Lying on a bed, Regis stretched his legs while letting out a yawn.
"You'll have time to sleep later, Regis," Arthur commented in a flat tone, sitting on a chair.
The current room consisted of a bed—where Regis was lying—a set of chairs, and a wooden table. Nothing more.
Regis simply adjusted himself again on the bed, and after finding a comfortable position, he finally deigned to respond.
"It's not that I want to sleep—I'm just bored."
"There are plenty of creatures outside the bunker you could use to cure that boredom," Arthur remarked, focusing on the cube in his hands.
Currently, he was trying to decipher the relic Grey had left him after his Second Nightmare.
His success in such an endeavor had been completely nil even after so many months, though in his defense, he hadn't had much time to dedicate to deciphering it.
Ever since the Antarctic campaign began, he had tried to put more hours into deciphering it, but he still hadn't succeeded. Arthur had even considered that the relic might need a special environment.
By "special environment," he meant the Relictombs…
He had never obtained a relic before, so he didn't know exactly how they worked, and the only clue he had were the words Grey had said when he gave it to him.
"You'll decipher it when you need it."
With that message, it would mean he didn't need it yet, but he had ignored that and tried to decipher it anyway.
Regis lifted his gaze slightly and looked at him from the side.
"No thanks."
"Then don't complain."
"I'm not complaining," he shot back. "You have the advantage of not having to use your teeth to attack those horrible creatures!" Shaking his head, he added, "I'm going to be traumatized after all this is over…"
Arthur let out a sigh and was about to comment on what Regis had just said, but suddenly, Regis's eyes took on a mischievous glint, and he added:
"If only we could fight some demonesses… I heard their taste isn't bad."
He didn't have time nor knew how to respond to that, as Jet and Seishan entered the room at the same time.
The latter had just returned from Ravenheart, while the former had been talking with the command center about the current mission and the next one they would have.
Jet was wearing one of the government's special suits, which adjusted to the wearer's figure. Meanwhile, Seishan wore a comfortable carmine-colored dress, matching the shade of her lips.
Thanks to one of her Attributes, she had immunity to cold, so she wasn't too concerned about the warmth an armor could provide, but rather about its comfort. And although it might sound strange, those Song Clan dresses were extremely comfortable. 'According to Sylvie,' he added mentally.
Shan stood behind his chair and bent her knees slightly to reach the right height. Then she rested her elbows on the backrest and gently placed her chin on top of Arthur's head before lowering her gaze slightly toward him.
"Still trying to decipher that cube?" she asked in a slightly husky voice.
Arthur wanted to nod, but in that position, he wouldn't be able to, so he responded while observing the cube in his hands.
"Yes, I'm thinking of different theories to do it. It probably has something to do with the environment."
"Did you try doing it in Ravenheart?" she asked, maintaining the same position.
"Yes, I did. I'm thinking of other environments…"
Seishan repeated softly, "Other environments…" After a few seconds, she added, "Maybe you could ask Mother? Other environments I can think of include the moon, but that's not a good idea…"
"I could ask her, thanks."
He didn't say anything about already knowing which other environment existed and that it wasn't the moon—obviously, Seishan knew nothing about the existence of the Relictombs.
Besides, the problem wasn't exactly the environment, but the density of Aether within it.
What he felt after each attempt was that he couldn't store enough Aether to then inject into the relic to decipher it completely, which was why he wanted to try it in the Relictombs.
His theory was that if he wanted to decipher it in the Waking World or the Dream Realm, he would need to be at least a Saint to do so.
For that reason, he also wasn't going to ask the Queen about the matter.
First, because he didn't know if she knew anything about Aether or the Djinns, and second, because he didn't want to risk informing her about them. There was also the fact that asking a question about them would mean he at least knew of their existence—something that already exceeded common knowledge, or even advanced knowledge.
The Queen and Anvil, Valor's Sovereign who possessed the lineage of War God, had been cohort companions in the past. So if the latter knew something, she surely did too.
It might not mean anything that they knew—it was something that happened thousands and thousands of years ago, in an era when the gods were still alive and the War Empire was present, terrorizing kingdoms and realms.
Someone having the lineage of War God didn't necessarily mean they were a danger just because of something that happened in a forgotten history. Still, it was better not to risk it.
Jet, who had stayed at the door, watched the scene, and the corners of her lips curved upward, but she eventually said nothing about how cute they looked in that pose.
She cleared her throat to get their attention, and once she did, she spoke.
"Art, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Upon noticing this, Seishan abandoned that pose and went to sit on a chair. Arthur simply nodded and stood up to follow her. Before leaving the room, he heard Seishan inform him of something.
"Art, Mother says she won't be able to receive you today. She'll only have time in a week."
He stopped to turn slightly and smile at her while nodding.
"Alright."
