act16side

Did you know? My predecessor, the last Pope, had an interest in history.

No...

I don't blame you. He was an amateur in the field. His writings were riddled with mistakes and hardly worthy of praise.

Rather than studying history, perhaps it's better to say that his interests lay in using history to let his imagination run wild.

He was particularly fond of certain... romantic metaphors in his writings. Perhaps a little promiscuous for a history paper, but they did truly leave an impression on his readers.

He said, 'History is a musical movement written by a shapeless titan in countless voices.'

Going by his analogy, our titan musician seems to have started writing his next measure.

I breathe all the air out of my lungs before drawing a fresh breath.

I trip and fall to the ground, before climbing back up and running forward again.

I can feel that something is brewing.

The other side of the door at the top of the bell tower is where Cecelia is.

I open the door—

The frail girl is singing.

An ancient Sarkaz folk song.

She is singing from the bottom of her heart, so tenderly, with all her feelings.

I can only stand there, doing my best to hold my breath, to avoid disrupting the flow of her singing.

At a certain point, I realize I cannot hear anything anymore.

There is only the sound of bells, seemingly ringing across time.

Bells... from the Tower of Revelations...? That's impossible!

That bell has never rung!

Except... except when...

When the first saint still walked the land.

'During the day, the Sankta looked up at the sky to find darkness shrouding even the sun. At night, the devil's army came and slaughtered countless Sankta. The Sankta lost much of their radiance.'

'The saints said: follow me. Thus they rose. The saints said: listen to me. Thus, the bells began to ring.'

'The bells echoed throughout the wilderness, uniting all the Sankta.'

'This is a revelation. This is an exhortation.'

'There will be light throughout the day, and it shall never be shrouded again.'

'The saints said: build a city. It will be the Sankta's paradise.'

'The saints said: this city shall be called Lateran.'

How...?

The Tower of Revelations is one of the oldest structures in Laterano. No, according to the texts, the Tower of Revelations was here before there was a Laterano.

And now the holy bells ring again...

For our little Cecelia.

But... why?

Perhaps the shapeless titan musician wanted some crescendos in his music, and he picked Lateran bells for his arrangement because he liked the sound.

Cardinal Velliv, you and I stand in this church at this moment. I wonder if that is good or bad.

Your Holiness, we must know immediately why the holy bells are ringing... No, no matter the reason, it is the responsibility of the Church to explain why and how it happened.

With envoys from the nations gathered in Laterano, all of the attending representatives are now witnesses to this event. This could be an opportunity.

Go, Velliv. Inform the envoys that the Lateran bells ring for the first time in millennia, and this portends change. We must come together and prepare for the future.

What about the Tower of Revelations, then...?

We have waited long enough. Let's get to work.

Guide, did... did you know this was going to happen? What exactly is Cecelia...? S-She's mixed-race, but... is there some other secret about her?

No, of course not. She's the Cecelia that both you and I know. She may come from a unique background, but there is no secret to her.

It's just that, perhaps Laterano itself is thirsting for change, and Cecelia... she just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Or perhaps, she is actually the one who will end the thousand year conflict between the Sarkaz and the Sankta, and so Revelation came and the bells rang.

Of course, it could also just be a misunderstanding, a coincidence, a kind of black humor in the course of history.

But we both know that the truth is never what's actually important.

Hmm... No matter what, this is an opportunity. If I have to say, it might even be proof that we are actually blessed.

The Church is most likely putting all their attention on the envoys and the Tower of Revelations right now...

We'll pave the path forward for you. You need only walk it.

Andoain... the bells have started to ring.

The bells belong to a child who is about to begin her journey.

Oh?

You sound very relaxed. You've made your decision.

My decision has never changed.

Even if you must give up everything?

Even if I must give up everything.

Is there any meaning in this?

Meaning... Meaning does not exist for nothing. All our choices merely conceive it, mold it, and give it the chance to descend upon us.

I get it now.

I hope you'll find your peace.

Patia, what you just said goes against our original goal.

All men are cornerstones, and the roads that we lay are paved for those who follow us.

I must see His Holiness right now!

Gun-Knight Talvadore, His Holiness is praying right now. No one can see him.

But!

Please understand.

An explosion?

Probably another one of the people's pranks.

No! The explosion came from the envoys' village. We stopped handing out approvals for explosive activities there!

G...Gun-Knight Talvadore, the envoys' village is under attack, and there have been multiple fires and explosions all across the city!

It's the Astray! They can't sit still now that the holy bells have sounded, can they?

There are Gun-Knights stationed in the envoys' village, but... after the ambush and explosions started, the envoys started demanding more Gun-Knights to protect them.

Understood.

Dammit, why now of all times?!

Cardinal Velliv!

The bells of the Tower of Revelations are ringing. This is the holiest moment in Lateran history. We even get to share this with the first 'Summit of Nations' and the envoys of all the lands. How joyous.

Yet the heretics' remnants are taking the opportunity to sow chaos. They plot to disrupt the conference and overshadow Laterano's radiance.

Gun-Knight Talvadore, by order of the Apostle Himself, the Pope, you are to go to the envoys' village and defend them alongside the Gun-Knights there, thus ensuring the Summit of Nations will commence as planned.

I will accompany you.

Very well. Your Eminence, if I may...

I'm sure you've noticed as much, but the energy that's surging from the Tower of Revelations...

Watch your words, Reverend Gun-Knight.

That is glory itself.

Lemuen, did he do this?!

Maybe...

You're still going to cover for him?!

Fiammetta, come here.

What for?

Come here.

I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have said what I said the other day.

Let go of me...

Not until you forgive me.

I AM mad at you.

But there's something else I'm even angrier about.

And it might just be me.

I want you to trust me on one thing, Fiammetta.

If he really wanted to do harm to Laterano... I'd never forgive him.

Then what is it he's trying to do?