Chapter 11: Restitutor Antarctica
The cool Antarctic winds howled across the streets of Falcon Scott.
Everyone was making themselves busy by working or assisting the evacuation efforts in their own ways.
At first, when the rumors of their leader's departure spread, everyone was feeling mixed feelings.
They felt relief knowing that the Devil and his allies would try to contain the Winter Beast and hopefully buy them enough time to conclude the evacuation efforts... but there was also the creeping anxiety knowing that the Devil was the last thing standing between their salvation... and their demise.
But then lately... a few watchful eyes noticed it at first... and then more and more people had a stunning realization.
The oppressive blizzard had lessened.
Shoveling the snow off the streets had gotten easier. Keeping the bonfires going wasn't such a strangely hard process anymore, and most importantly... the Cold was actually starting to become more bearable for the first time in days.
Upon this realization, everyone; the Refugees, the soldiers, and the Awakened, had begun lifting their heads again. They felt an ember of hope ignite deep in their souls that warmed them more than any of these bonfires ever could.
The Devil was succeeding. He had drawn the Dreadful Titan's devouring eyes away from them all and took its frozen wrath upon himself.
The feeling of gratitude burned in their hearts... they all unknowingly saw this as a sacrifice because even from the most knowledgeable and intellectual individuals to the average outskirts rats, all knew that he stood no realistic chance in defeating the corrupted titan.
But accompanying their gratitude was also... shame.
Shame that they couldn't do anything but save themselves as their leader... Their Savior sacrificed himself for their salvation.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but this was their reality. The Devil had ordered them to save themselves while he took care of the threat, and so... the people went back to work with renewed vigor and tenacity.
The people of Central Antarctica and the Army were all determined to break the already impressive evacuation quotas even further. This was the peoples way of a defiant stand against the tyranny of the Nightmare spell.
A few hours had passed where everyone was diligently continuing their working roles and assignments as usual. The gradually easing blizzard was making operations easier as well, speeding up operations and logistics as well as raising the morale among them...
But then... Suddenly, it was as if the oppressive cold calamity that was pressing them all down had suddenly been lifted. The people that had been shivering despite having been among the many bonfires suddenly stilled.
The howling winds that bit into the bones of them all despite their many layered clothings abruptly calmed, turning into a tolerable Antarctic breeze instead.
The snowbound veil that blocked their view aided by the eternal darkness gradually dispersed, clearing up the Antarctic skies.
Flames of the many bonfires suddenly surged higher and brighter as if they weren't held back by an intangible force anymore, making the darkness and cold retreat.
Millions of people scattered across Falcon Scott raised their heads as a stunned gasp rang out collectively through the whole Siege capital.
Instinctively, all held their heads up in disbelief and stunned silence as they stared into the Antarctic sky...
It was just as incredibly vast and beautiful as they knew it. The colorful Aurora was shimmering above Falcon Scott, and the stars looked back at them, offering them solace in the darkness...
A shivering young soldier clad in comical amounts of clothings suddenly paused at the sudden changes of environment and lifted his head as well...
"Gods... the... Is the blizzard gone?"
His breath hitched beneath the cloth mask, and his eyes widened in shock. His hands previously shook because of the cold, but now they shook for a whole other reason...
The crate holding the flammable materials for the bonfire ahead fell out of his hands into the snow.
"There's no way. Does that mean..?"
Suddenly, an astounded voice rang out among the large crowd who huddled around the bonfire...
"It's the Devil!! He killed it!! He actually killed it!!"
Many people around them, including the young soldier, turned to look at the one who yelled this outlandish claim with disbelief.
"He did what!?"
"The Devil actually did it!?
Murmurs spread through the large crowds, and soon, the rumors of victory had reached most of these millions of ears.
*
A group of men who had been shoveling the snow off the streets turned to look at the commotion... once news hit them, they quickly glanced back at each other in disbelief...
A man wearing a dark blue jacket dug his shovel into the ground and let out a sigh of disbelief.
"He... actually won..."