'That's strange…' Arthur thought simultaneously. 'Just a few days after the news that Valor is sending someone, she just can't receive me… coincidence? It doesn't seem like it to me…'
He finally decided not to push the matter further and left the room, following Jet at a distance. He would have time to think about the reasons behind this later.
It didn't take Jet long to reach their destination, and soon he found himself observing the bunker doors a few meters away. Snowflakes illuminated by the lights fell on the rocky ground of the mountain, raising the snow level.
The place they were in was going to become an intermediate point between the small capitals of the Antarctic Center on the route to Erebus Field, before heading to Falcon Scott.
The bunker had been the den of a Fallen Tyrant with about a hundred minions, so for their cohort, clearing it completely wasn't much of a complication.
That process had taken less than a day, but they couldn't leave the area until more soldiers arrived to prepare the place for civilians, adding about two days to the operation.
Considering that another day had passed since then, it was very understandable that they were bored.
All the card and board games they had brought had been played multiple times, making the excitement and desire to keep playing no longer present.
There was also the problem that, due to the presence of the Gates, the communicators weren't working very well. Arthur still hadn't been able to watch the movie about the Forgotten Shore because of this.
This also affected the Masters' tethers and the possibilities for the government soldiers, as well as Emily or Hale, to travel to the Dream Realm. Fortunately, the place where they left the Rhino was a green zone for this purpose.
Although the biggest complication caused by the Gates' effect was the communication networks, in addition to the presence of a creature of the Winter Beast's magnitude, which was constantly interfering with them.
Currently, the way to communicate with the command center was by traveling to Ravenheart to make reports or receive missions, or very sporadically during a specific moment when the communication networks activated for just a few minutes.
This gap had happened less than a few minutes ago, and Jet had been present. The reason she was going to talk to him was related to this.
When the wind hit their faces, making Jet's raven-black hair and Arthur's pale wheat-colored long hair move slightly, they both stopped. Their gazes were slightly heavier than the rest of the cohort members.
Jet chuckled lightly while keeping her gaze forward and letting herself lean against the bunker's metal door.
"Even after all this time knowing you all, I'm still surprised by how similar you are…"
Arthur let out a suppressed sigh, understanding where the topic was going.
"You spoke with my father?"
"I did, and guess what he said?" She didn't give him time to respond and continued, "He said: If Art is staying in Falcon Scott, I'm staying with him."
"Did you explain the clan situation to him?"
Arthur had already told Jet about the possible war between the clans, though she already knew about it.
Jet nodded.
"He didn't care, all the more reason to stay, he said as a response."
Now he couldn't help but sigh openly, though he still said nothing about it.
His hopes of succeeding in convincing his father to leave Falcon Scott had been low from the start; now they were nonexistent. So it was better not to get angry about it in the moment.
It wouldn't bring him any benefit, so he preferred to think of ways to protect him.
'Could I give him the Memory I got from the Corrupted Terror? That Memory is very good for hiding and surviving. If he's in danger, he could use it and avoid being used as bait.'
Jet took his silence as a response and changed the subject.
"I spoke with command center, and our current mission is to wait until Winter arrives with some civilians to hand over control of the bunker, then go clear two Category Three Gates that opened on the route to Erebus Field."
"How many civilians does Winter have in her convoy?" he asked while nodding at the mission.
Jet crossed her arms and shrugged.
"No idea, she's been out of communication for four days. Although the Diviners say she's alive, there's not much information about her condition."
'Four days without communication… that's a long time…'
She quickly added, "Don't worry about her, she probably got distracted by some civilian or soldier she found handsome."
"That's a pretty possible option," Arthur ended up agreeing, then asked again, "And what about Sunny?"
She shook her head.
"Nothing either. His mission was just to protect a VIP and wait for a ship to arrive to evacuate them. That ship should have arrived at LO49 two days ago and created a report less than a day ago, but the line is completely empty."
"Could he have been attacked by the Titan the Nightwalkers reported?" he raised the question.
"Maybe."
After this, they both fell silent. One processing the information, the other thinking about what to do next.
"Could you send Crow Crow to look for Winter?" Arthur proposed after a while.
Jet pulled her gaze away from the falling snow, and the corner of her lip lifted slightly.
"I already did, Little Art…"
Arthur rolled his eyes while suppressing a smile.
"You said you were going to stop calling me that."
"I lied," Jet replied quickly, shrugging.
"You're lucky I was taught to be polite to elders…" he said in a teasing tone, ignoring her gaze.
Jet pretended the words hurt her by bringing her hand to her chest. "How dare you!" Then she shook her head. "I'm still young, I'm not even thirty yet!"
Arthur put on a thoughtful expression and asked, "Tell me, Jet, what do you remember from life before the Spell fell?"
She let out a surprised laugh at such a cheeky question, but quickly composed herself and, instead of answering, threw another question back at him.
"Did you know Seishan is only three years younger than me?" She continued in a teasing tone. "It seems that someone being older than you doesn't bother you…"
Arthur stiffened slightly. After recovering, he raised the stakes.
