There were around five hundred troopers in the hall, all divided into seeker squads, military soldiers, pilots, and the rest. The corners of the hall stretched wide
So, when the commander's gaze fell over Azuma for no reason, he wondered if he was mistaking things but his eye certainly looked at him.
No words were spoken but that gaze lingered for an odd moment before the supreme commander's astral projection flickered away from the central platform.
"Well," Yukine mumbled, "This dude certainly knows how to make everything sound insulting."
Azuma glanced again at the troopers in white uniforms. They were few and getting further away from his sight. There was a feeling in his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time.
He was not sure what to do.
『I will be waiting.』
"So, do you want to head to the cafeteria now?" Azuma asked Yukine.
Truth be told, Azuma was not good at making friends. But Yukine has a side of him that grows onto you. Thinking they might be able to get together, Azuma asked.
"Or train?"
"That will be great," Yukine smiled sheepishly, "But I must meet up with my friends now. The squad always eats together."
"Ah, yes…" Azuma was at a loss for words.
"Why don't you join us? They are all pretty cool!"
"Oh… I …"
This was the first time Yukine saw Azuma appear so hesitant. He had always given off a calm and cool air.
Yukine grinned and patted Azuma's shoulder, "It's alright if you have other things to do."
"Sorry," Azuma mumbled, "and thanks."
Yukine shook his head and wanted to say something before someone called his name.
Azuma followed his gaze, it was Haru. "Well, goodbye."
Yukine hesitated but then simply smiled, "See you later!"
The hall was gradually emptying out, none of the ghost fleet troopers could be seen and Azuma wondered about Shiro once again. The two of them were no longer kids, and it has been so long since they last saw each other.
She might have sent him the wrong message…
He left the hall as well, walking towards his quarters as his fingers pulled out the system menu.
Only he could see what he was doing, for everyone else it was simply a translucent screen with blurry content.
Azuma opened his contact list, with an unexpected impatience.
『Shiro 』
『Status: disconnected.』
He froze.
The system is never disconnected on earth. Even after so many satellites stopped working, the NAB was created in a way that it can still perform a lot of its functions.
It always keeps the host connected for security purposes.
…as long as they are on earth.
There is only one place unbound by the laws of earth.
"Azuma–san?"
A deep unfamiliar voice called his name. The man seemed to be in his thirties, with a calm but sharp gaze. He was clad in a black suit and armor.
Hansuke Touma, the commander of Ghost Fleet.
A moment passed in silence and Azuma could feel what was coming, the grief Azuma refused to accept was clearly reflected in the commander's gaze.
His heart sank.
+ + +
"We reached very far, much much further than the boundary of the fourth level. It was… I can't explain. It's hard to remember the details, the things we saw and felt were overwhelming."
Jaxon Park was the seeker who last saw Shiro. He seemed to be only a few years older than her, but his exhausted eyes made him appear much older.
He struggled to breathe, there were words he wanted to add but no sound came out.
The young man was lying over a ventilator, heavy eyes drowsily blinking as his breaths fogged the oxygen mask.
"Jaxon is the only member of the squad who made it out," Commander Hansuke stated as he looked away, "There were seventeen members under Captain Shiro."
Azuma was unable to say anything nor was he sure how to feel but there was a creeping numbness that echoed in the emptiness of his heart.
Time was hard to track inside Abyss, but Jaxon said a month passed since he last saw Shiro.
Azuma clenched his fist, the fingers slightly trembled.
"What about a search team?"
Commander Hansuke's gaze was unreadable, "She was devoured by the Mistfall Graves."
The Mistfall Graves, also known as The Suicidal Fog, referred to the thick blanket of mist that hangs over the edge of the fourth level.
No one has ever been able to return from there and yet, many seekers have plunged themselves inside the mist under mysterious reasons. They were all aware of the dangers.
The Mistfall Graves was declared a Red Zone last year.
Azuma glanced at the seeker who was on the verge of death. The red zones were too fatal, not even search teams could be formed and dispatched there.
He averted his gaze, forcing his mind to work, to make sense out of the situation. But there was only a gnawing emptiness that made him unable to think.
Shiro…
The Abyss had taken everything from him.
In the end, Azuma only whispered in a dry voice.
"I wish I could go there."
But he knew that was impossible.
Commander Hansuke was silent for a while as his mind was deep in thoughts but then he glanced at the young boy and asked.
"What makes you think you can't?"
Azuma wondered if the commander was joking, "I am not a seeker, sir."
"Let's say you become one," Hansuke dismissed his words, "Then do you think you can descend into the Abyss? It carries horrors that surpass our understanding."
Azuma nodded without missing a beat.
The commander held his gaze firmly as if to see any signs of reluctance, there were none.
The Abyss had caused Azuma to stay awake for many nights, there were haunting memories and nightmares, but there was also a hope that flickered in his heart.
"The weak are bound to fall."
Azuma had vowed to become the strongest.
The light of those dreams faded gradually after he was removed from the position of a trooper. But the lingering desire was always there.
Now that he lost another loved one to the Abyss, why won't he descend?
Azuma was the first one to look away, he could feel that warm sensation creeping behind his vision. It caused a cold uneasiness to creep inside, but the feeling gradually receded.
There was a long silence.
Jaxon Park sometimes mumbled about seeing the bottom of the Abyss, about phantoms with no faces, and demons that tormented souls.
"The Abyss badly impaired his mental health." Hansuke said, "Jaxon is one of our strongest fleet members."
"If there's nothing else," Azuma turned away, "I should leave."
The effects of the medicine he had tried to ignore for so long worsened as his heart became more conflicted. His eyes were heavy and something inside of him was becoming cold with dread.
Azuma tried to ignore this all too familiar feeling when the commander tossed something in his direction. He grabbed it instinctively without looking back.
It was a white card.
Azuma froze, his eyes slightly widening.
Something shifted in Commander Hansuke's gaze as he walked past Azuma and then paused for a moment. His observing eyes glanced at Azuma.
"It would be best to descend in the morning."