His colleague turned to him chuckled breathlessly...
"That Devil... Gods, not even Saint Tyris was able to defeat that Titan, and he's a damm Master!"
The man leaned on his shovel, shaking his covered head a little. It was indeed hard to believe, yet here they were.
"I'm just glad that he's on our side. That monster's aspect must've countered it perfectly or something..."
A third, older man sighed, looking at his fellow coworkers with an unusually calm expression.
"Guys... haven't I told you all that we'd either die or not? What are you surprised for? The Devil was just keeping his promises... and so should we."
He dug his shovel into the ground again, scooping up the snow and throwing it away.
They all looked at the old guy as if he was the strangest thing ever... but eventually, they all picked up their tools again as well.
"I guess you're right, old man..."
"Right... we're saved, but I guess our work isn't done yet either..."
*
'...'
A young mother was embracing her child in her arms. They sat close by the fire, yet the cold had somehow seeped through it all and kept them shivering... it was all so tiresome.
But then... it was as if a veil was lifted over them. A different kind of shiver went down her spine as the warmth of the bonfire embraced them and finally wasn't being strangled anymore. Instead, making the cold finally retreat once and for all.
'G-gods...'
She shakily raised her head and watched with trembling hands as the skies opened up above them... they hadn't seen the stars and colorful Aurora in days, so this was a great relief... and then she heard the murmurs and rumors between the people around them spread...
"It's the Devil! He killed it!"
But not everyone bought it yet.
"Don't jump to conclusions! This doesn't mean it's dead yet. We don't know anything!"
Then... someone reached into their hidden away pockets beneath their multilayered clothings, and after a small struggle, they pulled out their communicator... and it actually worked again.
"Th-the communicators work again! Our network is restored!"
People quickly gathered around the person or pulled out their own communicators and watched as the technologies actually came back to life.
This revelation effectively wiped out the remaining doubts some had... it was a well known fact that Nightmare-creatures disrupted technologies of the waking world, so this was evidence that the Winter Beast was either dead, or far enough out of their reach to not pose a threat any more.
The young woman clutched her child tightly, and when she realized the truth, tears of gratitude started flowing down her face as she sniffled...
"Oh gods... it's finally over, my boy."
The torturous weight of the unknown future of her child and herself had been gnawing at her for so long, and now they had been saved by the brave awakened.
It was almost ridiculous how many impossible odds the Devil of Antarctica had broken just like that... he did what Saints couldn't as a mere master.
But in the end, what mattered most was that he kept his promise.
He had brought Antarctica salvation.
*
Standing around a military grade supply truck, 3 figures shared tired looks of clear overwork.
Dorn, Belle, and Samara had been busy without pause since Sunny's and Jet's departure. They had mostly succeeded in keeping the efficiency of the evacuation going as Sunny and Jet had established it, but now they were starting to get tired from all the overworking...
Dorn had kept quiet, not seeing himself worthy to complain, and Samara was probably just too prideful for it as well...
But Belle had other plans. Dropping a supply crate into the truck, he let out a loud groan of complaint... "Ugh... I came to this frozen hell for glory and honor and all that... And now look at me! I'm just a packet delivery man for spell's sake!"
Samara didn't even look at him, just rolling her eyes as she kept herself busy with work. "Shut it, Belle... this is the least we could do. Besides, it won't be long anymore before this evacuation concludes."
"Well, if..."
Belle was about to retort when suddenly the oppressive blizzard and all that came with it retreated...
Stunned, the three of them froze and stared up at the opening sky with their jaws agape.
Then, slowly, they looked back at each other, eyes wide. Gradually, a collective grin formed between the three of them, and Belle spoke up again, his tone completely switched up...
"That bastard... he really did it, huh? I never doubted our captain!"
Samara raised an eyebrow at his switch up, but nevertheless, she felt incredibly proud and inspired at their captain's impossible feat.
'I can't wait to brag about captain to my little brother, haha...' That thought made her grin and feel like this was all even more worth it than ever.
