Story Reader / Main Story / 31 Shaper's Ripples / Story
Before it all unfolds, here is a <phonetic=lie>secret</phonetic> that Lucia would keep forever hidden.
In truth, the moment she entered Constellia, her Pyroath frame received messages from the future. In those glimpses, she saw nine different endings that would unfold after leaving Constellia.
That was why she remained so quiet all along, deliberately avoided Deep M.I.N.D. connection, and constantly checked on the commandant's well-being through physical touch.
The future...
At first, she refused to yield to those messages from the future.
After meticulous analysis and careful contemplation, Lucia believed that if she could return to her original era before the Inver-Hetero Tower's complete collapse, none of these nine futures would come to pass.
Yet, Agent Zero staunchly opposed this notion—much like the 74 time rewinds within the tower, looming disasters and shadows persistently entangled them both.
Sometimes, it was an overwhelming tide of Hetero-Creatures surging from all directions.
Sometimes, it was seemingly harmless traps that enticed them to investigate, only to suddenly spring into action without warning.
Open terrain tended to shift and transform into mazes.
And those mazes would suddenly collapse, with deadly ambushes from all sides.
It was as if the tower possessed its own consciousness, actively rejecting all intruders.
The only moment of peace came when they approached the Inver-Hetero Tower's core... Only under that blue radiance would Agent Zero's schemes be momentarily subdued.
...Agent Zero.
With Agent Zero's relentless presence and watchful eye fixated on Lucia, exploring the tower felt like entering a magic house where its master could alter everything at will, making progress utterly impossible.
Even after they left the tower, this curse-like shadow has lingered, inexorably pushing her towards those nine endings.
In the first ending, she loses the ability to rewind time and falls victim to Agent Zero. A year subsequent to Constellia succumbing to the Red Tide, the outer layer is breached—and the world is ultimately consumed by the Red Tide.
In the second ending, Chaos takes her place when she is unable to rewind time again, taking away her commandant... and what happens after remains unknown.
In the third ending, she gives up on rewinding time and returns to Babylonia with all the intelligence and samples from the Inver-Hetero Tower. However, she's continuously bombarded by chaotic information from various timelines and unknown corruption, ultimately dying the moment she returns to the Inver-Hetero Tower.
In the fourth ending, with Vonnegut's temporary aid, she rewinds time to save the commandant. However, Agent Zero seizes the Hetero Tower's core during the battle—leaving nothing but a field of corpses drowning in blood, devoid of any survivors.
In the fifth ending, with Vonnegut's temporary aid, she rewinds time to save the commandant, and manages to melt down the Hetero Tower's core before Agent Zero can destroy everything.
However, you, as the commandant, choose to merge with Chaos to compensate for the consequences of the core's removal. In her attempt to stop this, Lucia is hurled into the rift by Vonnegut... and what happens after remains unknown.
The sixth ending begins the same, but Agent Zero then finds an opportunity to strike back, dragging everyone into the rift before causing the Hetero Tower to collapse... What happens after remains unknown.
In the seventh ending, after the core's meltdown, Lucia seems to spend endless years beside the rift of the Hetero Tower, until she finally collapses from exhaustion, dying alone before the rift.
In the eighth ending, Lucia holds her ground before the rift of the Hetero Tower until the very end, only to be blocked by Vonnegut on her way back. Exhausted from the endless battles, she can no longer fight back—and dies outside the Hetero Tower.
The ninth ending... She holds on until the final moment, allowing you to safely escape the Hetero Tower with the seized core. She bears every possible burden until her body, enveloped by the Fog, crumbles into nothingness... What happens after remains unknown.
...
Across these nine endings, the world's destiny undulates, intricately entwined with that of the commandant, and yet for her alone—there exists not even a glimmer of hope for survival.
She refused to surrender to these prophetic visions, but here she is, pushed by an invisible force, standing at the crossroads of fate.
Should she forcefully rewind time now?
None of those cryptic "visions" reveal a clear path forward. The road to these fragmented glimpses of tomorrow still needs to be discovered step by step.
