Story Reader / Main Story / 31 Shaper's Ripples / Story
October 3
The rain passes, and the sky slowly brightens.
The Pyroath frame completes every test procedure, and with everything set, it's time to head out.
Amid the bustling crowd, you check <b><ud><color=#34aff8ff><link=1>Dominik's Invitation letter</link></color></ud></b> in hands again—now activated by the "Key" Cervantes provided. <i><color=#a8a8a8><size=30>(Tap the underlined text for details)</size></color></i>
You recall again the day you spotted that "letter" in the data stream.
This world now meets every requirement for using the "Key".
Keep in mind, once the "invitation" is activated by the "Key", it can no longer grant the invitee the power to become Dominik.
With an activated "invitation," you will be able to enter and utilize the Inver-Hetero Tower. If necessary, it can also be used to destroy and retrieve the tower's core.
Please note that destroying the tower's core will have severe consequences. This should only be used as a last resort.
Did "Dominik," the one who left that letter, already sense that the Hetero Zone would keep spreading?
Hello, Gray Raven Commandant.
A soft-spoken woman's voice interrupts the silence. She's dressed plainly, holding a bouquet of roses, and four others, dressed just as simply, stand behind her.
She lifts her head with a faint smile—she's the same person Lucia saved in the shelter that day.
Three others wanted to come, but they're still stuck in the hospital.
Yeah, we all really wanted to see our savior one more time.
She gently holds out the roses she's been carrying.
Please accept this bouquet...
I'm not totally sure what the Inver-Hetero Tower is all about. I just know everyone says this mission is critical—if it works out, we'll all be saved...
She grips the edge of her shirt, trying to find the right words.
I've overheard some other stuff... but really, none of it was your fault that day.
If Gray Raven hadn't been there, none of us would have made it this far.
My dad always said, "If the mountains stand, you'll never run out of firewood."As long as you're breathing, you can still do what you want. So... you heroes need to take care of yourselves too.
Take care of myself... yeah, seems like that's all I can do...
It's nothing, really. I just remembered what Uncle Shan said last night...
She smiles, scrunching her brow, her eyes brimming with a deep sadness.
I wish I could tag along... even if it gets dangerous, even if it could cost me my life, I'd still go.
That saying's meant for the heroes. We're not the "mountains"—Uncle Shan says only the heroes are the real deal.
It'd be great if we could be the "firewood" instead. Nobody wants to just sit around, useless, and end up rotting away.
Our conservation area's already been wiped out, so now we'll have to bunk with a bunch of other people. It feels like we'll be able to do less and less.
Hmm, we're all counting on you, and we'll be right here until you come back victorious.
You nod at the young girl, give a quick wave under her serious gaze, and walk towards Lucia.
Hang on, Commandant, Lucia—I've still got a few things I haven't packed yet.
Liv stares at the towering pile of crates, looking overwhelmed.
Hmm, I can't decide what to slip into my tactical pack.
Should I toss in another tube of healing gel, grab two extra vials of serum... or maybe throw in a box of spare rations?
We should pack something that'll be useful to Commandant.
Sure, let's take the serum.
So, you're gonna set up camp in the Inver-Hetero Tower?
...
Commandant, I'm ready. Our supplies are pretty limited, so if it gets too dangerous, please don't push yourself. Come back soon if you have to.
...
He stays silent, his face still serious as he keeps his gaze on the Inver-Hetero Tower in the distance.
...I wish I didn't have to, either.
But whenever someone from Gray Raven switches frames, they always end up in some tough situation.
Keep that optimistic talk for when you're back.
Lucia, you too—come back as soon as you can, and if things get rough, don't do anything rash.
I heard Miss Ayla and the World Government Association of Art have come up with a bunch of new coating designs. When you get back, let's go see them together.
Kind of like that summer, right?
Exactly—so don't keep us waiting too long.
I will.
Lucia lifts her hand once more, inviting you to join her.
Onward.
Lucia is our captain—I'm certain she'll protect you.
Apart from that, there's really no use worrying. I can't enter the Inver-Hetero Tower anyway.
