The news Sunny's people brought from the Dream Realm was both disturbing and ominous. There was a wealth of updates on the state of affairs in Antarctica, but all of it was overshadowed by one simple fact.
Army Command was seemingly unaware that Erebus Field had been wiped off the map. They knew that something had happened, but it was the members of his cohort who brought the first-hand account of the devastation to the Dream Realm, prompting an intense reaction.
That did not bode well for Sunny. Either the siege capital had been destroyed very recently, or the First Army was in much worse shape than he had thought. In any case, the situation meant that the validity of all information received from Army Command had to be taken with a grain of salt from now on. Things were changing too fast for their compromised communication network to keep up.
…It was just as well. He had already decided to proceed to Falcon Scott, bypassing the less impregnable siege capitals. It was going to be their eventual destination, regardless — that much was clear.
It seemed that the situation in East Antarctica was not as dire as the utter disaster of the Antarctic Center, which had much fewer soldiers and less resources allocated to it due to the smaller territory and population, but was being hit by the Chain of Nightmares much harder, for some reason.
As a result, the previous plan was scrapped, and hastily replaced with a new one. The incoming naval convoys were going to be redirected to start ferrying the civilian population and the army contingent over the strait, to the larger and better protected eastern landmass. Falcon Scott would become the staging ground for the relocation, as well as humanity's last stronghold in the region.
The First Army was abandoning the Antarctic Center entirely.
…So, there was no point in seeking shelter in any other siege capital, even if some of them could still be holding out. All divisions were going to retreat to Falcon Scott eventually, anyway, taking the civilians with them.
Sunny sighed.
'Sounds like a plan.'
A plan that could very well end in disaster, but a solid one, nevertheless. Army Command was not entirely clueless… Master Jet had to have known about Erebus Field to send her crow after him, after all, so it was not like the entire leadership was compromised.
It was just that there were gaps in the flow of information between the headquarters and the people on the frontlines, which was detrimental, but inevitable for as long as the Winter Beast still lived.
As much as it pained Sunny to admit it, everyone was doing their best in a terrible situation. There was no one to blame. It was just that he personally had the misfortune of finding himself on the more dreadful end of the terribleness spectrum, as far as circumstances were concerned.
'...Damn it.'
Shaking his head, he climbed on the roof of the Rhino and silently observed the flurry of activity inside the resupply station. Everyone was busy. Even the refugees were helping load cargo into the vehicles Sergeant Gere had chosen to commandeer.
The crow flew off its perch under the ceiling and landed near him, snuggling close to stare at the humans together. Sunny glanced at the black bird incredulously.
"What do you think? Will we make it?"
The small monster glanced at him in confusion and cawed a couple of times.
Sunny scoffed.
"Figures. You're just an Echo. Oh... what do I call you, anyway?"
The bird tilted its head.
"Crro! Crro!"
Sunny smiled.
"Your name is Crow Crow? Huh… well, I'll just call you Crow, if you don't mind."
The bird stared at him for a few moments, then cawed and flew away.
Shaking his head, Sunny shifted his perception and concentrated on the view of the outside. One of his shadows remained there to watch the approach to the depot, hiding in the darkness.
The ash was still falling from the sky, obscuring the stars and the crimson flames of the aurora. Black soot was marring the white surface of the snow, turning it into a dirty grey sludge. The silhouettes of the nearby mountains were outlined by the red glow that emanated from the sea of lava, making the whole landscape seem eerie and infernal.
'...This entire continent is way too weird. It's like I never left the Dream Realm.'
As Sunny thought that, a slight movement attracted his attention. Soon, a flicker of light appeared in the distance, and then, a whole river of them showed itself from behind the cold slopes. The stream of light flowed down the mountain road, heading straight for the entrance to the supply depot.
His face fell.
'Ah, not again…'
Out there in the ashen wilderness, a large column of battered vehicles was rolling down the road, escorted by scores of disheveled soldiers. Some were on foot, some moved with the help of powered exoskeleton armor suits, aiming into the darkness with their high-caliber rifles.
The haunted expressions, the lightless eyes, the faces of frightened refugees behind the cracked windows of makeshift transports… all of it was too familiar.
Sunny closed his eyes for a moment.
'Those would be the survivors of Erebus Field, then.'
With an exasperated sigh, he shook his head, and then jumped off the roof of the Rhino.
***
Outside the underground depot, a long column of vehicles had come to a halt. The soldiers were running to assume defensive positions, and their leaders were barking orders to get them moving faster.
In front of the locked blast doors, several people stood with tired expressions on their faces. One of them, an Awakened woman in a tattered robe, was cursing as she placed her hand on the security panel over and over again.
The mechanical voice was not amused.
"Lieu… lieu… lieutenant Carin. Verified. Insufficient clearance. Access denied."
"Goddammit!"
The woman slammed her fist into the panel, then glanced at one of the other officers near her. After a few seconds of somber silence, she asked:
"Do you think one of you guys can hack it? Or are we going to have to blow through this damned gate?"
The man hesitated for a while, then opened his mouth to say something.
Before he could, however, there was a reverberating hum, and the blast doors suddenly slid to the sides, revealing the entrance of a dark tunnel… and a very pale, very ominous-looking young man in black garments standing there with a strange, eerily calm expression on his face.
"I would appreciate it if you don't try to blow up my gate, actually."
The Awakened woman jumped back with a yelp and outstretched one hand to summon a weapon.
"W—what the hell are you?!"
The pale stranger tilted his head a little and stared at her with his cold, dark eyes.
"...Master Sunless, First Irregular Company."
With that, he looked past the officers, at the long column of vehicles behind them. Suddenly, the young man's face grew a little lively.
The Awakened woman let out a relieved sigh.
"Oh, you're human... wait. Master?"
Glancing back at her, the young man suddenly smiled.
"Say, you wouldn't happen to have a few MWP pilots in that convoy of yours, would you?"