Shadow Slave

There could not have been a tunnel that stretched under the Antarctic Center for hundreds of kilometers. Not only would a structure like that be a miraculous feat of engineering, but far too many people - especially the army strategist and someone as knowledgeable as Professor Obel - would be aware of its existence.

However, no one had been.

Sunny remained silent for a while, then looked at the old man. Professor Obel simply shook his head.

"I am afraid I can't explain. Which... is not too surprising. After the Nightmare Spell descended, there are many things in the world that science - or rather, our limited scientific understanding - fails to explain."

Sunny sighed.

'Great.'

What was he supposed to do now?

It was clear that the laws of nature were either broken or worked differently inside the tunnel. Space was not behaving as it was supposed to behave... or maybe they had simply traveled to some. strange pocket dimension that was filled with nothing but true darkness.

Maybe they were all under the influence of another mind hex. Maybe they had all been devoured by the swarm of Brood beasts, and were now condemned to an eternal purgatory.

Who could tell?

Sunny cursed silently, then wrapped all four shadows around the Undying Chain to ramp up its mental protection. Nothing changed. The oppressive darkness did not disappear... if anything, it seemed even more foreboding now.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Alright. Let's not panic yet."

tunnel and struck it with his fist. A startling bang rolled through the tunnel, echoing in the darkness. In the place where his steel gauntlet had landed, a small impression appeared, with a net of cracks spreading

into your

The convoy continued to move forward. However, this time, Sunny made it stop after ten minutes and left

much faster than the vehicles had, he soon reached the point of the previous stop

commanded them to put the vehicles in reverse - the tunnel was

while, he gave the order

'...This is bad.'

of course, had not been without a

possible to go back to a previously visited spot inside the tunnel - Belle, Dorn, and himself had walked for

make sure that the same principle still applied. Indeed, he

test if something would change with more distance... and

seen the imprint of his fist and the net of cracks around it, but there was none. At some point in time. somewhere between five and

the collapsed exit from the tunnel. The

felt a cold shiver run down his

they have been separated from the convoy forever? Would they be doomed to wander the darkness alone, for the

come close to disaster without even knowing

'I was lucky.'

his worst fears had become reality. Sunny was more than capable of fighting against enemies that he could strike down, even if their strength seemed overwhelming. However, he was as powerless as the rest against circumstances like the one they found themselves in right now - against threats that were both

Simply by existing.

he needed someone like Cassie. Sadly, she was far away, probably preparing for the war between Valor and Song with the rest of the Fire

'...Damnation!'

the tunnel, then at the battered vehicles of the convoy. There were almost four hundred people in them that he had promised to rescue... was he going to

I have always been a liar! There's nothing for

a deep