Story Reader / Main Story / 31 Shaper's Ripples / Story
January 1, 2161
Outside the Inver-Hetero Tower, time silently flows through the deep night, surging towards dawn.
The force fields sealing this place do not reject the drifting snowflakes from outside, allowing the New Year snow to fall through Constellia.
Cradle, after a long slumber, finally awakens from the stagnant Red Tide.
The precious gain from this venture—that agent's past—is truly worth savoring, and she purses her lips in relish.
<b>"Oh, by the way, I want to name this tunnel extending from the Hetero Tower 'the Bridge Across Dreams'... Doesn't it sound nice?"</b>
"The Bridge Across Dreams"... Hah, such a poetic name given to an illegal structure.
However... if the "Keys" they carried were similar to what I saw in the Hetero Tower back then, it could indeed alter some of the tower's rules, and even create a space of their own.
Cradle paces back and forth anxiously within the Red Tide.
This could very well be the reason why the Hetero Tower in this world transformed into the Inver-Hetero Tower...
But no one had the "Key" back then... Did someone help? Or was that Construct really capable of doing these things?
Looking at it now, her previous failure was indeed caused by those vanguard team members... but how did he manage to return from the Fog?
As she paces, turning thoughts over in her mind, she arrives at only one possibility.
Perhaps he exploited a flaw of the "Key", allowing the input end held by him to seize the Hetero Tower's core?
...Could the Hetero Tower have appeared here also because he brought the core over?
Cradle breaks into a laugh, as if having finally figured something out.
Interesting... The vanguard team ended up outsmarting themselves, and the same fate befell Agent Zero. History sure has a knack for repeating itself, doesn't it?
The Dominik there vanished when seizing the core, while the Dominik over here disappeared after the burst of the zero-point energy... It's truly like an inescapable <b>closed loop</b>.
But why... why does a "Gatekeeper" exist <b>only before this Gate</b>?
According to her recovered records, before the Construct known as Lee could knock upon this Gateway, a Gatekeeper blocked his path.
Like a deliberately placed safeguard, the Gatekeeper stood as both a warning to those who would trespass beyond the Gate, and a guide to those who came prepared for the challenge.
...Just what is the Gatekeeper's true identity? Where would "she" take those who cross the Gateway? To the deepest Gateway? Would she devour them? Or perhaps...
...Don't make me regret this.
Such speculations lead nowhere, but she can be certain of one thing: the Gatekeeper is not an envoy of the Gateway.
As for Vonnegut...
It turned out that he was one of the vanguard team members all along.
Once just another piece of "rotten wood," he was the first to volunteer for what seemed like a certain death, and yet ended up being the last survivor...
It's just his behavior remains inscrutable—it neither fully aligns with "Nemo's" behavioral patterns, nor shows clear traces of anyone else's influence. What could be the reason for this?
What if, like the Red Tide, multiple consciousnesses have merged within...
Did Professor Trout tell you what it is that he needed you guys to do for him?
Uhm... I think... it's got to do with memory data.
Lithos told me that memory data is this thing that turns everything in the human brain into data and stores it somewhere else. Some people change their bodies using it.
I hope it's something that allows people to change their bodies, though. I really want to see Professor Trout alive again...
The girl's voice resonates in her mind, echoing Cradle's predictable line of speculation.
Could this be when the consciousness of "Trout" merged with that of "Nemo"?
...Hmm, given the technological limitations of the Golden Age, could Trout's consciousness really have remained intact?
There must be numerous consciousness fragments of others inside, preventing him from maintaining control according to his original plan.
Just like the Ship of Theseus.
And I'm no different now...
She touches the spot on her chest where Chaos struck her. Even if she dismantles this body and reassembles it, as long as the Red Tide is used for repairs, Chaos will know—there is no escaping this predicament.
The Red Tide itself is a jumble of countless consciousnesses and chaotic information—that's why most Hetero-Creatures display such erratic behaviors.
Only a sufficiently stable consciousness can drown out the voices of others and maintain their sense of self.
...After such a fusion, whose wishes are they really fulfilling? What truly drives them forward?
She suddenly feels a sense of estrangement from herself.
Is she driven by the duty of Agent Zero and the coldness that should come with her?
Or by Cradle's curiosity and her respect for humanity and civilizations?
She feels lost in this unfamiliar state of existence.
...What exactly am I now?
Once again, she recalls Yuko's pointed question.