Dorn smiled proudly, crossing his arms. He looked over to the southern mountains.
"Our general really is amazing... even if he doesn't see himself in that light most of the time..."
Belle and Samara seemed to agree and joined his observations of the South as well.
"Yeah, he's quite stubborn about that, heh... but now he only has to make it back."
Belle said, chuckling a bit.
"I don't think anything can stop our captain anymore if I'm honest..." Samara said, smiling faintly as they observed the distant snowstorm gradually dispersing...
"Yep... not our captain!"
Their attention was pulled toward the overfilled streets of Falcon Scott. There was tumultuous cheering all over. The millions of remaining people loudly celebrated the victory and caused the grounds all over Falcon Scott to rumble under their triumph.
Many people held each other, forming large chains as they jumped up and down around the bonfires while jelling and singing in a chaotic celebration...
They could faintly make out the distant meanings...
"The Guardian, the Devil, and his Reaper! Our restorers of Antarctica!"
The three of them watched, split between wanting to join in on the fun or feeling repulsed by the sight...
Their observations were interrupted when an excited soldier ran up to them, showing his working communicator frantically.
"C-commanders! The network has been restored! Our connection to the Eastern Army command has returned!"
The three devils watched the communicator with wide eyes.
Their isolation had finally ended, and now the world would bear witness to Falcon Scott.
*
Heavy breathing could be heard in a cool and spacious basement.
Standing in a firm and unyielding fighting stance, a young girl held her bokken tightly in her tired, calloused hands. Her body was glistening with sweat and covered by a tight sarashi around her chest as well as some loose training pants.
She had been doing her routine training that mostly consisted of swinging her training sword and training spear for a few thousand repetitions. Sometimes – if she still had some power left – she liked to close her training session with a bit of archery as well. And speaking of archery...
'Ahhh! I still can't believe that I learned archery from night... the Nightingale!'
Swinging her sword again with a loud swish, Rain still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that lil' old her was being taught by the idol star of the world!
She couldn't wait to keep bragging about it to her friends in school... that thought made her grin.
'And it's not just Nightingale. It's all of Changing Star's cohort... even my eccentric teacher has become somewhat of a legend lately...'
She let out a tired breath, finally putting her bokken down. Rain was literally surrounded by legends these days... it was so surreal that she had been doubting the odds of it being a coincidence lately. Even her unfortunately wise teacher sometimes spoke of Fate as if it were an actual real thing. And this left her wondering...
"Rainy! Come upstairs quickly!"
Rain was thrown out of her thoughts by her mother's voice from upstairs. It seemed quite urgent, so Rain just sighed and put her Bokken back into the weapon rack.
She grabbed her towel and hung it around her shoulder as she headed upstairs.
"Coming, mom..."
Arriving in the kitchen, her mother smiled brightly and pointed at the TV with the remote in hand. "Rainy, it's the news. They've regained contact with Falcon Scott where your teacher is!"
Rain's eyes widened a little, and she moved over to sit down across her mother.
Falcon Scott had been cut off from network for a while now, and there had been many reports from survivors who reached Eastern Antarctica of an imminent disaster from the "Winter Beast" as they called it.
'Sunny had mentioned something about a corrupted titan as well... is this what it's about?'
Her thoughts were answered as the news program started, and a familiar awakened reporter was seen staring at his digital notes with disbelief that seemed unusual for a character like him...
"Uhh... ah, ladies and gentlemen.
We have reported breaking news regarding the evacuation efforts of Falcon Scott in Central Antarctica!"
The screen displayed live footage from the snow-filled streets of Falcon Scott. There were millions of people wildly yelling, dancing, and cheering in some sort of celebration... even the army soldiers were either too stunned to stop them or just joined them.
It was a strange sight... but one thing stood out more than anything. It was that everyone was cheering the names of the Devil of Antarctica, Soul Reaper, and Mongrel. Calling them many things of absurd proportions.
Rain and her mother watched the people with awe and confusion... why were they celebrating? Where was Sunny, and why was he being cheered by everyone?