Is there really no other way?
...
She stands alone before the rift—the place she and the commandant promised to reach together. Her hand clutches the nearly shattered, unresponsive "Key" as despair and rage threaten to consume her heart.
She cannot fall here. She cannot give up now.
Among those nine endings, only one path hints at a possible solution to save you without destroying the core.
...I need to take all the data back to our original era first...
Back there she still has Babylonia, the other members of Gray Raven, the Science Council, and Gestalt. With everyone's strength gathered, she will find a way to change things, find a solution—even if it still means her inevitable death.
I won't give up... Even if I have to break the very time that binds us... I will never give up.
Crossing the rift, she steps once more onto this unfinished path home.
Over the rifts where the Red Tide gathers.
Avoiding the anomalies born from the Inver-Hetero Tower's collapse.
Past one location after another, each etched with memories of death and suffering, until the exit—once just within reach—finally appears once more.
I'll be back for you soon, Commandant...
However, at the very moment of crossing the exit, of leaving the Inver-Hetero Tower...
The world that slowly unfolds before her eyes is nothing but an unfamiliar wasteland.
Flowing lines trace the streets and alleys, voids fill where light and shadow should be, as the faded scenery is now turned into withered paper.
Standing before this incomprehensible scene, she is momentarily adrift, losing all sense of direction.
...What is this place?
A space beyond Earth? The "Fog" Vonnegut mentioned? A far too distant future?
Or perhaps... this is the "present" shaped by the Red Tide within Constellia?
...
Her grief-stricken heart plunges into the abyss once again.
...Hello?!
She calls out, but her voice is drowned out by the unknown, not even reaching her own ears.
She attempts to propel herself to leap over this bizarre scenery, but her frame, like the "Key" itself, remains unresponsive.
In this stagnant landscape of unsolvable mysteries, she takes but a single step forward—and her fingers begin to turn pale.
Another step, and her forearms dissolve into lines matching the scenery.
This is a world devoured by silence, devoid of any living being or energy, as if the third dimension itself has been stripped away, leaving nothing but a desolate, blank page.
...?
In this endless expanse of nothingness, only the Hetero Tower behind her remains unaffected.
She gazes once again at the crack-covered "Key" in her hand, recalling the intelligence discovered in the Inver-Hetero Tower and those nine futures.
Too much time has been spent in Constellia. That quick and stable ending, once within such easy reach, is now forever closed off.
Perhaps only one path remains now—one that could save you and prevent the world from falling into doom.
...The ninth... ending...
It will be a relentless struggle, fraught with uncertainty—each step laden with the risk of dragging all into the unfathomable abyss.
Even though she has steeled herself to bear all consequences alone, the lingering uncertainties and their hidden dangers still weigh heavily on her mind.
...But I can't wait any longer.
Lucia tightens her grip on her sword's hilt and turns around once more.
And so she returns to the Inver-Hetero Tower.
After another grueling journey, she once again finds the agent standing near the blue core at its center.
Her relentless fury is unleashed into a fierce battle, where Lucia seizes Vonnegut's precious "Key" and holds her blade against her throat.
As you said, it's time to put an end to this far too long entanglement.
She must obtain the time-rewinding item from Vonnegut, but before that, Lucia needs to use this opportunity to extract some information.
I'm not the one who killed the commandant.
You are one of them.
She forces out a near-mocking sneer, directed at all those trapped in their predicament—herself included.
Your plan all along was to have Cradle and me slaughter each other.
You wanted to use this to separate me from Commandant, so you could carry out your plans without my interference.
You not interfering with my time rewinding... it was all just to keep Commandant <color=#00ffffff>alive long enough to prepare for fusion</color>, so you could merge Commandant with Chaos.
Her unquenchable grief and rage guide her trembling blade into Chaos' neck, leaving a deep wound.
...
What exactly did you do to the world outside? What did you tell Commandant? Why would Commandant suddenly ask me to help you?
If you're referring to those rifts and the Red Tide outside, those are exactly what I'm trying to prevent.