...Just come back soon.
You take Lucia's outstretched hand and, with all eyes on you, make your way towards the Inver-Hetero Tower in the distance.
A twisted rift, sharp like scissors, waits quietly for both of you.
Yeah. There's been a disturbance on the western edge of the Clean Zone. People are already dealing with it.
We may not have long, but it's still enough. Let's move.
The closest companions appear anxious, while those standing a bit further away look on with envy.
Despite knowing the risks, they can't shake that sense of envy.
Hand in hand, you step through the dark portal.
Lucia finally exhales a sigh of relief after hearing all the memories retold.
It looks like the only memories that remain hazy are those from the Inver-Hetero Tower.
I'm guessing it's because you didn't have the "Key" on you back then... or maybe its abilities are limited. We also ran into Vonnegut's assault, so we had to pull out of the tower by force.
It's the "Activated <b><ud><color=#34aff8ff><link=1>Dominik's Invitation</link></color></ud></b>". Since that name is way too long, you decided to call it "Key" once we were inside the Inver-Hetero Tower. <i><color=#a8a8a8><size=30>(Tap the underlined text for details)</size></color></i>
Once we enter the Inver-Hetero Tower, we head deeper to look into everything.
Over time, we figure out that the Tower can send messages to my "past self." But this only works for me as a Construct, and only if that "past self" is infected does it actually get the message.
The Pyroath frame can read the Punishing virus, which sets it apart.
Inside the Inver-Hetero Tower, the space is much larger than Luna described. It feels like you're slowly exploring a maze-like city on foot, and it eats up a huge amount of time.
From what we've uncovered, you figure the Punishing Virus actually has a fourth-dimensional property. The Tower's time-warping abilities rely on that very feature.
We're trying to use this power to change the past—like preventing the conservation area from missing its relocation that night, or stopping the disaster at Pulia Forest Park... and everything that followed with Liv.
Or even further—like something that happened during the Kowloong Metropolis battle.
But most of those ideas don't pan out. Some barely help at all, and others make things worse: the people we try to save get ambushed en route, and the backup we call in always arrives too late.
Suddenly, you said with confidence that the Tower was acting strange. Then you used the "Key" to intercept every message sent to the past, erasing all the changes we had made.
It looks like we all get them, in the end.
Still, those memories are hazy, almost dreamlike. They haven't changed anything, and just to be sure, they got corrected too.
...
Yeah. At least, I've never recalled a successful outcome in the Inver-Hetero Tower—only failures... or the times you were badly hurt.
We keep digging into it for a long while, until we notice the Red Tide gathering at one spot through the cracks in the tower.
Hearing that triggers your most disturbing memories.
All across the floor of the Inver-Hetero Tower, tiny cracks are forming, like someone brought the Red Tide in and then took it away to another point in time.
...It's too late...
You recall that in a dream, the doll from your memories once whispered these exact words.
...
74.
Lucia forces out the number, refusing to relive the tears and time lost with every rewind and death. She leaves your shared horrors unspoken, letting these "side effects" pile up until her memories blur into a tangled mess.
In this haze of fragmented memories, the two of you rely on the power of the "Key" to send precise information back into the past.
The Tower teems with strange creatures and baffling illusions, and Vonnegut remains in it too...
He's forever seeking to fuse himself with "Chaos", leading to several clashes between them.
Commandant...
She softly calls you, her smile tinged with bitterness.
Okay... As we pin down where the Red Tide converges, we uncover some traces of Vonnegut's movements. It looks like he's up to something at that convergence point.
We still don't fully understand what he's trying to accomplish, so we grab a few samples and make sure to store our findings in the Phantom Tracer.
Since we've done everything we can for now, we should probably head back and brief the Science Council.
After that... I'm pretty sure that's when the accident occurred.
Yes. While I was accessing the data, it started shaking violently and fell into the Red Tide... I picked it up, so I've had it ever since.
Lucia produces the activated "Key" and passes it to you.
You said the exact same thing when we first scooped it up from the Red Tide.
She slips the downsized "Key," customized by Cervantes, into her camouflaged tactical pocket. As she does, a small origami four-leaf clover pops into view.