'Gods... Sunny you Idiot, what did you do to these poor people!?'
"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we report live out of Falcon Scott. The network connection that had previously been disrupted by nightmare creatures and gates has seemingly been restored."
The news reporter glanced at his notes again, shaking his head a little...
"After many careful interviews with the local authorities and eye witnesses among the refugees, we have concluded that ..."
The reporter put his notes away, looking at the camera with a serious expression.
Rain and her mother watched attentively. There wasn't much that was able to shock a news reporter, so this had to be something huge...
"The Devil of Antarctica – who had previously seized command of the central Antarctican army group out of emergency reasons – together with his cohort of Soul Reaper Jet and the Guardian Angel of Antarctica – also known as Mongrel by many dreamscape fans – have previously set out on a suicidal mission to defeat the Corrupted Titan deemed "Winter Beast"."
Rain's mother gasped, a worried expression on her face now... "They sacrificed themselves...?"
Rain meanwhile had paled into an unnatural white, and her eyes widened... "H-he did what...? B-but he's just a Master!"
Rain was feeling cold all over... nothing could have happened to her teacher, right? Everyone kept calling him a cockroach for a reason, right?
The reporter looked at the camera with a serious expression again. Slight disbelief still lingering in his eyes.
"And now the Central Antarctican army group... has just confirmed their victory against the Corrupted Titan, which had previously been thought to be impossible."
He paused, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle... "Yes, dear viewers, you heard me right. Less than a handful of Masters led by the Devil had set out and achieved the impossible, which even Saint Tyris of the White-Feather clan had only managed to contain before her unfortunate defeat a few days ago."
'Huh?'
Rain and her mother looked at the TV, mouth agape and eyes wide in frozen shock... this wasn't possible. This was unheard of! 3 Masters challenging a CORRUPTED TITAN and WINNING!? It was unbelievable... yet it had supposedly happened.
Rain's mother rubbed her face, sighing and mumbling to herself quietly.
"I... would the government even go this far for some propaganda victory? No, but from the looks of it, they hadn't actually expected this outcome either..."
Rain meanwhile was staring at the TV with a frozen expression... her teacher, her mentor, had actually done the impossible, and she couldn't put her mind around it.
'Gods...'
He had always looked so... timid and harmless around her with his laid-back attitude that she just couldn't imagine the picture of him challenging a mythical Titan a whole rank ABOVE himself and somehow – Gods knew how – actually WINNING
'Is... is he even human? He must be even stronger than Changing Star... and she is the leader of his cohort!'
She sighed, rubbing her nose bridge tiredly.
'Crazy... I'm surrounded by crazy legendary people!'
Sunny had always told her that Changing Star was stronger than him and could easily defeat him whenever she wanted... but Rain was starting to doubt his words... he had a strange compulsion to lie and exaggerate quite often, after all.
Was this what her grand teacher meant when she told her not to underestimate Sunny? Rain chuckled breathlessly.
'Ah... it had been so clear from the start. Of course, he wasn't just in Changing Star's cohort for no reason. Of course, he wasn't just an unassuming scout...'
She and everyone else had been properly fooled by her treacherous teacher. He had told her from the very start that he was probably the strongest of his rank in the world, hadn't he? Sure, it might have been an exaggeration... but what if it wasn't?
Again... this left her wondering how the hell she had just seemingly stumbled into his life and built a connection with probably the strongest masters in the world currently. Was it just a coincidence... or something grander like Fate?
"We will now switch over to a live interview with the current leadership of Falcon Scott to discuss these topics further." The screen switched over to a different perspective where 3 soldiers stood at a military supply truck with their arms crossed and serious looks on their faces.
It was Dorn, Belle, and Samara. The devils who were known to be part of Sunless's cohort.
Rain looked at them and tilted her head a bit... Sunny had told her about his Antarctica cohort, but now it was the first time she actually saw them.
After a brief introduction, the interviewer asked his first question. "Commander Dorn, how sure are you that General Sunless and his allies have succeeded in the defeat of the Winter beast?"
