month chat rogue 2 2 2

The Ægir knows the soldier is telling the truth. Before the war began, people from the Inquisition taught them how to recognize sea monsters in human skin. Whether Sea Terror or Seaborn, they could only imitate a human's walking posture, but actually had to rely on pushing their chitinous exoskeletons or tentacles against the ground. These would be revealed if they suddenly fell, or were made to move quickly.

But that was the past. Evolution is their specialty, after all. Half a month ago, a forward base received a distress signal from a nearby battle site and sent a team to rescue a group of remnants trapped by an army of Sea Terrors. That night, the forward base fell. Even its fortifications were unable to serve their purpose, because it was breached from the inside.

Nobody could say for certain whether the Sea Terrors imitated the soldiers after devouring them, or if the soldiers accepted the metamorphosis themselves out of desperation. People came to realize that the faces most familiar to them could turn into enemies at any moment. Fear and mistrust spread among the people, and the defense lines started collapsing faster and faster.

Researchers claimed that the biological nature of the Seaborn would prevent them from ever understanding what it means to conspire. Most likely, they simply smelled the 'metamorphosis' of their kin among the crowd of people, and were eager to approach them, to communicate with them in a more easily acceptable form, and to welcome them home.

But the vast majority of people scoffed at this. For humanity, this was a war. During times of war, people always use the ways they are most familiar with to understand their enemy.

'What if this is also a trap? She didn't come to save us, but to lead us into the abyss.' The soldier speaks through gritted teeth, eyes bloodshot from excessive fatigue. 'We can't sit back waiting to die. You might not have a home to return to anymore, but I do. I have to get back to Victoria.'