The next day—or exactly about 15 hours later—after all the cohort members had rested, Uriel charted the course toward Erebus Field.
Erebus Field was a large encampment located among the high mountains that served as a barrier against the abominations. Due to the mostly inactive volcanic mountain, it possessed a fairly pleasant climate compared to the Antarctic cold, especially in the center.
"Six hundred kilometers... how long do you think it will take us to get there, Miranda?" asked Shade, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, checking his communicator.
Miranda looked at the trajectory while cutting through the path, leaving behind streets filled with abominations emerging from nightmare gates.
"About two or three days," the woman replied. "Though if we use the mountain route, we could get there in two days."
Shade nodded.
"Alright, take your time. Erebus Field has resisted for months, so it can hold out a few days until we arrive."
"Captain, do you have any strategy to endure for so long?" Lucien asked.
"Well, yes, I have a plan. It involves some cheese, bread, ham, and juice."
Lucien, Lily, Tiffany, Abel, and Asher looked confused.
"And what does that have to do with your plan, if I may ask, Captain?" Abel inquired.
"Oh, that's for me. I'm just hungry."
A groan of frustration came from his subordinates while Miranda laughed lightly.
"Captain, this is no time for jokes," Tiffany said. "This is serious."
"Hey, I take everything seriously," Shade said as he bit into a peach that his subordinates didn't notice where he got it from.
"How does he do that?"
"Do what?" Shade repeated, biting the peach.
"That," Lucien said.
"What?" Shade asked.
"That," Lucien repeated.
Shade frowned while biting another peach: "The what?"
"Th—"
"That's enough," Abel said, already frustrated by the exchange. "For God's sake, this exchange is starting to give me a headache."
"Don't get angry," Lucien and Shade said at the same time.
"Argh."
"Anyway," Shade said, biting another purple peach.
The Rhino continued advancing over the cleared terrain, still littered with the shattered corpses of abominations from recent battles.
After a few hours, Miranda abandoned the dirt road and returned to the paved road, making for a smoother journey. Thanks to the Memory she had obtained and after studying it, she managed to complete the enchantment she had been working on for the past month.
After applying it to the Rhino, along with another to slightly reduce their presence, Shade was left with little to do but wait until they reached Erebus Field.
---
On the Rhino's system, Shade had insisted on installing a music player system, which had been totally worth it. Currently, one of Night & Gale's songs was playing, making the place feel almost lively.
Turning his head, Shade looked at his subordinates.
They were in the Rhino's small lounge, playing cards with soul fragments.
There were Lucien, Abel, Asher, Lily, and Tiffany, who was dealing the cards.
Undoubtedly a rather curious scene, to say the least.
Returning to his spot, he took the co-pilot's seat and closed his eyes for a while.
Shade returned to the mental space, entering his home, and saw Uriel lying lazily, reading the manga of The Strongest Disciple.
"Oh, looks like things are a bit boring," Uriel murmured.
"Yeah, they are. That's good. It feels like a necessary breather."
"Indeed. By the way, I was thinking about something."
"And what would that be?" Shade asked.
"It's about before coming to this world—or being sent here, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I do," Shade said, sitting down on the large sofa.
"I'm thinking about a writer."
Shade blinked but let Uriel continue.
"Though we never knew their name beyond their username, Ashfall wrote good stories, even though they always deleted them inexplicably."
Shade blinked and, after a moment, smiled.
"Oh, right. I remember you started an argument about one of their best and most promising stories, only for them to delete it an hour later."
"Yeah, that day I got angrier than ever before." Uriel blinked slowly. "I guess it's a shame. I was about to learn how to hack to find their address and threaten them to finish what they wrote."
"Too bad we got sent here and all that."
"I wonder what became of them."
"Surely better than us, still creating and deleting stories," Shade said.
"Anyway, Shade, I've noticed something."
"And what's that?"
"Why do I feel like I've forgotten something?"
"You mean Shadow Garden?"
"No, I gave Scarlet the mission to secure a citadel. Besides, the other agents are mixed in with the great clans as well as the government. It's something else."
Shade looked at Uriel for a few moments, then shrugged.
"I guess it's nothing important if you forgot it. Maybe we ask Soul to check our memory?"
"No. Let her rest. She'll have a lot of work when we get to Erebus. Same as us."
Shade stood up.
"Well, I have to go back before something happens. See you in two weeks for the swap," Shade said, then vanished.
Uriel remained staring at where his other self had been, with a strange feeling. He had recently noticed that his other self was acting a bit differently.
Usually, Shade was a joker, cheeky, someone who did what he wanted without caring about others' opinions. But since the Antarctic campaign began, he had recently been more tense and acting more mysteriously than before. He had even moved the fragments of the Second Nightmare, leaving only a few cycles.
Uriel didn't know exactly how many cycles he had repeated time during his Second Nightmare, but he knew it wasn't just a few dozen times.
Shade was hiding something, and he didn't like it at all. However, for now, he decided to trust him. After all, Shade was a version of himself within his own mind.
If he died, they both died, and they had enough trust to know everything about each other.
Lying down on the sofa, Uriel closed his eyes and began to sleep.
---
Shade opened his eyes, returning, noticing that no more than a few minutes had passed. His face remained calm, showing no emotion.
Time continued to pass slowly.
Three days of travel later, they were finally a few kilometers from reaching their objective.
"Lucien, contact the guard. Inform them of our arrival."
Lucien nodded, activated the transmitter, and sent a communication request to the facility. However, after a few minutes, nothing happened. He tried again, but there was no success.
"Captain, there seems to be interference due to the gates," he explained.
Shade frowned slightly.
As they approached, they got a view of the field, which was being attacked by a small horde of awakened monsters, repelled by turrets and military personnel positioned atop the walls.
As they approached the gates, they opened, revealing a familiar face to Shade.
The Rhino stopped, and from there, Shade descended through the hatch, stopping a few meters in front of the figure.
"Master Randal, it's been a while," Shade greeted with an amused smile.
"Kid, looks like you didn't have trouble getting to this place," said the veteran master.
"Just an abomination here and there, but nothing serious compared to this."
Randal sighed.
"Come in. We've been waiting for your arrival. Dale and the others are already gathered," the master said.
"I suppose Master Jet told you about my arrival."
"Yes, she told us before we lost communication."
Uriel raised an eyebrow. His cohort entered with the Rhino into the fortress city, guided by a military PTV that would take them to a waiting area.
"Lost communication? I thought you had a system that could avoid gate interference in these situations?"
"Yes, but due to the number of gates opening, they've started affecting communications. The technicians are working as fast as they can to repair it."
"I see," Shade murmured, following the master toward a building where the meeting would be held to inform about the events and plans that would affect the entire city.