Activity Room - Misono High
Track and Field Club Victory Party
Night, August 16th - Pleasant and Dry
Why are we at school? Shouldn't we be having this party at a buffet restaurant?
Who knows? The school probably has something special planned. Maybe there's a surprise in store?
Inside the activity room, Yata sits with her legs crossed on a chair, yawning with an expressionless face.
Come on, Yata, don't look so gloomy. You're the star of this sports meet.
Something feels off about this... These chairs are arranged way too perfectly.
And why did they have to call us here so late at night...
You're right. It feels like we're about to take a listening test or something.
As the crowd buzzes with chatter, a sharp screech suddenly pierces through the speakers at the front of the classroom...
Please find your respective seats as assigned. Your names are written on the chairs.
A cold, raspy, emotionless voice creeps through the broadcast system.
What's with all this mystery?
Who's speaking? I don't think I've ever heard this voice before.
Though confused, the track and field club members obediently follow the instructions.
In moments, every chair in the neat rows is occupied—the number of seats matching the number of people exactly, not one more, not one less.
In the darkened room at the other end of the broadcast system, Kouhei holds the microphone and turns to question the others.
Is Yuka ready?
All clear, Chief. She's connected to the mainframe.
Good. Boot up the terminal and initiate remote memory projection.
I would like to thank all of you for your cooperation. Now, let the experiment begin.
Experiment?
Before Yata can react, an intense headache assaults her brain.
Damn it, it hurts... Why?!
The pain feels like glass shards cutting through her skull as Yata rises from her chair.
Ah, I see... This headache first appeared back then...
That night, we were called to the club room.
Someone was using us as lab rats for their experiment.
Dammit... Hey, guys...
Yata turns around to find the other track team members collapsing to the ground one after another.
No matter how much Yata shakes them, they remain completely unconscious.
Soon, bodies lie sprawled across the entire club room, with Yata being the only one left standing.
Fighting to stay conscious, Yata staggers toward the classroom door through waves of hallucinations...
What's going on!? Why did they all just pass out like that?!
I don't know...
Look into it, now!
We found the cause—Yuka lost consciousness while she was trying to establish a consciousness connection.
The nanomachines in her brain are disrupted—the host system's input signals are going berserk!
The pulse signal output has surged to 300% of planned levels in such a short period of time...
And the readings... they're still climbing!
Dammit! Why does that worthless piece of junk have to fail now of all times?
Cut off Yuka's connection to the mainframe now!
Yes, initiating disconnection between the mainframe and the terminal transmitter.
That's it. We're done for today.
The second mass consciousness projection experiment... has failed.
Well, then...
Yata grabs a chair and hurls it at the PA speaker mounted on the classroom wall.
The speaker crashes to the floor, but the headache persists.
It's not the speaker? What the hell is it, then?!
The pain in Yata's head intensifies until she staggers and collapses to her knees.
Her vision begins to blur as hallucinations nearly eclipse reality.
Like the others, Yata's eyes begin to lose focus, growing distant and vacant.
Fading away...
No... I can't...
You can't fall here, Yata! You're not that helpless kid anymore!
Yata forces herself forward, groping blindly until her hand touches the wall—
She instantly realizes what felt off in the hallway—
The walls here are thicker than the walls on the other floors.
Yata strikes the wall with her fist, and an echo resonates from within.
There's a hidden room behind here!
Of course, those hallucinations weren't coming from that tiny speaker, but from...
Yata clenches her fist and slams it into the club room's wall with all her might.
As the old tiles and steel frame come crashing down...
A hidden chamber reveals itself behind the collapsed wall.
A secret room behind the club room, its existence never before confirmed.
In the secret chamber, a dust-covered mechanical behemoth continues its relentless operation.
Yata approaches the behemoth, plants her feet on the floor, leaps high into the air, and smashes its power cables.
Amid a shower of sparks, the mechanical behemoth's roar dies down, and silence once again fills the room.
In that moment, Yata lets out a breath of relief.
The hallucinations are gone, and her headache has subsided considerably...
In the dim secret chamber, Yata activates the light device in her palm.
She rolls her shoulders and carefully circles the machine to examine it from every angle.
A high-performance pulse wave weapon... Looks like it was modified from military hardware.
Yata gently runs her fingers across the machine's surface, making out several lines of embossed text.
Suitable for regional counter-terrorism operations, anti-drone tactics, and coastal defense warfare.
I see...
According to the mission data, the people who experimented on Yuka had Kurono connections. They must have acquired this from Kurono.