It's the same four-leaf clover you and Lucia folded while running routine mission tests.
Yeah. We made it together, and since it's so light, I've kept it with me ever since.
She carefully tucks away the clover origami and the "Key", then looks up, pausing to stare down the street in silence for a moment.
You remember what happened after that, don't you?
As we approached the Inver-Hetero Tower's exit, you suddenly went missing. We searched everywhere but couldn't find you. Only Vonnegut was left inside.
You thought once you got through those setbacks on the way back, the only thing left would be your final battle against Vonnegut. But it turns out there's an even murkier stretch of memory you're forgetting.
It feels like a soft breeze drifting by—only its touch remains, and you just can't hold on to the wind.
I really thought Vonnegut took you away again, but then he told me...
...that you were "in the process of dying."
Nothing about life, death, or even time is normal in the Inver-Hetero Tower. I'm not sure what he means by that, but I'm convinced he's involved in why you've vanished.
I was in a fight with him when Cradle suddenly dived into the chaos. She said she had realized that if she didn't kill us, she wouldn't finish what she set out to do.
I suspect she lurks in the Tower all along and... hurts you more than once, though we never notice.
After all, most of our battles here have been with those Hetero-Creatures inside. The only person who appeared from time to time is Vonnegut—but do those creatures really answer to him alone?
Her abilities are way beyond what we first thought—neither I nor that Agent can keep her under control for long.
Could be. He is on high alert around her during that skirmish.
By the way... do you remember how the Phantom Tracer digs up Vonnegut mentioning the "<b><ud><color=#34aff8ff><link=2>Agent Zero</link></color></ud></b>" from another era?
None of us really got what that meant back then, but after running into Cradle in the Inver-Hetero Tower, I couldn't help thinking... is it pointing to her?
I'm not entirely sure, but the moment I met Cradle, she made her hostility crystal clear—both toward us and those humanoid Hetero-Creatures at Vonnegut's side.
<b><ud><color=#34aff8ff><link=4>Chaos</link></color></ud></b>? So that little humanoid Hetero-Creature goes by that name?
Lucia furrows her brow, her expression darkening.
How do you know her name...? Wait, why didn't you tell me sooner?
How can you possibly tell her you learned everything about "Chaos" through dreams? And how do you let her know that, in those dreams, you always end up taking the same path?
You mean before heading into the Inver-Hetero Tower?
A dream? You're talking about those odd dreams you mentioned before, right?
...So the reason you're helping Vonnegut is tied to all this, isn't it?
You really don't remember?
...
...I was locked in a tense three-way standoff with Vonnegut and Cradle. The fight went on forever, and it was only by matching Cradle's attack rhythm that we finally pushed Vonnegut to the brink...
But then... you showed up on the steps of the Inver-Hetero Tower, that humanoid Hetero-Creature by your side, and you commanded me to join forces with Vonnegut.
She sighs, like she just can't wrap her head around this outcome.
Exactly. I was having a really tough time accepting it, but you didn't offer any explanation. You just kept insisting I help Vonnegut take down Cradle.
Maybe you discovered another truth during that time, but you never got the chance to explain yourself.
Still, you were clinging to that humanoid Hetero-Creature's hand... as if you've decided to go along with Vonnegut's plan, ready to accept becoming one with her.
At this point, she anxiously pulls your hand closer, checking whether the spot where the Hetero-Creature touched you is showing any signs of decay.
...Why would you do that? What exactly happened?
This memory is especially hard to piece together, but it's not without leads. It leaves behind a profound sense of despair—like every terrible suspicion has been confirmed.
(If I actually ran into Chaos—the one from my dreams—and saw those dreamlike images in real life, would I walk over just to confirm if they're real?)
...While you're lost in these thoughts, a familiar figure darts by in the distance.
...
What?!
Together with Lucia, you follow Chaos as you step onto the streets of Constellia.
You're not sure why, but Vonnegut's final words surface in your mind once more.
It's time to bring this drawn-out feud to a close.
For that Agent, is this where the final battle will unfold?