Dorn nodded his head seriously and answered.
"We are mostly sure that the sudden disappearance of the Titan's blizzard, as well as the restoration of our technologies, are clear indicators of the Titan's demise."
He thought for a moment and then continued...
"Of course, one could say that it had just been lured away far enough, but that wouldn't have been such a sudden disappearance, but rather a gradual one. Thus, we came to the conclusion."
The interviewer nodded and then asked another question.
"We see your reasoning, commander Dorn.
As for our next question, we will turn towards commander Belle..."
Belle suddenly looked up, as if confused why he was suddenly chosen. "Uh... yeah, go ahead." Samara spared him a worried glance.
"Commander Belle, are the current whereabouts of your cohort leader, Master Sunless known? Additionally, do you know if he and his allies have made it out safely?"
Belle just scratched his neck and had a thoughtful look on his face.
"Uhh... no, we've got no clue he just left us here and told us to manage everything... that bastard."
He pointed at the southern mountain chain and shrugged.
"I guess the captain is... ah!"
He was suddenly lightly elbowed in the side by Samara, who whispered something to him with a stern look.
Rain looked at the TV with a bewildered expression...
'Did he just call Sunny a bastard on TV...?'
She started grinning a little.
'I couldn't agree more!'
He gave her an awkward look and then cleared his throat, continuing...
"Ahem... The general is somewhere down there in the mountains. But we don't really have any measures to know if he or his allies are actually alive or something... so i guess it's a waiting game now, heh..."
Samara gave him a side-eye while Dorn just shook his head a little...
"Uh... thank you for your input, Commander Belle. Now could you tell us about..."
Now, this outcome made Rain's smile brittle... 'Wait... they haven't come back yet?'
That... didn't sound reassuring.
The interview meanwhile went on for a while more, where the outside world was gradually "enlightened" about the situation, logistics, and success of the evacuation.
They also learned of the early stages where The Devil of Antarctica had assumed command of the Army group and rallied the people of Falcon Scott with a powerful speech when everyone was still in chaos and the army was without direction after the Saints had left Falcon Scott.
They had also learned of his incredible feat of Slaying an aquatic, corrupted nightmare creature they had labeled as "Leviathan" in it's own territory.
Overall... everyone with a pair of eyes and ears had now learned of the Legend that was the Devil of Antarctica.
His legendary feats just didn't stop...
Slaughtering his way across Central Antarctica.
Fighting a Fallen Titan to a Stalemate.
Saving 50 thousand refugees and safely transporting them across 5000 kilometers of Nightmare-creature infested lands.
Killing countless Fallen and corrupted ones as they protected Falcon Scott for weeks without pause.
Killing the Corrupted Terror of Lo49 with a mind attack of all things! At least according to Master Neave's statement...
And then, when the Saints retreated, the network connection was cut, and all hope seemed lost. He seized command, promoted himself to general rank, rallied the people and army, killed Leviathan singlehandedly...
...and in the end, set out on a suicidal mission of luring away a corrupted Titan... and then – Gods knew how – actually killed said Titan instead.
This was all so shocking and unbelievable that even the government propagandists had nothing to add.
Sitting up, Rain talked to her mother a bit and then left for her room, needing time to process these shocking news about her teacher.
Once she entered her room, she closed the door behind herself and sat down at her desk with an exhausted huff...
"Huff... Who knew that some stupid news could be so exhausting? It's like i trained twice today."
She leaned back into her chair and looked up at the ceiling, a small grin on her lips.
'Gaah! I can't wait to brag to everyone that the Devil is MY teacher!'
She was giggling like an idiot thinking of the stupefied and jealous reactions she'd receive!
But... wouldn't everyone then show up to his place and beg for some autographs if she talked too much?
She stopped giggling like a maniac for a moment and then rolled her eyes.
'Who asked him to go out and become such a Legend anyway, huh!? Leaving his poor student behind all worried...'
And then there was also the lack of information on Sunny's current status...
She sighed and sunk further into her chair, crossing her arms.