"Well, at least I don't mistake someone trying to flirt with me for an offer to get a Citadel for the 'government'"
"That Saint wasn't trying to flirt with me. You and Winter don't know what you're talking about."
"Yeah, sure, if you say so."
At that moment, Jet pushed off from the door and said with a content smile while stretching.
"Well, that was fun." Arthur nodded, and she continued, "Since you're not going to Ravenheart…"
He understood where this was going and let out an amused sigh.
"Go to sleep, Jet. I'll watch the entrance."
"I knew I could count on you." Jet said with a smile, then approached and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Call me if you're on the verge of death, not before, and not after."
'How am I supposed to call you if I'm dead, woman… Not all of us are basically immortal!' he thought mentally, but only replied, "Understood. Rest well."
Jet narrowed her icy blue eyes slightly.
"Don't think I didn't notice that you insulted me mentally."
Arthur shrugged.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She didn't respond and instead went to the Rhino to sleep after more than a week without doing so. Then, he expanded his Aether sense to cover about six kilometers and sat inside the bunker entrance to stand guard.
---
Awakened Martin walked through the castle's hallways as he had been doing for the last nine years, ever since he became an Awakened and started working for Valor as a guard.
It was a job that made him and his family very proud—a family that consisted of a beautiful wife and two daughters, aged five and eight respectively.
There were also his parents, and he was very fortunate to have them both still alive.
Martin supported the entire family solely on his guard salary, and although this presented a danger, he thought it was very low.
'Who would attack Bastion? The largest Citadel in the Dream World—only a madman would try. The King is a Supreme!'
Martin was one of the lucky ones to know the secret that the world was being protected by a Supreme instead of the Saints most people believed. In reality, there were two Supremes, but due to his job, he hated the Song Clan.
Though more than once, some intrusive, mischievous thoughts crossed his mind about the Song sisters… In his eyes, they were very beautiful!
Though not as much as our princesses Lady Morgan and Lady Nephis…
Still, even if those thoughts crossed his mind, he would never act on them. He had always been faithful to his wife and loved her with all his heart.
Martin continued his patrol routine and soon stopped in front of a large wooden door, his back to it. Beside him stood Awakened Khel, doing the same.
They had known each other for years, and many times they had gone out drinking together and celebrating promotions. Even so, during working hours, they only acknowledged each other with a small nod and continued guarding the door.
This door was no ordinary door—it separated Lady Morgan's private quarters from the rest of the castle.
Martin and Khel continued their duties for a few hours, during which they saw many clan personnel walk through the hallways—some cleaning, others carrying things and fulfilling their tasks.
As guards and following protocol, they never looked the personnel in the eyes by direct order of the King.
A cleaning staff member was pushing a cart in front of him when the cart suddenly broke right in front of them—one wheel stopped turning, causing the cart to halt.
They still didn't look the cleaning staff in the eyes, nor did they go to help—it wasn't their task. Even so, that didn't stop the cleaning staff from looking them in the eyes.
At the moment of eye contact, Martin and Khel felt a new presence in their Soul Sea.
Entering it, Martin managed to see a slender young man, dressed in a dark suit, with pale skin and raven-black hair. His face was sharp and thin but not exactly handsome. His eyes, which did not seem to possess a color of their own, reflected the world like two pools of liquid silver.
With his knowledge and experience, he went on alert—summoning his Memories and Aspect to face the invader. However, the young man in front of him did exactly the same, but on his face was a polite smile that sent a tremor down his spine.
The young man smiled and used Martin's Aspect to attack him…
Martin, in turn, did the same. Using his Awakened Ability to create and manipulate fire, he covered himself with a small layer and lunged with his sword in hand. However, the layer of fire covering his body extinguished before he could take two steps.
Surprised by this, he hesitated slightly and questioned what had happened. At that moment, he noticed that the young man also had a layer of fire over his body—but this one was even superior to the one he had manifested!
Seeing that, he realized that the young man had used Martin's flames to strengthen his own!
In the next moment, surprised by such a development, he failed to block an attack aimed at his throat.
Martin's head separated from his body within his Soul Sea… However, it didn't collapse, and Martin and Khel's bodies outside their Soul Seas remained standing as if nothing had happened.
The cleaning staff fixed their cart and continued on their way as if nothing had happened.
Martin's body suppressed a smile at that moment as a thought developed.
'So they're sending my little sister to Antarctica…' Mordret thought.
As an older brother, he couldn't let Morgan go on a trip without wishing her luck!
'Hmm… maybe I should go to Antarctica too? It sounds like everything that's going to happen there will be fun.'
With no intention of wasting time to avoid any of the measures his father had created to detect him from fulfilling their purpose, he turned around and knocked on his sister's door.
He heard a voice saying they were coming, and seconds later, a pair of vermilion eyes greeted him.
Mordret's polite smile widened slightly.