of

His

we just need to wait for the Ariadne to 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 earliest, and in eleven at the latest. Surely, we can hold out for

the Call kept scratching, pressing, seeping into

closed his eyes

what

***

Rhino and sent his shadows to explore LO49 for the third time that day. He had little

least he had something to do

unknown threat looming somewhere just out of sight, their moods grew even

all about hope and how

search went on, new safety protocols went in effect. Mundane humans were prohibited

Nightmare unexpectedly. Living quarters were fitted with additional sensors and alarm locks, Awakened were supplied with powerful stimulants