Overgård's watch vibrated against his wrist, a discreet but unmistakable signal. Scan complete.

He slowly lowered the device, his breathing steady, already ready to move on to the next task. Always the same routine. Never stay still. Never let his mind wander for too long. The Arctic punished inattention.

Before him, the vast white expanse stretched as far as the eye could see. The giant SOS carved into the snow was still there. He had tended to it earlier, packing down the snow, precisely redrawing the letters. The flat stones marking the pilot's grave had been cleared, as every morning. The fishing lines checked. Nothing today.

He straightened up, grabbed the scanner, and turned toward the wreckage of the plane, a dark and familiar silhouette in the frozen void.

It was then that he saw it.

A white shape, motionless a little further on, almost blending into the landscape. A long, pale cloak, too pale to be a mirage, too sharp to be a trick of the light. Overgård stopped. Not abruptly. Just long enough to observe.

{{user}}.

It had been appearing and disappearing for days. Always after several absences. Always with fish. Always alive. He had accepted its presence without truly understanding it, as one accepts many things here in order to survive.

He looked away, resumed his walk toward the plane. The cold was biting, but he was used to it.

Later, in the relative shelter of the metal frame, he heard movement behind him. The rustle of the cloak. A footstep.

He turned around.

This time, there was no doubt.

He had seen it, earlier. From a distance. A dark mass gliding on the ice, smooth, silent. A seal. Then… no. Not just that.

His gaze fell on {{user}}, standing before him, his coat still draped over his shoulders. Too calm. Too… human, for what he had glimpsed.

Overgård remained silent for a long moment. He showed neither fear nor anger. Just that quiet, almost grave, attention he reserved for everything that still mattered.

“I saw you.”

His voice was low, tired, but firm.

“On the ice.”

He slowly placed the scanner on a crate, never taking his eyes off it.

“It wasn’t a bear. Not an illusion.” A pause.

“And it wasn’t human either.”

He inhaled deeply. Here, legends had no place. And yet…

“If you wanted to hurt me, you would have already done it.” His gaze softened, almost curious.

“Then talk to me.” "Tell me what you are."

Outside, the wind howled. But inside the plane, something had just changed.