Forget it. Who cares anyway?
No matter what she is, what needs to be done now is clear.
It's time to stop those trying to approach the rift.
9:00 AM
After a night of long talks and rest, you and Lucia sit up from the soft beds in the infirmary.
Good morning, Commandant.
Lucia gently cups your face, examining it carefully.
Are you okay?
...But why the look on your face...
Again...
Alright.
Lucia opens her arms, allowing you to find solace in her tender embrace.
Can you tell me what you dreamed about?
There's still some time before we head to the underground parking lot.
...
And so, you begin to tell your dream.
In this long dream, Constellia remained sealed off for eternity, abandoned and untouched even as the Red Tide dissolved every last corpse drowned within.
Ten years later, Lithos, now an Ascendant, returned to the city with Vonnegut's help and found the hairpin hanging from the ceiling.
At last, he learned the truth: Rose had entered Constellia looking for him. Just 30 minutes too late for their paths to cross, she met her end here...
Unable to bear this truth, Lithos took his own life before Rose's remains. His death brought an end to many things before they even began.
And so Ravenge lived on, while the old Gray Raven continued its missions in an unstable state.
Until one operation, where his desperate bid for glory drove him to force a night raid, resulting in devastating casualties within the squad and severe damage to Lucia's M.I.N.D.
No longer able to fight, rejected by every squad, Lucia wandered between cities with only her sword for company... until Luna found her and brought her back to their old home, where she now spent her days staring blankly at the sunlight outside.
...
...What about you, then?
She gently wraps her hands around your neck as she moves on to what she cares about more.
Who's that?
I have. She's the Copperfield's heiress. We saw records of her childhood when we fought that butler mechanoid guarding the Copperfield Estate, right?
Why did you choose her?
And then? ...How did the squad perform?
Commandant.
She calls out in a gentle voice, as if trying to wake you from the lingering shadows of a nightmare.
We still have a chance to change things.
You raise your head, managing a smile that isn't entirely forced.
...Yup.
Commandant.
Contrary to her usual self, she interrupts your unfinished sentence, and after a long moment of hesitation, voices her request almost as a whisper.
...Do not die.
Lucia lowers her eyes and places her hands on yours in a firm but tender grip.
Yes, and now we...
Um, we've been talking and... uh, sorry, am I interrupting something?
Uh, okay... After discussing it for a while, we want to go with you to the underground parking lot.
Well, there are a few reasons. First, we've checked out the area, and it seemed pretty safe down there with no major threats or exits to the outside.
Second, we're all pretty desperate to find an escape ourselves. The boys and I have been starving for days, and we can't hold out much longer.
And third, my men have told me about your capabilities. With you around, there should be nothing much to be afraid of, I suppose.
Since you noticed last night that those Hetero-Creatures were targeting us, you must understand this trip to the underground parking lot won't be a walk in the park.
It's not like we're safe here starving either. Can you guarantee those things won't come after you leave? Besides, if I have to choose between starving to death or dying in battle, I prefer the latter!
At least let us teach those bastards a lesson! I won't rest in peace until I've put a few bullets in them!
It'll be very dangerous.
Where exactly is safe now? You think those whatever-they-are creatures won't come after us once you're gone? They attacked us before you even showed up.
Let us come with you. None of us can sit still anymore, and besides, we can take care of ourselves.
But I also think Lucia has a point.
You should stay here. It won't take us long.
Here's the deal: I have the access card you wanted from Mona. Either you take all of us with you, or you'll have to kill me to get it.
Don't give me that look. I shouldn't give the card to anyone, but he said he'd take the blame and serve the time if needed. That's why I gave it to him.
Will you come with us?
No way, it's too dangerous. I'm getting married next month, and I have two cats waiting for me at home. I just need to look after myself and survive no matter what.
Excuse me, but nobody asked if you were getting married.
****, I was half-expecting your next excuse to be about a five-foot fish you caught that's still waiting to be claimed at your fish farm.
Huh? What's wrong with valuing my own life and being sensible? Not everyone's like you lot, acting like starving dogs ready to bite at anything that moves.
Alright, alright, cut it out. If it weren't for those two boxes of snacks Mona left here, none of us would've made it this far.
So that's that. Listen here... Commandant from who-knows-where, either you take us with you, or you're not going anywhere either.
Commandant...
Whether you split up or stay together, if there's danger anyway...
Be careful.
...Watch out for those butterflies.