No, I'm talking about the world outside. Why is there nothing left but blank spaces and lines now?
...What did you say?
You don't know? There's no sign of life out there anymore! Not even scenery—everything visible has been reduced to just outlines!
...
...The Inver-Hetero Tower's collapse is more severe than I estimated.
EXPLAIN. YOUR. SELF.
The blade sinks several millimeters deeper with each furious grind of her teeth. The Red Tide flows out from the wound like blood, only to dissolve under the influence of the Omega Core.
...
The Inver-Hetero Tower's collapse has caused massive displacement of its exits, even transporting you to another future—one frozen at the brink of doom.
Another future?
Indeed. Initially, only the "bridge" was connected to that future. With Agent Zero's continued influence over the Inver-Hetero Tower, it would be effortless for her to steer you away from your desired destination.
Don't concern yourself too much with it. That future isn't yours to deal with.
All you need to know is that the root cause of these problems lies in both the collapse of the Inver-Hetero Tower and Agent Zero—namely, Cradle.
Cradle must destroy the Inver-Hetero Tower to counter the rewritten core.
That's the exact reason I am remaining here, to prevent Cradle from taking further actions... You must have already noticed two things: my hostile relationship with her, and how the Hetero Tower's exits lead to the wrong timelines.
...
Lucia has indeed noticed them long ago.
At the final destination within the Inver-Hetero Tower lied the convergence of rifts and the Red Tide.
Alright, I'll start gathering the data.
She leaned forward, using Pyroath's power to transfer the data—absorbed from the Punishing through the Omega Core—into the drone, reconstructing it as a holographic projection.
...
Just as I thought, it's them.
When you escaped through that exit, did you reach the correct time?
The doll, bound within the egg-like chamber, responded only with silence.
Do you still think that was <color=#ff4e4eff><b>also</b></color> my doing?
...
I have but one goal: to make you become Agent Zero.
As long as Agent Zero doesn't steal your will, you're free to use your obtained authority however you wish.
...
Vonnegut's projected figure knelt by the Red Tide where the rifts converged, tossing fragments of unknown composition into its depths.
We'll establish a new interference point here. Though the corruption process will be lengthy, it's stable and secure enough. If this method fails, we'll have no choice but to take the riskier path.
The more she uses the Red Tide, the more easily she'll consume this information... making the chains of humanity bind her further.
When her attention is diverted by trivial matters and insignificant desires, the destruction of the Inver-Hetero Tower will slow down as well.
Besides those messages sent to the past... most of what we've found points to this: Vonnegut is interfering with the Red Tide—maybe he's trying to stall Agent Zero?
When he mentioned taking "the riskier path," could he be referring to having you merge with that humanoid Hetero-Creature?
Could he be talking about sending messages to other times, or the time one ends up after leaving the tower?
There's a record we found earlier where Vonnegut said before the core, "If the Inver-Hetero Tower continues to get destroyed like this, the times it can interfere with will become chaotic."
Should we head back first?
Alright.
As the two of you work together on another round of searching and precise sampling, the "Key" in the human's hands suddenly begins to vibrate violently.
The "Key" vibrates with such intensity that it becomes impossible to hold, falling into the Red Tide and sending crimson droplets splashing into the air.
Countless crimson threads emerge from it, wrapping around the "Key" like a cocoon.
Lucia dashes forward, using Pyroath's immunity to Punishing to retrieve the "Key" now saturated with a potent dose of the Punishing Virus.
Looks like the "Key"... has absorbed some kind of information?
With a humming sound, the "Key" finished absorbing the crimson threads and returned to its quiet state.
Alright.
▁▇▅▂▄▁▃▆▃▆▁▂▁▇▅▂▄▁▃▆▃▆▁▂▄▃▆▁▂▄▁▅▇▃▆▅▄▁
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It might be a more complex Punishing language beyond the terminal's interpretation capabilities.
Alright.
...
I found out you've been using the Red Tide to corrupt Cradle. So why do you still want Commandant to merge with Chaos?
It's too late—the Inver-Hetero Tower is being destroyed at an alarming rate.
