Story Reader / Main Story / 32 To the Galaxies / Story
At first, everyone thought the Gray Raven Commandant and Lucia were sent on a unusual but ordinary mission.
Gray Raven always seemed to work miracles. They always came home winning fights deemed impossible. The Clean Zone even had a victory celebration prepared for them as soon as they had gone inside the Hetero Tower...
Except the Inver-Hetero Tower glowed red again, and the banner meant to celebrate Gray Raven's victory was never hung.
...
This... is everything we heard from the refugees...
So Lucia and the Gray Raven Commandant never made it out, and the Hetero Tower turned red again?
Yes... I believe so...
What should we do now...?
How's the forest looking, sister?
The Red Tide has become more dangerous now.
Roland and I tried to enter the Hetero-Forest to look for Cradle, but she wasn't there. She might be hiding somewhere...
She wouldn't do that.
Luna closed her eyes as the wind brushed past her fingertips, carrying with it an unsettling presence.
The Red Tide has gone out of control.
Without an administrator, the Red Tide surged across the land like a raging sea like a horse that had broken free of its reins.
Those Hetero-Creatures have gone mad...
They used to only wander around the Hetero-Forest and rarely ever appeared in the conservation area, but...
They stormed into the conservation area this time and nearly melted everyone there! T-they've all gone insane...
Calm down!
Are you saying all the Hetero-Creatures have gone haywire?
Yes, they've all gone mad! They broke through the conservation area's defenses by force, crawling in over the corpses of their own kind!
...Send an emergency report. This is already the fourth conservation area reporting Hetero-Creatures losing control.
What in the world is going on...
The Hetero-Creatures frantically devoured the surface as they gathered around the red Hetero Tower, seemingly waiting for something.
(Coughs.)
In the tide-swept Hetero-Forest, Luna struggled to rise from the Red Tide, choking and coughing.
Luna!
Miss Luna... Is it still not working?
Cough... The Red Tide is rejecting my power. They resist my control and refuse to obey my commands.
Then stop trying. Humanity...
Their survival doesn't concern us.
...I'm afraid things aren't as simple this time.
On her way to the Hetero-Forest, Luna had attempted to use the Ascension-Network once more to simulate the future.
She saw a snow-covered <phonetic=death>future</phonetic>.
...I've tried many times since then, but I still can't gain control over the Red Tide. After several attempts, I discovered another "consciousness" within it.
So you're connected to all these... I figured as much.
The gray-haired girl casts a knowing look your way.
She seemed unable to fully control the Red Tide since she spent most of her time in slumber.
I tried talking to her, but she seemed barely conscious and was only able to repeat fragments of words. Of the things she said, I heard her whisper your name.
The white-haired girl's moments of consciousness grew shorter and shorter. The Red Tide spiraled out of control once more and turned against its master as the Hetero-Creatures began evolving in unpredictable ways.
And after that...
She repeatedly used the Ascension-Network to run simulations, almost exhausting all of her power. She yearned for a glimpse of the stars beyond this frame—a variable that the Ascension-Network had not foreseen.
She saw a snow-covered <phonetic=death>future</phonetic>.
And then...
Roland died.
Just as she saw in the countless simulations, he died on the first night when snow began to fall.
He could have escaped—the opportunity to flee was there.
But...
All I want is to protect Luna and ensure her vision comes true. If I can do that, it will be enough.
After all, the world Luna wants to see is the world I want to see...
Perhaps this is the perfect moment for the final curtain.
And so, he meets his end on that fateful night.
Lamia was next.
With humanity about to embark on their journey, she insisted on going to gather information.
Luna recounts everything with tranquility as if she has replayed this same scene countless times in her mind.
Lamia entered the waters once more to search for news from other regions. She was never to be heard from again.
I... will be back with good news, Miss Luna...
The timid mermaid plunged into the abyss but never returned with any news.
The Red Tide flowed back into the sea, giving birth to massive mutated creatures in its depths.
I warned her about the dangers of the ocean, yet she still chose that path.
That timid mermaid was never meant to be the dove of peace.
And then it was my sister.
Luna continues her serene narration, deaf to your words, her tone betraying no emotions.
To the Punishing Virus, Ascendants are merely beings who passed the initial Filtering. No one is invincible, not even the agents.
Not me, at least.
She stops momentarily.
Alpha had been trying to break free from the Ascension-Network's bonds, and in a way, she did succeed.
But as a consequence, she could no longer connect to the Ascension-Network. Even as an agent, I wasn't able to do anything to help her.
I was already having trouble seeing things then.
This area isn't safe. I'll go eliminate the nearby Hetero-Creature strongholds.
Alpha hesitated, worried about leaving Luna alone with her failing eyesight.
Are you sure... you're going to be okay?
I'll be fine.
Luna could no longer see, but she could still sense Alpha's presence just fine.
Those Hetero-Creatures have evolved again. They're dangerous—if left unchecked, we won't be able to set up camps safely here.
Wait for me. I'll be right back.
After making sure Luna was safely settled despite her blindness, Alpha left the mountaintop.
She lied, though. She never came back.
The mutated Hetero-Creatures appeared in overwhelming numbers, so much so that Alpha wasn't able to hold them back.
But I'll be here waiting for her, no matter how long it takes.
You do not know why you want to say it, but something tells you she needs to hear an apology right now.
This isn't your fault. I'm not telling you this to blame you.
She sits there motionless, like a fragile porcelain doll.
I saw all of this in the simulations before.
In a future of swirling snow, where the plains are consumed by the Red Tide, everyone dies one after another—until only she remains, sitting alone on this cliff.
Luna tilts her head up as a droplet of tears quietly glimmers at the corner of her eye before it quickly vanishes.
The dusk bleeds across the sky as you and her watch the sunset fade, and you wait for the pale moonlight to creep across the earth.
