Story Reader / Main Story / 31 Shaper's Ripples / Story
Three more days pass, and at last, your body has fully recovered.
Under Vonnegut's watchful gaze, you step into the crimson Hetero Tower once more.
Alone, dodging Hetero-Creatures and Red Tide within the Hetero Tower, you finally return to the starting point after a long, grueling journey.
Before you stands that same silhouette marred with wounds.
...
You're back.
I've managed to repair much of her damage.
Just as the <color=#ff4e4eff>outside</color> Vonnegut said, the Vonnegut here will surely repair Chaos.
Soft footsteps approach. Looking down, you see the doll's face, still wearing that unchanging expression.
...
She nods gently.
You bend down to meet her gaze. For the first time, those once-vacant eyes now show a glimmer of emotion.
Why did you come back...
Are you... still going to do this... Have you still... made the same choice?
Chaos' gaze slowly drops downward, eventually moving back upon you.
I can hold on a bit longer. There's no rush to decide now—Agent Zero hasn't come back yet.
A new plan?
Even while fending off the spikes, Vonnegut keenly catches your whispered words.
What are you planning?
A gamble... hah...
His voice brims with impatience, for enduring prolonged torment leaves no soul untouched.
Very well, I'll take the gamble. The Hetero Tower's core remaining in the Fog is indeed a risk, but regardless of the outcome, I will leave and stop standing guard before this rift.
But if you lose...
Chaos' gaze is lowered, whether from weariness or a reluctance to meet your eye, you cannot tell.
Chaos raises her gaze momentarily, yet as if a sudden recollection strikes, her already dim pupils retreat back into a hollow abyss.
Are you sure about this?
...That's not it...
...So you defeat Vonnegut, and I gain Agent Zero's authority, then what?
The problem remains unsolved. The mission bound to that authority will corrupt me in return, and I'll lose myself just like Cradle did.
Even if I can suppress it for now, one day eventually...
Just as Chaos is about to speak again, a cold warning suddenly cuts through the air, emanating from the figure nearby.
Now that a decision has been made, there should be a sense of urgency. Agent Zero might return at any given moment.
Using the Bridge Across Dreams won't just help us find Lucia but also let Cradle track us down.
Keep dawdling like this, and your absurd plan will be dead in the water before you can even test it.
Let's get started, then.
Beneath his urgent pressing rests an unvoiced truth, one that eludes the listener's notice entirely.
The rift before him trembles ever so faintly as countless indistinct whispers echo through the space like murmurs from a haunting nightmare...
In this grey, hazy realm, a faint buzzing sound persists, the last remaining proof that Lucia is still alive.
She no longer cares to count the years she has endured, her body and memories now worn ragged by the ceaseless erosion of time.
Running has lost all meaning. No matter how far she pushes forward, the scenery around her remains forever unchanged.
That faint glimmer of hope lies eternally out of reach. Perhaps it was nothing but a false lure from the very beginning.
Her futile running slowly comes to a halt, and Lucia collapses to the ground.
...
Her eyes, now nearly melded with the Fog, stay locked on the churning cube clasped in her hand.
SHING—
Silently, her fingers tighten, pressing against the "Key" that holds the core within.
The buzzing cuts off abruptly—and with it, the last trace of discord in this deathly silence vanishes.
Within this eternity, she finally accepts the future she has long since foreseen.
I'm sorry...
Her voice dissipates into the Fog, leaving only the silent movement of her lips.
I've hidden too many things... about both the choice and the price of using the "Key"...
She speaks these words to herself in silence.
At least... let me keep our final promise, and see you one last time...
As she speaks to herself, the port at the back of her neck opens, exposing the circuits that connect to her frame's core.
...I miss you so much. I really want to return to you and everyone...
The "Key" emits another solitary buzz as Lucia, with unwavering determination, guides it towards the port.
...No matter what, I will keep my promise and return this core to you...
Bowing her head, she places her hand over her chest, fingers delicately tracing the Gray Raven emblem—a silent oath to her companions.
You will all survive this, I promise.
CLINK—
A luminous glow envelops her form as the power of the "Key" surges through every part of the Pyroath frame. The perpetually quiet Fog at last breaks its silence.
Lucia raises her head, clenching her fist and pressing it firmly against the emblem, as if sharing a long-distance fist bump with her fellow Gray Ravens whom she hasn't seen for so long.
And this price... I alone will pay it.
As if responding to her resolve, a rift silently emerges amidst the surging fog.
