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Who was she? And who is she now?

They've hardly touched you, yet you seem barely able to stand.

Maybe an illness you contracted in Sal Viento?

...The scent of the sea is rather intoxicating, that's all.

...Knight ...Comrade. Why, why must you gag on the air, and endure the heat? You'll never taste... the fruits of civilization.

Urgh...!

The ground is shaking.

Energy long-lost floods through the pipelines and into the broken body of the Eye of Iberia, prying open its eyelids.

It has awakened. The entire island whispers the groans of its first light. Slowly it shakes off its winter, as if waking from centuries of hibernation.

...The cycle of all existence...

Does not belong to the sea...

The knight lifts his head, gazing up from the shadow beneath the great lighthouse.

He is perplexed.

That... is not the monstrous waves.

Where... are they?

Without drawing a single breath, as naturally as a shadow slants in the direction of the light, Specter brings down her weapon.

But the humanoid Seaborn in front of her avoids it, with logic-defying explosive force.

In midair, the knight looks far out into the distance.

He is listening, listening for the coming of new waves. And he will break them.

...Ishar... mla...

(Rasping growl) —Roci—nante—!

(Braying) —!!

(Unintelligible sounds) Chase!

Turns out, Mister Knight is afraid of the light.

Don't pursue him. He's not the only Seaborn like that out there. Our only duty is to defend this lighthouse.

He's only lost interest in the lighthouse.

I don't care about the motivations of monsters.

Are you saying... I'm also a monster?

You?

You are undergoing a transformation. I don't know whether this is something that happens with every Abyssal Hunter.

But if necessary, this reef will be the last bit of land you'll ever step on.

You would still call this land, when we're clearly surrounded by ocean?

Disasters change coastlines, not national boundaries.

Every last centimeter of land swallowed by the Profound Silence is still subject to the laws of Iberia.

Laws, a virtuous word. Yet not all creatures recognize this virtue.

...Ready your blade.

J-Just a little bit more!

(Slithering sounds)

Hurry up then! If this drags out any longer, the lighthouse will be swallowed up by the nethersea brand!

...Ran into a little bit of a hitch!

One of the auxiliary structures might've been damaged, b-but that would take too much time to investigate!

Just booting up the core facility will suffice. We still have to retrieve the flagship's coordinates, ideally reestablishing a connection with the line running along the coast—

I, I know, but— Those things might be even higher up!

Then keep going! Hurry!

...No.

I have to stay here... Turning on the lighthouse is as simple as pulling the most conspicuous lever, but I need to stay here and oversee the power system rebooting.

You should go, ma'am.

What? But if you're attacked by a Sea Terror that slipped through the net, we'll all—

I know! But I, I don't want to come up one step short, not now!

Those monsters— They only lashed out against humans because we invaded their nest, right?

If that's the case, they won't keep destroying the facilities. If anything, getting into a fight will only make things more dangerous, so you should keep climbing instead!

...A conspicuous lever, right?

Yeah, it should be obvious. Flip that, and at least the main facilities, including the lighting equipment, will start up again. ...Assuming what the log said is correct.

Alright.

I'll be right back, Jordi.

The console... Well, this is it.

Nothing on the outside is visible from within the tower.

Could the Stultifera really not have sunk? How are they supposed to find that great dreadnought?

Is it too late for the Penal Battalion to come to their aid? Are the cultists of Gran Faro hiding even more secrets?

Just by pulling down on lever in her hand, all of these questions would be answered.

Irene should have been conflicted. She had accepted too much, learned much of the sea, and seen it all with her own eyes.

—Now's the time.

I hope you're ready, Irene.

Dazzling light penetrates the ocean, piercing through everything.

The light will lead the way. The light can dispel the darkness.

It worked!

Hey, Jordi! Did you see that? We did it—

(Slithering sounds, rubbing against the wall)

Merda...

I didn't think you still had it in you to appreciate this sculpture.

The Eye of Iberia... The offspring of the marriage between Ægir and Iberian technology. On land, each nomadic city can only seamlessly communicate within its own walls. Between cities, however, is like crossing a moat.

No system of communication can resolve the interference caused by Originium-rich zones. The only solution is to set up base stations that are at constant risk of being destroyed by Catastrophes.

I hear some countries have already adopted the technology of mobile base stations that navigate on a fixed route between cities. Their engineers are no different from those who guard our lighthouses.

Even today, humans still stumble about across this great land, blindly grasping for clues. We must still grope our way across Terra in near total darkness.

But, what of the ocean?

There is no Originium in the ocean. The Ægir's communication technology vastly surpasses anything we have on land. The Eye of Iberia is not just a set of lighthouses.

It is, of course, Iberia's vision. Very few people know that it was left to us by Breogan, as a microphone to connect all of Iberia.

It's been a while, sir.

Your work was invaluable in allowing the Inquisition to respond so quickly to Dame Kal'tsit's proposal.

How about you? Have you enjoyed your time in Gran Faro?

Compared to the other cities where our colleagues lay dormant, this place can hardly be considered dangerous.

So, what have you found here?

My sincere apologies, sir. I doubt I know much more than you and the Dame.

The order given to me by the High Inquisitor was to monitor Gran Faro for more potential enemies, those who would violate our laws and desecrate our country.

My conclusion being, no. Not for the time being.

When the Church's cultists appeared, you didn't notify your team in time.

Correct, I determined those cultists to be impotent, and took advantage of the Penal Battalion's withdrawal as a prime opportunity to go after their true mastermind.

And did you find them? Are there more... false bishops, presiding over the sea's invasion of the land?

Without concrete evidence, I can only speculate as to who their leader is.

But Mayor Thiago, a worker from the Iberian hinterlands, is nominally the mayor of this town.

Since the Eye of Iberia project was scrapped and the Inquisition made quick work of the traitors in Gran Faro, it's been no secret that he has been a pointed critic of the Inquisition.

Thiago... One of Gran Faro's laborers, sheltering the cultists. It would seem we have our next target, Dame Kal'tsit.

There's one other thing. Umm, Lord Carmen, the Penal Battalion seems to have come under attack.

What...?

They've invested a Tercio just to quash the evil writhing in Gran Faro, to the point that it's a rare luxury to see even a single badge. What could they up against?

The nethersea brand has seeped through the ground to the surface, drawing a circle roughly fifty kilometers around Gran Faro.

And, it's a perfect circle, almost as if it was drawn with a compass...

It's not the town that's been surrounded, though. It's us.