Shadow Slave

After Sunny had broken through the mind hex and spent two days rescuing the mesmerized people, saving dozens of lives, the horror hiding in the cold black waves seemed to have left the vicinity of LO49.

The victims had regained their senses, and every person in the settlement was able to see and hear them clearly once again. In the next few hours, no one showed any sign of being under the influence of the hex. The vanishings stopped.

And the Ariadne was supposed to arrive soon.

The exhausted, frightened, and shaken inhabitants of the fortress were tentatively starting to unwind. Their fragile hope bloomed and blossomed.

However, the person most responsible for the positive change - Sunny - did not feel any of their cheer or relief. On the contrary, with each passing minute, his unease and sense of foreboding only grew stronger.

He did not like what was happening, not at all.

Walking through the snowy streets of the settlement, Sunny studied the lively faces of patrolling soldiers with a troubled expression on his own. It was dark and somber.

'...Doesn't make sense. None of it makes any sense.'

Approaching the security center, he placed his hand on the panel of a sophisticated biometric lock. The sensor was supposed to initiate a thorough scan, but as seconds passed, nothing seemed to happen. The damn thing was on the fritz.

Sunny stared at it for a moment, then sighed and banged on the heavy alloy door with his fist. Soon, it was manually unlocked from the inside by a sleepy soldier, who then allowed Sunny in.

Walking inside the security center, Sunny dusted snow off his shoulders, looked around, and headed toward Verne.

"What is the situation?"

his officers off with a list of

Terror - or whatever that abomination was -

Sunny gritted his teeth.

a Nightmare Creature ever moved on?

The older Master frowned.

creatures capable of mind manipulation are exceedingly dangerous, they often

for a bit, then shook

We probably haven't seen even a fraction

tiredly rubbed his

account that the creature's Rank and Class are only your conjecture. We don't really know how powerful it actually was. In any case, how else do you explain

for

it is gathering power for a singular, overwhelming attack. Maybe it just enjoys toying

looked away

the security measures. We are still on high alert and prepared for battle.

out

am saying is that it's not a good time to become complacent. On the contrary, we must be preparing for a rapid

him blankly for a few

everything we can. No matter how small, the possibility that you are right still exists, so we must. That is my position as the officer responsible for the safety of every person inside this facility. But personally... I think that exhaustion and paranoia are

for a bit, then

never led

he winced and

time. Even if I'm not, Verne is right... what else are we supposed to do? Until the damned ship arrives, there's not much more we

why did he feel so disturbed? Why