Bianca: Crepuscule VI
It is May, and you finally figure out that you can't approach the mountain no matter what you do, so you move from village to village at the foot of the mountain with Rosa to look for any news about Bianca.
...They're even more terrifying than the monsters from the Abyss!
In the center of the crowd, a Scavenger in tattered clothes points at a portrait behind him, waving wildly as he yells out.
Disguising themselves as humans and slaughtering our people! Many have already gone missing!
Commandant, those portraits over there! One of them looks like Bianca!
You know the Witch? Do you have any idea how many of us she's killed?
The Scavenger waves his arms wildly in an exaggerated manner.
If we knew where she was hiding, we wouldn't have to live in fear anymore!
You say that only because none of your loved ones have been taken from you!
And because you're on the Witch's side! That's why you dare speak up for her!
"That's right! That's right!" "Witch, get out of our village!"... Just like the people in the southern town, these people also harbor deep hatred toward Bianca.
After several rounds of fruitless argument, you quietly leave the crowd with Rosa and set out to search for Bianca.
With a wild look on his face, he doesn't seem like someone who'd hear reason.
Ignoring the Scavenger's rambling, you quietly leave the crowd with Rosa and set out to search for Bianca.
Commandant, do you remember the rumors we heard in town about people becoming followers of the Abyss?
Rosa suddenly tugs at the corner of your clothes as you walk along the narrow paths.
This village is not far from the Abyss... I'm a little scared...
The sense of imminent danger is so intense that Rosa's warning seems redundant. From the moment night falls, malicious gazes can be felt lurking in the shadows.
But even after searching for several hours, no one has made a move against you and Rosa...
Commandant, do you see the thick smoke over there?
Please, please! I'll never do it again!
Under the collapsed wooden house, flames burn intensely, along with the bodies of dead monsters. Their fangs aren't fully grown yet, but their faces are already twisted with pain.
A man in tattered clothes is kneeling on the ground. It's the same Scavenger who was yelling about the Witch during the day.
They said worshipping the "Abyss" will grant us power and food. I hadn't even started, and they already turned into monsters. I wouldn't have come if I had known!
Magnificent Witch, please give me a chance to watch my daughter grow up... If that's not possible, kill me and send my body back to the tribe... They can make use of it...
He's kneeling by the feet of a woman wearing a cloak, but it's not Bianca.
Get back there yourself. I don't have time to carry your corpse.
Thank you, thank you...
I understand, I understand. I won't do it again... I won't do it again...
He presses his head to the ground several times before finally fleeing, trembling as he goes.
It's pointless.
The woman, being called a witch, lifts her face and speaks in your direction.
Convincing one person is not enough. There will always be others who hold prejudices against us.
As long as we continue to kill someone's family, lovers, friends, this will never change.
It will always be dirty work in everyone's eyes, but Bianca is still so hesitant.
She took out all the believers here, but she left in a hurry. If it had been me, that man from earlier would already be dead.
Who knows? Maybe she's worried that blood stains will get on you.
She gives you a meaningful look, then walks away without looking back.
Bianca... has she been protecting us from the shadows this whole time?
"She's here"—you whip around, driven by instinct.
—The snowstorm rages on, and in the veil beneath the night sky, there is no sign of life.
After that, you search every corner of the world with Rosa. There seem to be signs of her everywhere, but she is nowhere to be found.
Maybe... we should go back...
It's already June. We've looked everywhere, but she refuses to see anyone.
...We just need to let her know that we have visited her dreams.
Rosa tugs at the hem of your clothes as you move forward in vain and shakes her head.
You already know the answer, don't you? This is as far as we can go...
She's nowhere to be found. How are you supposed to go and see her?
Bianca... has she been protecting us from the shadows this whole time?
A bold idea flashes through your mind.
As her blade pierces the vitals once more, scalding blood splatters into the snowstorm, quickly congealing into grayish-red scabs in the biting cold.
