“Hahahaha.” Kevin burst into laughter after hearing the reporter’s question, “Do you really wanna know the truth?”

  “Yeah, it has kinda been bothering me the whole day.” The reporter answered his curiosity reaching an all-time peak.

  “Alright then, listen closely, you ain’t gonna hear this from anywhere else.” Kevin smirked.

  He cleared his throat dramatically then began telling his tale. “When Eric was young he stepped on a mystical treasure that could breathe life into non-living. The result of that was that his shadow gained sentience. His shadow got tired of copying his every move, started rebelling. It would refuse to follow him at times, stand still when he walked, wave when he was still, so naturally, Eric had to discipline it.”

  "Discipline?" the reporter repeated, intrigued.

  "Yeah, he beat it up." Kevin nodded solemnly. "Had to teach it who was boss."

  The reporter blinked in shock. "Wait… how do you even beat up a shadow?"

  “Cough, cough.” Kevin coughed, waving his hand dismissively. "You shouldn’t get stuck on the details. Anyway, the shadow had a plan. One day, while Eric wasn’t alert, it packed its bags and ran away."

  The reporter's eyebrows shot up. "Packed its bags?"

  "I saw it with my own two eyes," Kevin said, placing a hand on his chest. "A shadow, dragging a huge shadow suitcase, slipping out of Eric's door. And you see how Eric's clothes don’t cast shadows either? That’s because the shadow took them too! When it met me at the front porch it yelled that it will return one day, stronger than ever, and force Eric to become the shadow instead. Since then Eric has donned the mantle the unshaded, forever untouched by shadows."

  The reporter's eyes widened as he imagined a dark silhouette lugging a suitcase down the street, whispering its vengeful promises as it ventured into the unknown.

  Turning to Eric who was silent the whole time, he asked. “Is this true?”

  “Don’t be fooled by him,” Eric spoke, breaking the reporter’s fantasy, “I was just… born shadow-less.”

  “Boring.” Kevin turned to the reporter. “My version’s way better. Isn’t it?”

  “By the way, you owe me money.” Eric said to Kevin.

  “What!” Kevin asked in disbelief.

  “I won the race.” Eric said showing his drone that had landed a while back.

  Kevin turned to look at his drone that was still idling at the far end of the room.

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  “No this race is invalid, it doesn’t count since we were interrupted.” Kevin scoffed and turned to look at the reporter. “Hey you what’s your name?”

  “Shabari.” Responded the reporter.

  “Shabari, do you know how to operate a drone?”

  “A little.” Shabari said cautiously.

  "Perfect! You’re in. We’re doing a rematch.” Kevin pulled the Shabari to his side, pointing at Eric “this time, no fancy pre-written software. Full manual control."

  Kevin shot a smug look at Eric.

  Eric heard his conditions and subconsciously let out a smile, “You must be dreaming if you think you can still win.”

  *****

  Outside, the sun had dipped past the horizon and the forest was gradually engulfed by being swallowed by dark shadows. On the main screen, the camera feeds flickered to life, broadcasting the surreal transformation taking place beyond the base. The once-uniform purple moss carpeting the ground had begun sprouting slender stalks with spherical tips that glowing faintly. Nocturnal creatures stirred from their burrows and dens, slinking into the open as the landscape underwent its nightly metamorphosis.

  Their tips pulsed with gentle luminescence, casting an illusion of a starry night laid across the forest floor. Slowly, glowing spores spewed from the tips, drifting into the air creating ethereal glowing streams that twisted and swirled in the gentle air currents.

  “What a breathtaking sight,” one of the researchers murmured, awed by the display.

  “It is,” another agreed before adding, “but don’t let its beauty fool you. Inhaling those spores will knock you unconscious in seconds.”

  Some of the warriors, sat at a computer terminal, maneuvering drones through the scene, guiding them to collect samples. The whir of its rotors hummed softly as they hovered above the glowing stalks, slender suction tubes extending to collect the floating spores into collection tubes. Meanwhile, more drones zipped through the undergrowth, capturing footage of the strange nocturnal creatures emerging from their hiding places.

  These creatures moved between trunks and branches with unnatural grace, some scampered up trees while others spread membranous wings, gliding effortlessly between trees. Among them were predators that lurked in the shadows waiting for an opportune time to strike.

  The first batch of drones returned, their payload secured in transparent vials, which were swiftly unloaded by the researchers.

  Taia furrowed her brows, her gaze lingering on the spores contained in the tubes. “I can feel something from them …” she drew the attention of those around her.

  She closed her eyes, concentrated further on one of the vials. “They’re emitting faint waves… It’s subtle, but these fluctuations seem to affect the soul itself.”

  A researcher’s eyes widened in realization. “So that’s why we couldn’t isolate a chemical cause for the narcoleptic effect!” he exclaimed. “It turns out the spores work through mystic influence rather than a biological mechanism.”

  Excited, he grabbed one of the vials and hurried off to the lab, eager to analyze it further. The rest of the researchers carefully packed the remaining vials into secured containers, preparing them for transport.

  “Well, if there’s nothing else,” Kevin said, stretching. “I’ve got some business to attend to.”

  ‘You mean goofing off?’ Eric thought as he followed.

  In the hangar, the two wasted sat opposite each other with their backs against each other. They had their interfaces open and were currently playing a game. It was a game where one of the player hid in the generated environment while the other hunted him down.

  “Come on, this time I’ve figured out a hiding spot that you wouldn’t even think off.” Kevin said confidently.

  “We’ll see about that.” Eric responded his tone amused.

  Taia, passing by, paused at the entrance, driven by curiosity she came by their side viewing the game they were playing.

  “You can join if interested.” Eric invited.

  “Okay send me the link.” She said as she naturally sat down between them.

  Soon there were three people sitting against each other playing mobile games. Occasionally you could hear cheers of joys or the grumblings of defeat.