Shadow Slave

Several days later, Sunny was sitting in the mess hall of the military bunker, consuming a generous portion of food without too much enthusiasm. A couple of other captains of the First Irregular Company, as well as Master Jet herself, ate with a bit more appetite.

Sunny did not look too good. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his whole presence was subdued and listless, a telling sign that someone was running low on essence.

At some point, Winter gave him a dubious look and asked:

"What's up with you? You look like you're about to topple over."

Sunny waved a hand dismissively.

"...It's nothing. I'm just tired because of all the stuff I have to do before we depart. Being an army officer is not a breeze, as it turns out. Who could have thought?"

The woman stared at him for a few moments, then grinned.

"Oh, right. I forgot that this is your first command posting. You have yet to discover the wonders of delegation!"

Master Randall shook his head.

"There are many things that can't be delegated. Plus, you have to know what your subordinates can handle to assign them tasks. I think that you are doing fine, kid."

Sunny wanted to retort that he was not a kid, but thought better of it after glancing at the grizzled veteran. Vandal was almost old enough to be his grandfather. If anyone had the right to regard him as a junior, it was Master Randall.

Winter shrugged.

"That's true. I am actually impressed by the cohort you've managed to form. It is unexpectedly well-rounded, although I am surprised by several of the choices you made."

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?"

She leaned back and looked at him. Well… Sunny assumed that she was looking at him. In truth, the laid-back beauty could have been staring at anything from behind her old-fashioned sunglasses.

"Don't get me wrong, each of us has tried to create a cohort that can remain effective in all kinds of situations. But we have our biases, nevertheless, so every cohort except yours tends to lean toward a certain specialization. Take Pride, for example. That slippery bastard recruited all the stealthy creeps from the roster."

Sunny stared at her without amusement.

"...You do know that I am a creep myself, right?"

Then, he froze for a moment.

"Wait, that didn't come out right! What I meant to say was that I specialize in stealth, as well."

Winter snorted.

"Really? You don't really look like a backstabber."

Sunny crossed his arms and looked at her with a smirk.

"Well, obviously. If I go around looking like a backstabber, people would be on guard against being stabbed in the back, wouldn't they? That just defeats the purpose."

Master Randall let out a gruff chuckle.

"He makes a good point."

Sunny nodded, then let out a heavy sigh.

"To tell you the truth, I did my fair share of backstabbing in the past, which really helped me survive. But mostly I tend to find myself in situations where I'm surrounded on all sides. Stealth is a powerful tool, but it can only get you so far. So… a well-rounded cohort is the best choice, in my opinion. Luckily, my Aspect is versatile enough to support all kinds of compositions."

He lingered for a bit, then asked with curiosity:

"What do other cohorts specialize in? I've been too busy to keep up with what you guys are doing."

Winter took a bite out of her sandwich, chewed it slowly, and shrugged.

"Ah, the usual. Davis went with the stealthy approach. Venerable Vandal here is all about melee carnage… so is Mustang, with the added emphasis on speed and finesse. I am more of a ranged superiority gal. Dale is a bit like you, but with a slant toward robust defense. As for our courageous leader…"

She looked at Master Jet and smiled.

"...Actually, I have no idea. Her cohort is weird."

Soul Reaper gave them a nonchalant glance.

"It's not that weird. I just picked people who can enhance my own battle performance in various ways. We are meant to wipe out the enemy by channeling our deadliest weapon — me — in the most efficient way."

She remained silent for a few seconds.

"In any case, there are only several days left before we have to board the ships. Once we do, most of our decision power will be gone. Any additional preparations we'll be able to make at sea are going to be limited to a specific direction. So… now is your last chance to account for things you might have missed."

The captains looked at each other with somber expressions. After a long pause, Sunny asked:

"Any suggestions?"

Master Jet thought for a bit.

"You are not too familiar with how Gates affect us, are you?"

He shrugged.

"I know the basics, I guess."

Randall shook his head.

"That is not really enough. For us government officers, a big part of our duty has to do with containing the Nightmare Gates, so we know them the best. You are a Master, so you must have experienced the Call at least once. Correct?"

Sunny cautiously nodded. He had indeed experienced the strange pull that both Gates and Seeds exerted on Awakened. It felt like the Nightmare was calling to him.

The grizzled veteran continued with a scowl:

"Well, the Call does not just affect the mind. It exerts a very substantial influence on reality, as well. Namely, it can mess with your tether and the Dream Realm anchor."

Sunny scratched the back of his head. He knew about that strange anomaly, of course. He had just never encountered it himself.

"How severe is the interference?"

The older Master lingered for a second.

"Not too severe, but it grows worse the closer you get to the Gate. In the immediate area around it, the Call overrides both the tether and the anchor. What it means is that if you decide to jump into the Dream Realm near an active Gate, you will be pulled toward its Seed instead of your Citadel. Same goes for the Awakened who fall asleep in the vicinity."

He paused, and then added:

"Actually, we often make use of that property. If a Gate manifests in a populated area and needs to be closed quickly, we can dispatch a cohort of challengers to the Seed through the Call. A Saint might help out and bring them there immediately, or they can wait until the first wave of Nightmare Creatures is cleared and take a nap… although that is more dangerous, since the challengers will have to search for each other and the Seed in a potentially hostile region of the Dream Realm."

Master Jet sighed.

"That is not important right now. Usually, it is not too difficult to avoid being displaced by the Call. All Awakened have to do is maintain a bit of distance between themselves and the Gate. However…"

Her expression darkened.

"With how many Gates are expected to manifest during the Chain of Nightmares, who knows what the situation will be? We'll have to keep the potential danger in mind and manage the sleep schedule of our soldiers, lest they are whisked away. I advise each of you to stock up on stimulants, at least."

Sunny remained silent for a while, thinking. Eventually, he tiredly rubbed his face and said in a somber tone:

"...I'll take that into account."