The corridors of Bastion felt narrower after leaving the arena.
Not physically.
Intentionally.
As though the walls leaned inward, listening.
Sunny walked without destination, boots whispering across grated floors—
—TIK… TIK…—
—hood drawn low against a cold that seeped through even Bastion's best insulation. The shadows from the observation gallery clung to him longer than they should have, reluctant to loosen their hold.
He could still see her.
Nephis—framed by cold fire, silver gaze lifting toward the place where he had hidden.
Did she know?
The question circled him like a hunting beast, refusing to die.
He turned toward the outer residential sectors, where the Cohort gathered when duty allowed. The mess hall Effie favored lay ahead—a cavernous space thick with warmth, noise, and rare comforts.
The smell hit him first.
Synthetic protein.
Real coffee.
—STEAM—
Luxuries smuggled down from orbital greenhouses.
Laughter followed.
Effie's unmistakable boom—
—HAH!—
—layered with Kai's lighter, melodic counterpoint. Jet's voice cut through it all occasionally, low and precise, like a blade finding a seam in armor.
Sunny stopped just outside the threshold.
Light spilled across the corridor, warm and inviting.
Inside, the table was crowded.
Effie lounged with her boots up, massive even at rest, a plate piled obscenely high. Kai sat opposite her, posture elegant, charming a cluster of younger Awakened with some polished story from his idol days. Jet leaned against a pillar, arms folded, expression unreadable—watchful.
No Nephis.
No Cassie.
But their names lingered anyway.
"…still training at this hour?" Effie grumbled, chewing. "Girl's gonna burn herself out. Literally."
Kai stirred his drink, smile gentle. "Lady Nephis has always been… dedicated. That's what makes her our star."
"Star, supernova—same thing if she doesn't rest," Effie snorted. "And where's our little oracle? Cassie's been holed up more than usual."
Jet answered quietly. "Visions. Bad ones."
Silence fell.
Just for a heartbeat.
Sunny's fingers curled at his sides.
A younger Awakened—Valor Legacy, insignia gleaming—leaned forward. "Word from inner circles. Anvil wants her pushing harder against Song remnants in the Dream Realm. Proxy raids. 'Strategic pressure.'"
Effie rolled her eyes. "Strategic pressure. Right. Because the last war needed more of that."
Kai's smile faded at the edges. "Politics never sleep. Even here."
Sunny stepped back before the shadows betrayed him.
So it begins.
Cassie's warnings hardened into reality.
Valor was maneuvering Nephis—turning her light into a spear.
Song would answer, subtle and melodic.
Deadly.
And him?
Still the shadow no one wanted to name.
He moved on, slipping upward through maintenance shafts and forgotten access corridors until he reached an upper observation deck near the dome's apex.
Few came here.
The view was merciless.
Endless ice fields stretched beyond the shields, wind howling in absolute silence. Above, the aurora twisted like living silk—greens and violets bleeding across the stars.
Snow battered the transparent alloy—
—TAP… TAP… TAP—
Sunny stood at the railing.
His reflection stared back faintly: sharp features half-lost beneath the hood, eyes far too old for the face they inhabited.
How long can I stay hidden?
The tether hummed again—gentle this time.
Nephis was resting.
Or planning.
He thought of the table below.
Of the empty seat that had always been his.
Months of exile had taught him many things—the geometry of oblivion, the flavor of absolute solitude. But they had not erased the quieter memories.
Effie's relentless teasing.
Kai's effortless charm masking razor edges.
Jet's silent, unshakable loyalty.
Cassie's gentle certainty.
And Nephis's silence.
Heavier than any words.
A proximity alert chimed distantly—
—PING—
—a patrol drone passing overhead.
Sunny let the shadows swallow him completely, dissolving into the deck's darker seams.
When he emerged again, his decision had crystallized.
Not confrontation.
Not yet.
Proximity.
He would watch.
Listen.
Intervene only if the fractures threatened to shatter everything.
The aurora flared brighter, staining the snow in ghostly color.
Sunny turned away from the view and descended back into Bastion's depths.
Somewhere below, flames burned colder.
Somewhere below, allies waited—unaware he had returned.
And in the narrow space between shadow and light…
The cold war drew its first, unspoken breath.
Outside the dome, snow continued to fall.
Slow.
Silent.
Inevitable.