It seems not everything goes according to your plans after all.
There have always been many things that don't go my way. I've simply made it seem like they never happened through time rewind.
But I did notice the existence of the "fruit" at the place where I first found Commandant, and in fact, it's proven effective—Cradle can no longer submerge all of Constellia.
However, you still haven't given up on your plan to merge Commandant with Chaos, nor have you killed Cradle. What exactly are you still hesitating about?
You've had numerous clashes with Agent Zero's vessel, so you must have noticed that she cannot be killed within the tower's bounds.
However, her vessel—Cradle—has a weakness.
Vonnegut turns to look at the blue core behind him.
It's right here. She will die if she comes near the blue core.
But you never followed through—you've been holding back all this time. I even had a suspicion that when you pushed me, Commandant, and her out of the Inver-Hetero Tower, it was more about protecting her than whatever excuse you gave about showing us something in the Fog.
In Constellia, it'd be easier to detect each other's positions and to see exactly what she's doing.
Most importantly, Agent Zero won't vanish even if her vessel dies.
To put it simply, Agent Zero is like a commandant of Babylonia—it's a position of authority and office, currently held by Cradle.
If the current holder dies, the position will be transferred to the next vessel capable of bearing the duty.
In this competition, Chaos' condition lacks the strength necessary to excel; it is unlikely that she will be the next vessel to hold Agent Zero.
Should this "position" be assumed by an unfamiliar entity unfavorable to both humanity and myself, and given that we have explored all viable options here...
The future of this world will become just like that other world you've witnessed.
That world stripped of everything.
Or like the world shown in the messages from the future—one without the commandant or a single trace of humanity.
...
Even if we can't find a more suitable vessel than the incomplete Chaos to assume Agent Zero's role, and we end up leaving everything to her...
Her consciousness would struggle to cope—gradually she would lose herself, becoming just like the current "Cradle", whose every action serves only Agent Zero's mission.
That's why I need that commandant's own consciousness to complete her.
...So because your Hetero-Creature isn't good enough, you're going to take Commandant's life to complete hers?
This, above all else, is something Lucia can never accept.
...
This is to prevent the catastrophe that Agent Zero would bring.
...What really happened back then? Did Commandant decide to help you because you gave the same explanation?
That person only agreed to help after seeing how the Inver-Hetero Tower's destruction led to a reality even more brutal than the fate of Constellia... but you wouldn't believe that either, would you?
Vonnegut turns to Chaos, who has witnessed everything from the beginning.
...
Both you and Luna are agents. Why can't either of you take Agent Zero's place?
If humans didn't release the contaminating memetic, Luna might still achieve that through destruction.
The current Luna, however, not only cannot take Agent Zero's place but is also barred from entering the tower altogether.
The entry rules have been changed.
Agent Zero's whereabouts remain unknown. Could she be connected to the Inver-Hetero Tower's anomalies?
I tried to return to the past to give her a hint, asking her to destroy part of Gestalt before everything began to prevent Agent Zero from showing up entirely.
But that would only drag her into a conflict with Babylonia.
...I presume you've made comparable attempts within the tower. None proved successful, and eventually, you had to take the same action as I did—halting the transmission of messages.
Commandant mentioned you appeared before Luna went to the Inver-Hetero Tower. What was that about?
Lithos just told me you'd left. Yet here you are. What's the matter? Forgot something?
I sure do.
When Vonnegut appeared that day, he seemed deep in thought, as if he had already begun to act before finishing his contemplation.
"Forgot something"? Or was it about the information from the Inver-Hetero Tower?
Both are correct.
Vonnegut looks at Chaos, her consciousness still too frail to be used, leaving unsaid what—or whom—he had forgotten.
After entering the Inver-Hetero Tower, I have spent far more time here than you.
During this time, I've been trying to prevent Agent Zero from inciting uncontrollable turmoil further, while also attempting to persuade an uncooperative Chaos... Unfortunately, my efforts have yielded little fruit.
...
You've all seen the consequences of these events—the Hetero Zone has begun to expand rapidly.