And you... You're no Red Tide illusion, aren't you? What have you been through?
Memories of your countless battles and endless days of ruminations become an overwhelming amount of words. For a moment, you do not know where to begin.
The last we heard, you and Lucia had entered the Hetero Tower.
Lucia is <phonetic=dead>gone</phonetic>.
These words roll across your tongue like a blade's edge, piercing through your numbed mind with pain and stirring up tremors of despair once more.
...
Your breaths crystallize into ice and fall heavily to the ground.
But do we really have enough time?
Only a handful of people could delve deep into this technology even during Babylonia's peak. In your current situation, no one knows how long it would take to unlock the core's mysteries.
I'm as good as powerless now. I can only suppress the Punishing Virus around the human settlement.
The Red Tide continues to mutate, and it's not even done yet.
I'm not sure how much longer I can hold on.
[player name]. I am no hero for humanity—I can't save this planet.
The girl's vacant eyes look in your direction, her gaze distant and still.
Ugh...
Only when your fingers nearly brush against her ice-cold cheek does she instinctively pull away.
...This was the price I had to pay.
Yes, the toll the Ascension-Network has claimed. There is always a price to see the future.
Don't pity me. I need no one's sympathy. This is the path I've chosen, and that's that.
I was foolish enough to rely on the Ascension-Network to predict the future and try to avoid every path that could lead to their deaths, but none of them was spared in the end.
Fate cannot be changed.
Except for you, [player name].
Her vacant pupils seem to look past you, fixed on some point in the void.
I saw many things. The Red Tide drowning the world, and the Corrupted spreading across the surface. I witnessed an eternal winter and an endless night.
But I never saw you, Commandant.
You never made it out of the tower in every future I simulated.
You are the singularity of this world.
You're hesitating. That's not like you at all.
Caught in fate's machinations, you are not unlike a tiny insect trapped in a machine—no matter how powerful your weapons are, you are bound to be crushed by the gears.
It is precisely because of all the inexplicable things you have witnessed in the Hetero Tower that you dare not claim to have any control over the world's will.
No one knows what to do, but is that going to stop you?
Luna looks at you silently.
The Ascension-Network can only simulate based on what I already know—about you and me, about Babylonia, and about my sister.
The simulations don't show clear outcomes—they're more like fragments of scenes. What I can tell you is merely my interpretation of those pieces—
Besides you, there's another who never appears in any of my visions—that girl with gray hair.
In all the futures I've simulated, I've never seen her nor any trace of the mechanoids associated with her.
Perhaps she is a "<phonetic=chance>variable</phonetic>", too, or maybe all those mechanoids are.
I tried to probe deeper, but forcing these simulations came at too great a cost. I might be an agent, but it strained me beyond my limits all the same.
The information feedback from the Ascension-Network corrupted my visual module... I can no longer see those futures.
[player name], this is the last piece of information I can offer you.
...
This time, she does not pull away.
Moonlight washes over the mountain peaks.
After what feels like seconds... or perhaps minutes, the pale girl steps back slightly to draw herself away from your warm touch.
Now... you should go.
Time is running out. I can sense it—the Punishing Virus is about to breach your protective suit.
Luna is right. The indicator on your protective suit is slowly turning red.
I don't know if you'll find the answer that lies at the end of this path, but... I'll hold on as long as I can.
I'll hold out longer to buy you more time.
You are the only variable, [player name]. Your escape from the Hetero Tower stands as the sole anomaly in all my calculations.
I'll hold out longer... until you return.
You trudge away from the cliff's edge. Behind you, Luna lowers her head slightly, overlooking everything below the mountain with those lifeless eyes of hers.
Beside her stands a small, faintly glowing lamp.
Seemingly trying to acknowledge what you have done—a "meaningless" gesture to her—she slowly extends her hand at the fire. Upon touching the flame, she quickly withdraws her hand behind her back as if singed.
Having been sitting here alone for who knows how long, she has replayed the scenes from her simulations countless times in her M.I.N.D.
She has experienced their deaths countless times in her M.I.N.D., and she thought she could no longer be moved by anything.
...Best of luck, [player name].
This is our last chance.
The blind girl reaches out once more to touch the warm, yellow lamp.
So, that's what you've learned?
Within swaying tree shadows and flickering lamplight stands Vanessa.
The world's singularity, mechanoids...
The fragments of evidence lie scattered like yarn, twisted by fate into an impenetrable tangle—it is impossible for one to know where to start untangling.
Such confidence is admirable... I suppose.
What's making you hesitate?
You are not really sure... if you have what it takes to fight fate when the future looks anything but promising.
Vanessa keeps walking, the warm yellow light of her lamp now far ahead.
Why have you stopped?
You weren't expecting me to comfort you and point you down the right path, were you, Chief of F.O.S.?
Vanessa's signature sneer crosses her face again.
Even if you did die in the Hetero Tower, we'd survive just fine here on Earth.
Humanity doesn't need a hero. If you can actually pull off your plan, good for you, but if not...
...Hush.
Vanessa does a hush gesture right when you are about to talk.
You quickly hide with Vanessa and turn off the lights.
Over there... See that?
Before she finishes talking, you also spot the footprints in the glistening snow ahead.
The footprints have not been filled by snow yet—whoever left them cannot be far.
The two of you crouch behind low bushes as Vanessa's eyes scan ahead to see where the trail of footprints leads.
...Over there.
A figure slowly moves through the forest nearby.
...Not a Construct. Not a Corrupted, either...
This "person" appears to be searching for something in the woods, occasionally scurrying through the forest and stopping.
Then, his face is reflected in the gleam of snow.
The mechanoid with silver, seaweed-like hair looks weary. He glances at the sky before hurrying away.
