My Eighth Ordeal Of The Midnight

The passage of time felt like an ominous crawl. With every second, the calm that blanketed the battlefield seemed less like a reprieve and more like a prelude to chaos. The air shifted—an almost imperceptible change that only someone as attuned to Carcosa's peculiarities as I was could sense. 

The Ordeal of the Midnight was moments away, and with it, the horrors that would stretch our bastion's defenses to their limits.

I remained atop the observation deck of the Landship, my gaze locked on the horizon. The faint hum of distortion that marked the transition from Dusk to Midnight buzzed in my mind like a warning.

Charis stood beside me, silent yet alert, her ivory hair catching the faint glimmer of Carcosa's twisted moonlight. In her arms, Lupina lay comfortably, her disembodied head showing no signs of concern.

Why? Because she was dead asleep.

"How is she still asleep?" I murmured, half to myself.