Alpha braces for violence. Fangs, claws, and killing blows.
Instead, the massive creature pulls her into a desperate embrace, almost pleading.
The moment their bodies touch, the white fog closes in, rushing toward them like a wave that has finally found its shore.
Ngh...
Her M.I.N.D. splits at the seams, shredded and remade in the same breath. The fog churns around her as countless fragmented scenes and distant conversations flood her memories.
Her... memories?
Whose memories... are they?
...Who is laughing?
Wow... so pretty! One, two, three... Whoa... so many night lights!
Luna's gonna love this. Let me…
Hnng—
Silly girl. You can't reach them like that.
These night lights are actually somewhere very, very far away.
Who... who's talking?!
That voice... Why does it sound so... familiar?
...Lucia.
Tomorrow... the others and I are going on a long trip.
It won't... take too long.
Who is that...?
Why does hearing that voice make her feel so... sad...?
Within her M.I.N.D., countless viscous shards of memory swirl around her in a dizzying vortex. Alpha drifts like a lone vessel caught in a riptide, struggling to navigate the storm of illusions.
You're first class too?
My name is Lucia.
These memories... are they hers? Who... is it?
Who is she talking to?
Pointing a weapon at... still calling yourself...
That doesn't excuse what you did... you know...
The phantoms drifting through her M.I.N.D. begin to fade, and she sees...
...A building on the surface, swallowed by fire.
I... Nngh...
She runs through the labyrinth built from countless fragmented moments she cannot name.
Luna, have you started tidying?
—Lucia, protect your sister.
But I don't want to... I just want to find Mom and Dad...
Lucia, what did you find today?
Lucia... It hurts...
The little sister who followed you around and couldn't live without you...
...is alive and standing right in front of you.
And now you're going to leave me?
Lucia...
The error... must end here...
To create new alternatives, I need a power of deterrence.
Now, I am your cage.
...
I...
She stands alone at the center of this desolate void. Light and shadow cleave through her spine, laying bare flesh and blood.
Time rewinds around her.
She sees herself fighting the Ascension-Network.
She sees herself wandering through the frozen sea.
She sees herself hiding in the ruins.
She sees herself standing in the snowfields.
The long blade shrinks rapidly in her grip. Barefoot now, she runs across the boundless snow.
She must push through it all. Break past the surface. Plunge into the deepest depths of this raging torrent.
Her silhouette blurs, merging with the stardust of years gone by.
Through the strange weave of fate... something waits at the end. Her "starting point," hazy and indistinct.
Suddenly, her consciousness flickers out. Silence swallows everything.
Then she sinks into something warm...
An embrace.
Oh, look at her... she's so pretty.
Her eyes won't open. The world is reduced to soft, blurred light.
Let's call her "Lucia".
A gentle voice sings her down into sleep. Alpha slips away, cradled in the Fog.
