Standing on the battlent and peering into the cold darkness beyond, Sunny had a contemplative expression on his face. The wind slled of snow as it played with his black hair, which had grown a bit too long by now. Pale moonlight perated the air, failing to reach the ravaged land.
Winter and Dale were sitting nearby, leaning on alloy parapet of the wall and sharing a flask. The two captains seed calm — one in her usual relaxed manner, the other solemn and staid. As the contents of the flask ran out, Winter sighed and looked at Sunny.
"You seem terribly serious today."
He lingered for a mont, then shrugged.
"Just thinking about stuff."
She did not press, content to rest with her eyes hidden behind the cracked sunglasses.
Sunny felt strangely thoughtful after his conversation with Saint Tyris.
He was not sure that he agreed with her uncompromising views, but there was one thing Sky Tide had said that was unquestionably true.
Life was, indeed, unpredictable.
Take his own relationship with the steely Saint... Sunny did not know Saint Tyris very well, or share any of her principles, but he found himself respecting the stern Transcendent a great deal. He liked Master Roan, too. The three of them even shared so history.
Several years ago, Sunny had held nothing but contempt toward Legacies. He had regarded them as arrogant, dangerous, and hateful people, soone who did not deserve the unfair privileges bestowed upon them by nothing except for birthright. Who would have thought that he would co to value and admire so of them, one day?
Take Cassie, too...
When she surrendered his secret to Nephis on the Forgotten Shore, Sunny had thought that it was the darkest mont of his life. And yet, if she had not made that choice, he would have stayed behind a Sleeper. Sunny had no way of knowing if he would have survived the sa journey Changing Star had.
What he did know, though, was that Rain would have been dead if not for his return. If Sunny had not been there to hold back the tide of Nightmare Creature advancing on her school, his sister would have been ripped apart by the rampaging abominations.
There were too many instances like that to count.
...Life was unpredictable, and no one could predict the twists and turns of fate... except for Weaver, perhaps. Even oracles like Cassie could only see glimpses of it, blind to the context and powerless to change the outco.
So where did it leave him?
'The sa place where I started, I guess.'
An ignorant fool struggling against sothing he could not even comprehend.
Antarctica, at least, was terribly straightforward...
With a sigh, Sunny moved strands of hair away from his eyes and sat down near Winter and Dale. His hands were aching for a simple fight.
"How much more do we have to wait, dammit?"
Dale peeked at him with a smile so faint that it was almost nonexistent.
"Rest while you can. You'll be regretting that this calm did not last longer, very soon."
Sunny grimaced and looked away, staring at a squad of soldiers that marched by. The soldiers were acting a bit strange, sticking painstakingly to the better illuminated parts of the battlent and hastening their steps in the darker areas. Their faces were glum and nervous.
He frowned.
"What's up with them?"
Winter turned her head slightly, studying the soldiers.
"Huh? Haven't you heard the rumors?"
Sunny thought for a mont, then shook his head.
"What rumors?"
The Ascended archer chuckled.
"You should really co out of your APC more often, you know? Well, anyway... there are a lot of scary stories spreading among the refugees these days, one more nonsensical than the other. The latest story is that there is a shadow wraith stalking the city, hiding sowhere in the darkness. Apparently, it lures people away from light, never to be seen again."
She took a deep breath and then added in a more somber tone:
"...Although, maybe there's so truth to that one. Soldiers are not usually easily spooked, but as you can see, they are on edge. Too many disappearances lately."
Sunny frowned. In a city of two hundred million, there were bound to be so disappearances... especially with the Nightmare Spell infecting people left and right. However, he felt concerned. A shadow wraith... that was right up his alley, no?
There could also be a different explanation for the increased number of disappearances. The Terror of LO49 was known to start its als in just that manner.
In any case, he sensed so unease.
"A shadow creature... I don't know. They're extrely rare. I only ever t one in the wild, and even that was inside a Nigthmare. I'm not sure if any survive to this day."
Well, there was that one little bastard who got a chunk of his flesh. Did Scavengers need to devour a corpse to inherit new abilities, or would any piece of flesh suffice? What were the chances of the vile gremlin developing an affinity to shadows?
Dale simply shrugged.
"If there is sothing strange going on, Army Command should already be investigating. Since we weren't officially inford, either the rumors are baseless, or the incidents are not serious enough to inform the Irregulars. Regardless, we should concentrate on the task at hand."
As if on cue, there was the sound of light steps, and Master Jet approached from further along the wall. The mbers of her cohort — now fewer than before — followed.
She looked around briefly, then said:
"I've just received the word. Roan and his people are approaching. The Devouring Cloud is in a frenzy... do not know what they did, but it worked. Prepare yourself."
The rest of the defending force seed to have got the sa news. All along the southern stretch of the wall, a flurry of activity comnced. Soldiers were checking their weapons for the last ti, Awakened were summoning their mories, rail gun crews were hurriedly finishing maintenance procedures and hauling crates of tungsten rounds closer to the feeding chanisms.
Thousands of turrets ca alive, turning their twin barrels toward the sky.
Sunny rose and stretched, breathing in the cold winter air.
Looking at the mbers of his cohort, he grinned.
"Sa arrangent as the last ti. Hopefully, no Ga... actually, never mind. I'm not saying it aloud. Just do well, and do not die."
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