Sunny had never thought that he would leave the city one day. He had barely ever thought that there was anything beyond the city, actually. More than that, for him, the city proper itself had always seemed like an alien land. His whole world used to start and end with the outskirts.
Tens of millions of people who lived in the outskirts had a very special relationship with the wilderness beyond. They spent their lives much closer to it than real citizens, and were not separated from it by the tall barrier walls that encompassed powerful air filters. On one hand, it made them more attuned to the existence of the outside.
On the other hand, they associated the outside with death, disease, and starvation on a much more visceral level. To them, the wilderness meant death in a very practical sense of the word, as opposed to distant and purely theoretical.
That was why Sunny felt very weird as he stared at the train that was supposed to take him to the rendezvous point where Master Jet was supposed to to meet him.
The long-range transcontinental train did not look anything like the light intracity ones Sunny was familiar with. It resembled a massive, heavily armored metal beast that stretched for hundreds and hundreds of meters, its long body composed of various bulky segments.
There were passenger carriages, massive cargo carriages, various utility carriages, and even a mobile repair and fabrication unit capable of restoring damaged sections of the railway should the train encounter any hindrances on the way. Rows of large-caliber turret, automated cannons, and gun emplacements rose from the roof, manned by the railroad technicians and security officers.
It was a fearsome, moving fortress. Anything less would not have been reliably safe, considering that the government rarely paid attention to the Nightmare Gates that opened away from population centers.
Sunny studied the train curiously for a while, then went ahead and found the carriage he was assigned to.
As a Master, he was entitled to ride in the lavishly furnished car meant for high-ranking citizens, government officials, and members of Legacy clans. He also got a whole cabin to himself. The cabin was comparable in size to his room at the Academy, but much better stocked and equipped.
Sunny threw his backpack on a shelf and sat down near the window, enjoying the softness of an expensive-looking armchair. A strange expression appeared on his face.
'Well… as far as wars go, this one is weirdly opulent so far.'
Of course, he was sure that these luxurious conditions would not last long.
No one had bothered him until the train started to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Soon, the familiar sights of the city and the outskirts flew by, and the great metal beast finally escaped into the wilderness.
Sunny felt a solemn mood overcome his senses. Despite spending years of his life in the much more wild and untouched reaches of the Dream Realm, he somehow felt as if he was stepping outside human civilization for the first time. He held his breath as the various human-built structures disappeared behind.
However, the actual landscape of his world did not make any impression on him. It was just sort of… boring.
The wild expanse of the Northern Quadrant mostly looked like a desolate, empty place. It was almost entirely made out of mud and snow. Whatever flora still clung to life in the barren soil looked sickly and dull. The sky was heavy and grey, and the air was slightly hazy.
Apart from occasional skeletal carcasses of dead Nightmare Creatures or rusty wrecks left behind from the times of human wars, there was nothing much to look at.
Sunny sighed.
'What a waste…'
The waking world was not entirely uninhabitable, but it was certainly inhospitable to the species that had once populated its every corner.
Maybe Effie had been right, back when they spoke in the ruined cathedral of the Dark City.
He stared through the window for some time, then stood up and walked to a narrow bed, deciding to go to sleep early. This was probably going to be his last opportunity to rest well for a long, long time. It would have been a shame to let the opportunity go.
Burying his face in a soft pillow, Sunny closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
...At some point during the night, he was awakened by strange vibrations spreading through the frame of the train. Looking up, he saw pale flashes of light outside the window and heard distant, muffled pounding.
The turrets on the locomotive and front carriages of the train were firing.
Since none of his shadows, which were standing watch, seemed alarmed, Sunny sighed, turned on his other side, and closed his eyes again. Soon, he was back to sleep.
…He dreamt of ice and darkness.
In the morning, the train was moving forward as if nothing had happened. Sunny had expected as much, so he wasn't surprised. After freshening up in the small bathroom attached to the cabin, he walked over to the dining car and had a scrumptious breakfast. The cooking could not compete with the Instructor's Cafeteria at the Academy, of course, but it was decent enough.
As he ate, Sunny studied the other people present in the carriage. Most of them were government officers and had a military bearing. A few of them were Awakened, and gave him respectful nods. Even though nothing about Sunny revealed that he was a Master, they were able to sense it.
Most of these people were probably traveling south for the same reason that he was. They were going to Antarctica, as well, so the mood in the dining car was somber. No one talked very much, and those who did kept their voices low.
Sunny doubted that all the participants of the massive operation knew the full scope of the disaster that was approaching the Southern Quadrant. In fact, he was willing to bet that very few were as well-informed as he was. More than that, none of them probably had as much battle experience as he had.
If they understood the real horror of what was about to come, they wouldn't be so calm.
He did not really know how to feel about that.
The next morning, the armored train finally reached its destination.
Sunny disembarked from the lavish carriage and froze for a moment, staring at the endless grey expanse of restless waves.
In front of him...
Was the sea.