Those bastards got creative and fitted it with a remote input device, huh...
They turned this thing into a tool for projecting hallucinations, with innocent students becoming its victims.
So this is why people just passed out cold at Misono.
The track club members, myself included, were called here to be unwitting test subjects.
Used like lab rats in some mysterious scheme... Damn it!
If only we had looked into it back then, we could have prevented that tragedy.
Gotta keep moving while the hallucinations are weakening. This might be my chance to find Yuka.
Kouhei, how is she?
I deeply apologize... but the mass consciousness projection experiment... has failed...
In one-on-one experiments, we are able to implant nanomachines into the test subject to maintain signal stability...
But it's simply impossible to implant machines into that many subjects for mass consciousness experiments.
I believe... perhaps we shouldn't limit ourselves anymore...
Kouhei, repeat my question.
The voice on the other end of the line is calm and emotionless, sending chills down Kouhei's spine.
Yuka... fell into a coma during the experiment.
Vital signs?
Everything's normal... except her heart rate is getting weaker.
Do not proceed recklessly with any further experiments.
Yuka's body can still endure more...
Yuka must survive, no matter what. Do I make myself clear?
...I get it now.
Central Region - Hydrangea Island
Near Scarab's Landing Site
Night - Pleasant and Dry
Discord, the Corrupted are losing their coordination.
Looks like Yata's making progress on her end.
Let's finish them off in one sweep.
Roger.
The pair seize their chance to strike as gaps appear in the enemy's encirclement.
Valeria hurls two high-explosive grenades, causing the Corrupted around them to fall like dominoes.
Let's go. We need to regroup with Yata.
Derelict Stronghold - Misono's Grand Hall
Academic Building - Misono High
Night - Pleasant and Dry
My power is fading...
Did Yata destroy the Amplifier Pulse Emitter?
Impressive as always, Yata. You've never ceased to excel.
Impressive determination and power, second to none.
In the empty lecture hall, Yuka quietly vents her frustrations to no one in particular.
As she complains, a rustling sound reaches her ears...
Her crimson eyes scan the surroundings before fixing upon a dark figure emerging from the corner.
Two Corrupted stagger out from between the seats and suddenly lunge at Yuka.
A puppet breaking free from its strings... Planning to attack your puppeteer?
Yuka pulls her massive embroidery scissors from the ground and slices her attacker in half.
The other Corrupted tries to circle behind Yuka, but before it can strike, invisible threads bind it in place.
You're nothing but pathetic steel husks that don't even know who you are yourselves...
Yuka clenches her thread-wrapped fingers, and the Corrupted is torn to pieces.
Those who cannot dream have no reason to exist.
Surrounded by scattered mechanical parts, Yuka plants her scissors into the ground and leans against them.
As the night breeze gently stirs her dress, Yuka softly hums a melody from her memories.
Until footsteps interrupt her peaceful reverie...
Feeling overwhelmed, aren't you? Even with a portion of the Red Tide's power.
Who?
Yuka furrows her brow and cautiously scans her surroundings, then relaxes her guard.
It's you again...
Why are you here?
I'm a bit worried about you since your "heart" has been growing weaker.
Why else would you fail to maintain a few dreams?
Uhh...
If this goes on, even this body of yours... might go with the dreams you created.
This body wasn't something I willingly received, even if it once belonged to me...
But you are special... Instead of having your will devoured by the Red Tide, you strengthened your convictions... That's truly remarkable.
I find you quite interesting, Yuka. That's why I didn't devour you, but instead reshaped your body.
I chewed up that mainframe connected to you and the data stored in it, and force-fed it to you...
I went to such lengths for you, but you hate the Red Tide that gave you rebirth.
Now, this is what people call ingratitude, isn't it?
...
You wanted to weave beautiful illusions and endless paradise with the Red Tide...
I never stood in the way of your dreams. On the contrary, I've always been on your side.
What do you mean?
Now that the Memory Amplifier and projection device are damaged, Babylonia will soon take control of this place...
Without control of the island, your dream will never come true.
What are you suggesting?
The Red Tide can grant you greater power than that machine ever could.
Accept our blessing, and you'll gain full control of the Red Tide.
Forget that old piece of junk—use the Red Tide as your medium to spread illusions instead.
Your woven vision will echo through every corner touched by the tide.
Cradle moves close to Yuka and whispers softly in her ear.
Don't you want to become the Prometheus of this new world?
Then achieve your perfect form first, Yuka.