'Be safe, teacher...and please come back. I don't want you to become a hero, you know!'
Although she didn't want to admit it, deep down, Rain knew that she still missed her teacher. She really wanted to train with him again and show how much she improved. She was also eager to talk with him about his adventures in Antarctica...
Being around Sunny felt... familiar, It felt safe or something like it... she couldn't describe it.
But she knew that she missed Sunny.
Sighing again, Rain pulled out her communicator. 'Well... I guess the network down there works again, so I might as well send a message...'
Rain typed away, writing a long and sincere message to her teacher for once... and after she was finally done, she pressed the send button and sighed.
'That bastard better responds quickly this time! This dear student here really poured her heart out in this one...'
She stared at the chat, but it seemed he hadn't received it and wasn't connected to the network yet.
She shook her head a bit and closed the messaging app. Then, she opened the network, wondering what was going on today...
"W-what the hell...?"
What she didn't expect was that the whole network was practically exploding...
Everyone and their grandparents were talking about what happened in Falcon Scott and the Devil of Antarctica.
There were countless discussions regarding his legendary feats and trying to analyze and reevaluate their knowledge and opinions of him...
Curious, Rain clicked on a popular thread titled:
"Strength eval of #TheTitanSlayer| ver2"
"TheDevil'sHenchman69: I've read like everything about the Devil on the Net and even watched some recent interviews of eyewitnesses, and I'm still confused about the Devil's aspect!"
"NQSC4ever: What's so complicated about it? Isn't he known for his affinity for Shadows and stuff?"
"TheDevil'sHenchman69: You don't get it! When he had the fight against Leviathan, everyone was saying that he had some sort of hyper-regeneration abilities after being made into human paste! They also claimed that he could grow some huge Raven-like wings at will, which complicates things even further ((T_T))"
"NQSC4ever: Huh? So which is it, Hyper-regeneration or shadow affinity?"
"Devil'sSon: Are you two retarded? Obviously, it has to be his new Ascended ability!"
Rain squealed in excitement as she imagined Sunny with those wings.
'Sunny has wings!? That's so cool!'
Now, things were getting interesting. She scrolled some more and clicked on an image that had thousands of likes and some tags.
"The Devil is secretly a softy... #DevilOfAntarctica #RestorerOfAntarctica"
It showed Sunny handing a protein bar to a young boy close to a bonfire. There was shin-high snow everywhere, and the fire's light illuminated the Devil's stern yet somehow stunningly pale and porcelain-like face. His dark hair had grown out more and flowed down to his shoulders by now. He wore a fine and beautifully dark, silk tunic that had intricate patterns and silver strings holding it together.
There were barely any pictures or recordings of Sunny on the Network, so this was like a goldmine for many fans and... "admirers."
"LaSDay1Fan: Look at my boy! He's grown so much since the movie... I knew Changing Star saw something in him!"
"LostLegend21: I think he's still trying to impress Lady Changing Star and win her heart over like he always did! Why else would he go so far out there doing impossible things?"
"Daoist67: Uhh... to safe Antarctica, maybe??"
"MongrelDisciple: The Devil and Changing Star!? HERESY! It was Lady Mongrel who he was with in Antarctica! Everyone knows that!"
"Daoist67: Can't you all just stop shipping everyone on sight? It's really strange and inconsiderate."
"MongrelDisciple: Kill yo-"
Rain just shook her head, feeling smug.. 'Fools. If only they knew...'
Pressing on the trending page, she saw the network's current viral tags.
1st #DevilOfAntarctica
2nd #FalconScott
3rd #RestorerOfAntarctica
4th #TheTitanSlayers
5th #Mongrel
It seemed everyone was starting to call Sunny, Mongrel, and Soul Reaper all sorts of names and titles on the Network...
But the biggest current contenders were #TheTitanSlayers and #RestorerOfAntarctica
People were kind of split, which they found better... Some keyboard warriors argue that #TheTitanSlayers was straightforward and fitting while sounding cool.