And now you claim you were trying to prevent a catastrophe?
What I'm trying to prevent is things becoming <<color=#ff4e4eff><<b>uncontrollable<</b><</color>.
Vonnegut emphasizes the final word with a particular weight.
I won't deny my actions or the problems I have caused, nor will I justify the deaths and chaos as necessary sacrifices to prevent a greater catastrophe.
I have my own vision of the future, my own personal desires—and on the path to that future, those uncontrollable things stand as my obstacle.
What exactly is your vision?
<b>I wish to manipulate time without the Hetero Tower's constraints, with greater freedom—for this, Chaos must take over Agent Zero's power and help me pass through the Gateway completely.</b>
<b>Meanwhile, I cannot allow Agent Zero to fulfill her mission—she would bring the problems from that other future, the world you've witnessed, right here.</b>
<b>While I have the resources to extricate myself from the repercussions of her accomplished mission, I absolutely refuse to permit her triumph—regard this as a personal vendetta between Agent Zero and myself.</b>
<b>For these two purposes, I have been screening, experimenting, and searching, to create someone capable of assuming Agent Zero's position and aiding me in thwarting her mission's fulfillment.</b>
<b>Is this explanation clear enough for you, Lucia?</b>
...
Release Chaos and make a deal with me instead. There are still too many unresolved issues in this tower.
...So that's it, she's found it... At this moment, these words from Vonnegut mark the turning point leading to the ninth ending.
If she can obtain from Vonnegut an item that allows her to rewind time again, there may be a chance to ensure the commandant's safety.
If fortune smiles upon her and everything goes as planned, every second during the long-standing struggle can be dedicated to where it truly counts...
Then, she can finally fulfill her wish to protect everything and everyone she holds dear, and when the end comes, face death without regret.
Having Chaos become Agent Zero is the only way to resolve this catastrophe—I harbor no desire to witness the death of that commandant either.
As for you... even if you kill both Chaos and me here, it won't solve anything. Without assistance, you won't even be able to navigate back to your own time.
...And your leverage is?
In response to Lucia's deliberate question, the agent in black produces a peculiar-looking terminal.
Your "Key" is unusable because it has lost its operating energy, but the Omega Core in your frame... it originates from the same source as Chaos.
Of this, I am absolutely certain.
...
Connect your frame to this terminal, and the "Key" will become operational again.
Lucia responds with her silence, waiting for the agent before her to reveal the price of using it.
It will severely strain your frame. The first use won't be fatal, but repeated usage will eventually exceed your limits.
This is your real intention, isn't it?
You've always wanted me to die first in those clashes so you could take Commandant away alone, but it never went as you wished.
Vonnegut remains noncommittal.
Do you have any other choices?
...
With her blade at Chaos' throat, she approaches Vonnegut step by step. Only after taking the terminal from his hand does she release Chaos.
Chaos, help her return to her original time and location. Performing a direct time rewind here will only increase the deviation.
...
Before I leave, I have one last question for you.
...
Vonnegut, your explanations have been emphasizing the catastrophe brought by Cradle and Chaos' crucial role in subduing and replacing her, yet you've never mentioned your part.
What role are you playing? A spectator? A benefit-reaper? What part do you really play in rewriting these disasters?
...
Are you going to end up the same place again, Lucia?
You ended up the same place again, Lucia.
Her memories come rushing back to that fruitless battle.
Through countless returns to the beginning and relentless attrition, she finally forced Vonnegut to deploy abilities beyond his force field.
Killing me won't change anything. It will only reduce the assistance you can receive in the <color=#ff4e4eff><b>present</b></color>.
Indeed, killing you won't change anything until Agent Zero is dealt with.
The commandant has made a decision. You should accept the outcome as it is.
But I remember everything that's happened along the way.
I know your guidance is filled with deception. The sacrifices you demand won't solve everything.
In that case, I look forward to seeing you find a more perfect answer for those you care about.
I will, and when that time comes—no, as soon as Agent Zero is dead, I'm coming to kill you.