At the mention of "Prometheus", a distant look flickers across Yuka's eyes.
She remains silent, gazing wistfully at the podium in the center of the lecture hall.
Yuka walks over unhurriedly and gently caresses the wooden podium.
I remember how Dr. Saotome held quite a few seminars here and presented her hypotheses to everyone.
She believed that there are other beings lying hidden beyond Earth, in the vast cosmos. Their gaze never leaves humanity.
We have to evolve into a higher species through the connection of all human consciousness...
Only by unifying human consciousness can we gain the power to fight them.
For a long time, Dr. Saotome has been waging a mental battle against enemies of her own imagination.
Whenever she mentioned threats from higher dimensions, it only drew laughter from the audience.
Yet, she possessed an innate messiah complex.
Even when no one believed in her, she just stuck to her research on "world salvation".
She saw anyone who hindered her research as enemies of the world and would stop at nothing to deal with them.
Such lofty ideals and sense of mission ultimately led her to lose herself.
Today, the mysterious enemies she had imagined didn't appear. Instead, the Punishing came.
Earth was no longer solely humanity's home, even though several forces fought like cornered beasts...
Anyhow, no matter who makes up society...
I never believed that human society held any superiority over the Red Tide or the Punishing.
When I was human, I witnessed far too many stories of pain and sorrow.
Everyone is selfish, everyone fails to understand one another—that's the kind of species we are.
I believe humans could never fight the Punishing with the desperate determination that Dr. Saotome hoped for.
Humans will ultimately fall into corruption—they fall because they live.
I deeply respect her, and I will keep my promise to become the Prometheus she envisioned.
However, I will fulfill her vision in a completely different way—
I'm going to make everyone abandon their ideals of saving the world, embrace their desires and weaknesses, and then...
Drift aimlessly in this apocalyptic paradise of pleasure and let time slip away between moments and eternity.
I see... Now I understand why your desire runs so deep.
You're a regressionist among humans... No, more accurately, you're a defeatist.
But humanity's final curtain will fall sooner or later...
The Red Tide will paint this planet in beautiful colors, and you... you're someone who has what it takes to appreciate this beauty.
So? What do you say?
Let the Red Tide gather here, and I shall become one with its flow.
And then, this island shall mark the beginning of humanity's fall from grace, the genesis of their descent...
Come, enter this fallen Eden.
I'm pleased to see such enlightenment in you, Yuka.
However, it won't be I who completes this task—it should be you.
As you once said, you understand humans better than I do. You're more suited to become the witness.
Just as she did before with that Construct from the Forsaken...
Cradle takes Yuka's pale hand, and crimson threads seep into her body.
A scarlet glow seeps through Yuka's school uniform as crimson patterns materialize across her chest.
What are you doing?
Just a little power, that's all... I'll lend it to you. This way, you can go much further.
Why? Weren't you the one who wanted to explore human civilization?
I can't stay here for much longer. There are more important matters that await me.
Where are you going?
A place far, far away from here.
Before I leave, consider this power my parting gift to you.
I'm afraid this will be the last time we meet.
As Cradle releases her grip, color returns to Yuka's previously dim eyes.
In amazement, she presses her hand against her heart, feeling its intense pulsing.
My heart...
Goodbye, then.
Hey...!
Before Yuka can follow, Cradle vanishes without a trace.
What an... unlikeable person.
Just like me.
With a soft sigh, Yuka turns and walks away, her steps carrying her across stone stairs blanketed with hydrangeas.
Come forth, tides, gather unto me.
White dust drifts down from the lecture hall ceiling like falling snow.
As if answering Yuka's call, gentle tremors begin to ripple through her surroundings.
Not far from here, the Red Tide from the bay area begins to corrupt its way inland...
In the wake of the tide comes an overwhelming swarm of Hetero-Creatures.
On the other side of Hydrangea Island, aftershocks continue to ripple outward.
An earthquake?
That's not all—Hetero-Creatures from the forest are also surging forward.
The interference is back... Ngh!
Discord clutches her head in pain, struggling to maintain balance amid the tremors.
Stay calm, take a deep breath, and connect with me like you did last time.
As she speaks, Valeria firmly supports Discord by the shoulders to keep her body steady.
Feeling better?
I can barely move. But there's no time for that... The Red Tide will be here in no time.
The threats we're facing have intensified, and I fear it's the same for Yata, too.
If things go well for her, communications should be restored soon. If not, we'll have to rush to her aid.
The plan remains unchanged—regroup with Yata as soon as possible and find high ground to secure our position.