While the people advocating for #RestorerOfAntarctica argued that it had a profound meaning and was an actual reference to a real legend of ancient times named: "The Restorer of the World"
Rain rolled her eyes a bit... 'If that "Legend" really fixed the world, then we wouldn't all be in this mess at the first place, no?'
In the end, everyone had just silently agreed that both titles were valid and could be used together for the three Titan Slayers.
Rain clicked on another post. This one seemed to be from a high class
"Rodrick251: Wait, that's Sunless!? Isn't that the academic researcher and professor at the academy!?"
"BrainsBeforeBrutes: Yep, that's him. I was actually in one of his classes before he joined the Antarctic campaign. Never expected an academic to be such a fighter, tho..."
"Rodrick251: Oh wow, maybe I should watch his lectures online then? He seems to know the praxis just as good as the theory!"
"BrainsBeforeBrutes: Uh... Yes, the lectures were good, but half of them were just people asking him about Changing Star and other unaffiliated things. Although vague, he did answer every question... but from my observations, he often seemed pretty down by the end of the lecture."
That last part unexpectedly made Rain's heart ache a little. 'Poor Sunny... did he feel overshadowed by everyone?'
Rain put her communicator down and sighed... 'Was this why he went to Antarctica? To prove himself?'
She wasn't sure about her theory, but she felt a bit proud of her teacher now that he seemed to have finally succeeded in proving himself to the world.
Meanwhile, the government hadn't slept on this opportunity either...
Countless official news articles and propaganda posters were milking this propaganda victory dry for everything it was worth.
They had already announced the production of a movie featuring the events of Central Antarctica and the incredible adventures of the Devil of Antarctica and Co.
There was also supposed to be a romantic subplot, which promised nothing good in Rain's opinion...
But one thing was still plaguing everyones mind...
Where the spell is the Devil?
People online were all worried that the Devil and his allies were possibly in danger.
The government was even debating to send a rescue cohort into the mountains to save them.
But in the end, it was just a waiting game as Commander Belle had stated.
*
Groaning, a pale, young man's eyes slowly fluttered open. Disoriented, he slowly sat up, feeling groggy and barely recharged.
"Where the spell am I?"
Looking around, he quickly noticed Jet sitting with her back against Serpent.
Said enormous Serpent had coiled itself around them in a protective way.
Saint meanwhile stood a short distance away, staring into the distance with her calm indifference.
"So you're finally awake, Sunny."
Jet looked over at him and smiled lazily...
"You've been knocked out for hours... But hey, at least your Echos have been keeping me company."
'I've been out cold the whole time...? Gods... that's embarrassing.'
Sunny looked at her with a complicated face. "Ah... thank you, I guess... for watching me and stuff."
Jet just grinned and pat Serpent's scales before getting up.
"No need to thank me, Sunny. You know how much I enjoy taking breaks... this was like a mini vacation anyway!"
Sunny grimaced a bit... 'If all vacations are this deadly, then I'd work forever.'
Walking up to him, she held out her hand, which Sunny took and stood up.
The [Covetous coffer] was sitting on her shoulder and struck its tongue out at him...
That tease made his eye twitch... 'Why, you little...'
But Jet meanwhile raised her hand and pointed at the distant horizon. "Look."
Following her gesture, he finally paid attention to their surroundings again. And what he saw left him quite awed...
"We... did this, huh?"
The previous beautiful grass plains that had been surrounded by the volcanos were no more.
"Yep."
Everything was covered a hard layer of cooled obsidian, and the previously towering volcanos have been greatly reduced in size, having crumbled in on themselves.
But most striking of all... the Sun was crawling at the edge of the horizon, and with it, the months of darkness over Antarctica had finally ended.
He felt the shadows of mountains all stretch towards the west. It was a beautiful sight, yet Sunny let out a wistful sigh.
'I guess that's my biggest advantage now gone...'
He turned back to Jet and held out his hand, gesturing the [Covetous coffer] to come back to him, which it reluctantly did, jumping off of Jet's shoulder into his palm.