A quick fatal blow means no suffering.
Sheathing the Sacred Sword, Bianca silently gazes at the believers' corpses.
One wished to see their dead mother again, one wished to escape a painful past, and another wanted their partner to stay safe in this turbulent world...
Before selling their souls to the Abyss, the wishes they made were all so small and fragile.
Looking at the twisted, grotesque shells scattered across the snow, it's hard to believe they were ever human.
...
The purge has ended. Bianca can't help but look toward you down the mountain.
It's been a long time since you parted, yet you continue to trek through the frozen wasteland.
It looks like you are doing well.
Bianca gets ready to leave once she knows that you are safe.
As long as she's still here... a chance...
She pauses for a moment.
...We just need to... we have visited her dreams...
...This is as far as we can go...
No... not yet...
You ponder for a moment, then suddenly begin looking around.
...
Bianca instinctively steps back, concealing herself in the shadow of the mountain peak.
Meanwhile, the Commandant whispers a few words to Rosie before leaving alone.
Wait, that direction...
As you move toward the edge of the terrain, fault lines gradually appear on both sides of the endless world. Beneath the uneven snow, countless skeletons lie buried.
The howling wind shrieks like the wails of countless vengeful spirits, and with each step forward, the ominous shadows grow ever thicker.
You stop just before the cliff's edge. This is it. This is the edge of Bianca's nightmare.
You're going to the Abyss alone?
Hearing your decision, Rosa stares at you in disbelief.
Why do you have to go there? If she's fulfilling her mission as the Witch, then she should only be active in the human world...
Asimov said even if it's just in her nightmare, any life-threatening damage you take gets mirrored in your Mind Beacon.
Twilight's glow freezes the moment your eyes open, while the Abyss slowly opens its jaws to devour each patch of white…
SCREECH!!!!
Countless hands surge upward at breakneck speed, reaching for your feet.
You instinctually swing the sword and sever some tentacles, but even more reach toward your neck and heart.
Falling would mean certain death. The darkness is suffocating, and the tentacles quickly coil around your blade, dragging your body downward.
Before you can even act, the ground beneath your feet crumbles away.
Your body continues to fall, and even the light in your vision fades away.
Commandant—!
Sharp pain shoots through your mind and spreads throughout your body. Your chest grows numb until it is hard to breathe. Your Mind Beacon is sending out danger warnings.
Are you going to die in her nightmare?
Commandant!!!
—A sharp sword wave tears through the darkness before you, and your body is pulled upward.
Commandant...?
When your heels touch solid ground again, your faded senses return as well.
She cuts down one more tentacle at the edge of the Abyss before slowly turning to look your way.
Why are you here?
...Do you know what this place is? Do you know how many people have died here? Do you know how dangerous that was? If I hadn't arrived in time, you...!
...My apologies, Commandant.
I believe you wouldn't mind telling me... the reason you went to such great lengths to reach this "Abyss."
...?
...
How could you?!
Do you know how precious your life is? Do you know how many worry about your safety, and how valuable a peaceful life is? You risked all of that just to see me?
...I hope you know that I will always protect you. This is a promise that will last forever, even if we never see each other again.
So, please tell me, okay? What exactly happened...
...?
You look directly into Bianca's eyes, stubbornly repeating your words.
...
I'm sorry, Commandant.
...Yeah, I had already thought about that long ago...
When spring comes, the church will welcome pilgrims once again, Father Snow's injured leg will slowly heal, and the weather will gradually grow warmer.
Also, once the snow on the mountain road melts, you'll have to return to the military, right? But I won't have to wait too long for you. Lily season is almost here.
Just as we promised each other, you'll come to the church again and watch the lilies bloom with me.
Making promises for summer in the spring, and promises for autumn in the summer... This way, our moments together will slowly accumulate...
Perhaps one day, we will be like the countless couples I have blessed—people who stay with each other for life...
