New Oakley
New Oakley.
Hey, how's the situation on your end?
Pretty much wiped them all out. Now we're just cleaning up the battlefield.
Geez, these bats have gone completely nuts. Over two damn hours... Last attack was barely over an hour.
They sure have. If the people from Babylonia hadn't come when they did, we'd probably be done for this time.
Have you heard about it?
What is it?
That white light just now that made the bats freeze.
Must be some new type of flash grenade designed for Hetero-Creatures, right?
I heard it was a little girl. She controlled those bats with that white light.
...You've got to be kidding.
Many people witnessed the strange sight caused by Lyca earlier, and already, rumors have begun to spread. Every now and then, someone would glance her way, their eyes sharp with curiosity.
Bridget, finally catching a free moment, approaches Lyca. She softens her voice, trying to make herself sound as gentle as possible.
Come with me, Lyca.
She takes Lyca's hand and leads her to a nearby room.
Lyca follows Bridget's lead in a daze, her mind filled with fragmented memories.
The razor-sharp fragments of memories reappear and rush to the coast of reality with the waves.
A man in a white lab coat approaches quietly, his movements stiff, his words trapped in his throat.
I heard about what happened... Everyone in the project team is worried about you.
...
The department has approved some time off for you. You can come back once you're feeling better.
Sorry... I shouldn't keep talking about work, it's just...
Take some rest, ■■■. Take some rest.
■■■ says nothing, turning instead toward the memorial altar in the living room, eyes lingering on the black-and-white photograph.
Outside, the doorbell rings a few times before falling silent. Then comes the soft click of the door unlocking, the fingerprint reader granting entry.
■■■, sorry for coming uninvited. I just wanted to make sure my friend was safe.
It's been three months. It's time to...
...■■■?
Can you hear me, Lyca?
The question pulls Lyca back to reality.
She glances around, taking in her surroundings—she's indoors now, with Bridget beside her, the one who led her inside. At the center of the room, a woman with a commanding presence sits at the table, while next to her is a frail-looking man.
I'm Vanessa, the Egret Commandant from Babylonia. This is Simon, the Dark Aries Commandant.
Looks like you're able to communicate now.
Tell me the details about that white light from before. What connection do you have with the Hetero-Creatures?
Lyca's face still shows traces of disorientation.
I... I'm not really sure.
...
Vanessa's gaze locks onto Lyca, her face unreadable, for so long that Lyca can't help but feel an intense interrogation coming next.
But Vanessa simply pulls out a terminal and activates a comms projection, revealing the figure of a man materializing from the device.
Continue with your report, Asimov.
In front of "Lyca"?
No objection to that.
...I've checked the Science Council records and found information on Thomas Hell.
Thomas Hell is a former member of Science Council Section 2, under the mentorship of Ms. Valentina.
According to the records, Thomas' wife died of a genetic disease. Seven years after his wife's death, his daughter Lyca...
Also died from the same disease, at the age of 14.
...
The pristine white curtains of the hospital room resurface in her mind, accompanied by a searing headache.
Her earlier confusion slowly crystallizes into clarity as the hazy fragments of memory sharpen into focus.
The person in the hospital bed... was it Mom, or... me?
It was her mom, and also herself.
Beneath the bloodstained white sheet, something lies.
Of course it's <phonetic=me>Lyca</phonetic>.
Take some rest, Thomas. Take some rest.
...Thomas left the Science Council afterward, and went missing two years later...
She can no longer catch the man's report in the transmission.
More memories begin to surface, pulling Lyca back to where everything started.
Crimson alarms shriek throughout the laboratory, wrenching Thomas awake from unconsciousness, who finds his body sprawled on the floor.
As he fights to piece together the last moments, a knife-sharp headache splits his skull, scattering his thoughts.
In his daze, he only recalls a few blurry fragments.
Space splintering like glass. A deafening explosion. And then... a demon emerges from the fractured space.
The demon is grievously wounded, its form nearly obliterated, and what's left is gradually dissipating.
A mirror slips from the demon's body, cracking down the middle.
With its last, desperate effort, the demon drives its core into the only human nearby—Thomas.
The instant the mirror touches him, it erupts into two pieces, one half clattering to the ground.
Thomas's body, ravaged by the explosion's impact, is equally in critical condition. Darkness creeps in, but before it swallows him whole, his fading mind conjures one final thought—his daughter.
Then, amid a blinding flash of white light, the fallen mirror shard transforms into Lyca's form.
...I remember now.
I'm a demon... born from my father's obsession...
!!!
That's what I thought.
The Mirror Demon's true form is the mirror inside its body. It shattered into two pieces when it came to this world.
One piece holds the Mirror Demon's consciousness, which possessed my father.
The other half is me...
Now that's... unexpected.
...
To be honest, I never expected things would turn out this way.
Things are getting complicated. What should we do now?
Let's wait until [player name] returns from the Babel Tower. I recall the commandant mentioned an expert who handles these situations in a report.
The Babel Tower...
Lyca's expression suddenly hardens, resolve flashing in her eyes.
I need to go to the Babel Tower!
Now's not the time for you to be willful.
You don't understand. There's a connection between the two mirror shards. As long as I exist, the other half of the mirror won't disappear.
Which means the Mirror Demon can't be defeated?
That's why I need to go to the Babel Tower, to see my father.
...We need to have a private discussion. Go outside and wait for now.
...Okay.
Lyca turns and leaves the room. As the wooden door clicks shut behind her, a hushed debate erupts inside.
I don't agree with letting her go to the Babel Tower.
But she mentioned the connection between the two mirror shards. If our goal is to defeat the Mirror Demon, sending her to the Babel Tower is an essential step.
That's just her one-sided claim.
Hmm...
Lyca leans against the doorframe, occasionally catching scattered words from inside.
Each fragmented phrase tugs at her—hope flaring one moment, disappointment crashing in the next.
Dad...
20 minutes pass by before the voices finally still. Lyca realizes that a decision has been made.
As the wooden door creaks open again, Vanessa appears before Lyca.
Tsk...
You can go as you wish. Bridget will take you to the Babel Tower.