Sunny pried its maw open and reached deep into the large space hidden in his memory.
He felt the 7 transcendent soul shards of the Winter Beast first. 'Hehe...'
Reaching further, he suddenly hissed when his hand got burned and retracted it from the chest again... 'Curses! That's all here as well... good. That's good.'
Indeed, the precious materials and liquid ice from the heart of the Winter Beast were all stored safely inside as well.
That meant that he could use its invaluable materials to forge Nephis's [Blessing] once more.
The thought of giving her this harrowingly beautiful Soul-bound memory made him smile... 'She'd be so happy.'
"So what now, Sunny? Do you wanna go back?"
His smile grew brittle at the questions. He held his flaw back for a moment and then answered... "I don't know yet. As for going back... I'd rather not, honestly."
Jet nodded and gave let out a sigh. "I get it. It's really peaceful and quiet here now that the big bad is gone..."
Sunny chuckled and grabbed a ration out of the greedy chest. "That's nice as well, yeah... but I was thinking more along the lines of staying under the radar for now..."
Sunny still held a futile hope that this would all blow over in a week. But something was telling him that this was doomed to stay a wish.
News must've already spread about the mysterious disappearance of the Winter Beast...
And foolish him had announced to the whole world that he would try and kill it.
'Ah... I won't be able to deceive my way out of this one, huh?'
Of course, it felt nice to be noticed and get his well-deserved validation... but he'd rather not go back and become another world known celebrity for the 2nd time... he was never a fan of staying in the light too long after all.
And it wasn't just his friends and allies watching him become a big deal.
Two, or perhaps even a trio of Supreme gazes, had perhaps now descended upon him, as well. And he wasn't in any position to oppose the rulers of these worlds yet.
'And speaking of gazes...' Frowning,Sunny turned around and stared at the empty expanse of the sky with a suspicious look.
His shadow sense hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary, but it still felt weird.
'Must've been the wind.'
Jet grabbed herself a ration as well, opening it with hungry eyes. "Fine by me, we're not going back then. What do you wanna do instead, tho? Just relax some more?"
Sunny turned back and stared at the obsidian grounds with a thoughtful look...
What should they do, indeed? There were a few options he could quickly think of.
They could probably safely pull on their tether and enter the Dreamrealm now that the big bad had been disposed of. But Sunny wasn't feeling like leaving his tether here in the middle of nowhere.
The second option was to leave Central Antarctica and sail across the waters to Eastern Antarctica with Jet like they did last time.
Of course... they could just return to Falcon Scott in time and take one of Clan Night's vessels, but Sunny was already dreading all the overwhelming attention his latest stunt had possibly pulled and would rather not be in the public eyes for now.
The third option was to just stay in Central Antarctica and extend their little vacation for a while longer... and cleanse everything from corruption while they were at it.
In the end, they would then leave for their voyage across the ocean either way.
Unable to hold his flaw back anymore, Sunny spoke.
"I guess we'll extend our nice vacation and clean up the Antarctic Center while we're at it. Afterward, we'll leave for Eastern Antarctica by water. What do you think?"
Jet just smiled lazily as she bit into the dry ration biscuit. "Sounds good. I really needed some sort of break after this whole fiasco anyway... just chilling and killing. It sounds like a dream, hehe..."
Sunny just grinned a little and dug into his meal as well. 'We're total maniacs, aren't we...? Considering this as a vacation of all things, heh...'
But that was just life nowadays. Sunny and Jet had long grew accustomed to it.
There was a long road ahead for him now... he had changed Fates tapestry in a major way, and it wouldn't be the last time he'd do it.
He would strengthen his friends, hopefully stop, or at least contain the war between the Great clans in Eastern Antarctica.
He also would make preparations for the 3rd Nightmare, wanting to take the same seed of Nightmare they had previously entered.
There were lots of things to do, and Sunny was ready to not just face his Fate but also do things a lot better this time.
Smiling, he opened his runes.
'Neph must've noticed that shiny new memory of mine already...'