I cannot bless myself, but Father Snow would certainly be happy to bless us. We would hold a ceremony in the church, and under Father's guidance...
After that, where should we go? The Snowfields are beautiful, but I'd also like to see the south... We could buy a little house in a small town by the mountains.
Without the Sacred Sword, I might be a little weak, but you are someone I can rely on, someone I can depend on...
Then I wouldn't have to be the Holy Maiden anymore... I could just be an ordinary woman and grow old with you...
...
Because I drew the Sacred Sword.
I will never regret my choice, but I committed sins myself to end others' sins, and that is the hard truth.
Yes... I had no choice but to draw the Sacred Sword, no choice but to point my blade at them.
I can always comfort myself with these reasons.
Wind and snow howl, and bone-piercing cold seeps into your skin. The violent storm stops you from moving forward, even an inch.
The snowflakes seem enchanted, stubbornly swallowing Bianca's figure in a lifeless expanse of gray and white.
She is so close, yet unreachable.
The snow is falling to cover the blood I once stained myself with.
I can comfort myself, but those killed will never come back.
A place with wind and snow is so cold... but...
Once the snow stops, blood will engulf my world again.
She stubbornly locks herself away in the depths of winter.
Now you know that this place isn't as pure and flawless as it appears, and I have long since turned into the "Witch" in the legend.
What about you? Entering the Abyss alone for someone carrying so much sin?
...
...Commandant, I have chosen the path I will walk.
It is a path covered with sin and thorns, a path overwhelmed with suffering.
That is exactly why I will walk this path alone.
Just like the curse of the Sacred Sword, pitch-black thorns grow from the snowy ground, trapping Bianca.
Don't come any closer. They will hurt you.
Please, go...
That's enough... Commandant...
<i>Those who have passed have found peace...</i>
<i>The child you saved has grown up...</i>
<i>The snowstorm you summoned brought peace to the town.</i>
<i>Even though you are feared by the world, everything you have done has saved us.</i>
<i>When I entered the "Abyss," I did not hesitate for even a moment...</i>
<i>Because I know that the "Witch" might be covered in blood, but her divine soul has never changed.</i>
<i><size=40>You are trapped in the darkness only to leave light for others.</size></i>
<i><size=40>And the promise "Bianca" made with me will last forever.</size></i>
A "witch" like you once told me that you are always too hesitant and weak.
But I know why you always insist on investigating carefully...
It's because you know that before someone gives in to darkness, they usually fight to protect the goodness still left in their heart.
And you want to witness every petal bloom, caress every inch of stamen with your own hands, and walk through every spring...
—Those are the things you love so deeply.
Okay, Commandant.
...
Commandant.
A delicate fragrance drifts through the air.
Commandant?
Your gaze drifts upward and meets a pair of pure and divine eyes.
Of course... not. You successfully stabilized my M.I.N.D., and now we're both back in reality.
Yes, you successfully stabilized my M.I.N.D., and now we're both back in reality.
Rosa told me that even after the frame data reached the awakening threshold, you still insisted on letting me wake up naturally.
You went alone into that dangerous "Abyss", and nobody could stop you... Thank goodness your Mind Beacon wasn't damaged.
Back to bantering, huh? Looks like you're doing much better.
She rolls her eyes at you.
...That was way too reckless.
But you've heard enough from me. In any case...
Thank you, Commandant.
She turns around and brings out a bouquet of white flowers, the source of the lingering fragrance in the air.
Pure, heartfelt wishes once buried deep in the frozen earth of her dreams now bloom into flowers in reality's gentle warmth.
I will always cherish this dream with all my heart...
Memories form the foundation of her dreamscape, and no matter how many times she has to face her painful past, she will make the same choice without hesitation.
The past cannot be changed, but the person before her has journeyed from the past into the future, holding her hand through the endless wind and snow.
So she also takes your hand, placing the lily firmly in your palm.
I'm back, Commandant.
