act17side

Hmm... Are you in a hurry?

The other countries still do not understand what we are dealing with. They are unable to comprehend how a vast, mighty land in its Golden Age disappeared into the Silence.

And I... may as well have witnessed it with my own eyes.

Fair enough.

Where are the others?

We rarely get to go on a tour, so let them enjoy some free time. What you want is right here.

I came to you for the same reason as last time.

That said, I have little love for the sea these days. Especially after hearing what you had to say about it.

Hopefully you've had enough time to make up your mind.

Before we get to that, Doctor... Doesn't it seem like you've been working on... let's call it your bedside manner?

Like, uh, an X-ray machine with a voice greeting?

Whoops. Put my foot in my mouth again. You should already be used to that though, right?

But how quaint indeed. I didn't think anything could possibly change the way you dealt with people. Or should I say, your 'personality.'

There's always something.

Alright. Maybe I'd rather not pry into your personal affairs...

...He's here. He's still here, and it's not just him. There's more. The scent of the sea. Since when were there so many Ægir in this little town?

The Inquisition planned it.

Maybe. Maybe even now, at this very moment, there are still Inquisitors, their heads addled with their ignorant laws, intent on continuing their self-righteous deeds.

When did you have the time to wrap yourself up after escaping from the enemy?

...An Ægir helped me.

A friend?

No, just... an Ægir who loves the sea.

What do we do about our brother's body?

It's currently in the hands of Amaia and Thiago. We'll have to figure something out.

We ought to prepare a funeral for it.

A funeral is a human ritual, not ours.

Amaia has said that we should live the way our hearts dictate. Pure in desire, pure in worship, just as those ignorant Inquisitors treat their own faith.

Would that not make us equally ignorant?

Ignorance is a part of our very nature we have yet to throw away. We have not yet become them.

Sophistry.

That, I can't deny. But do you wish to see the land-dwellers torment the corpse of our brother?

Long have we lived on land, with no Herald to guide us. All we can do is seek out our own way of embracing the ocean.

But before that... we should give our brother a proper burial. We ought to mourn any senseless death.

Who would be able to slay this creature with such ease? Thiago?

What?

I'd understand if it had been surrounded by four or five Penal Battalion soldiers, or if it took the Flames of Castigation from an Inquisitor's lantern.

But... this poor Sea Terror has but a single wound on its body.

While I've never personally seen the rumored High Inquisitors fight, I'd imagine that if anyone in all of Iberia could pull this off, it'd be them.

Impossible! Nobody has seen an Inquisitor come to Gran Faro!

But our little town, which rarely sees any outsiders, has been welcoming visitor after visitor as of late. Surely this can't all be due to the Inquisition's negligence, right?

That...

Perhaps the marching of the Penal Battalion cannot be hidden from our ears, but what of the Inquisitors? If they changed out of their uniforms and concealed their lanterns and swords, how would we ever know?

You mean to say that an Inquisitor might already be here? Hidden among the outsiders?

I'm saying it's a possibility.

...I'm going on a little walk.

Thiago!

I'm sure even you understand that most people would rather have the Inquisitors help them get rid of the Sea Terrors.

I know. Of course I know. I wouldn't hate a beast for no reason. But I WILL hate those people. Those... Inquisitors.

*Sigh*...

Amaia gently caresses the Sea Terror's corpse. The fate left to it by death was not such a terrible one.

By human standards, it certainly appeared deformed and terrifying. But what about from other perspectives? How would the court of nature, of life itself, judge this perfect creature?

Alone in the empty pub, Amaia decides to stop pondering this question. Or at least, the pub appears empty. She and Thiago believe it is.

But the shadows begin to writhe, and something steps out from within, its simple outline etched out beneath the dim light's glow.

It is a person. An Ægir.

...Was this your doing?

(Ægirian) It has nothing to do with you.

You don't look like you're from the Penal Battalion.

(Ægirian) You cannot deceive me.

Wait, you're an Ægir? That makes you even less likely to be an Inquisitor.

(Ægirian) Silence is the most terrifying sound in the sea. We cannot tolerate it a second time. None of us can.

I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I think you should leave—

(Ægirian) The Bishop of Sal Viento is dead.

(Ægirian) I am not as patient as you might believe.

I...

(Ægirian) I never thought I'd see a living Abyssal Hunter with my own eyes.

Inquisitors? ...No, impossible. How could an Inquisitor be here?

Mr. Thiago! Just now, I—

Mr. Thiago?

Get out of this place as soon as possible. You, and the rest of your lot.

You're a nice lad, I can see that. Jordi can too. But...

There's something sleeping beneath our little town, and there's nothing normal about any of this—No, Iberia's never been normal, not since then.

...I hear you. I'll leave as soon as I can.

But I think I saw something in front of the chapel just now—

Tell me, lad. Are you from the Inquisition? Are you trying to get close to Jordi so you can take him away?

Mr. Thiago?

Go ahead and lie to me. I'll fight you to the death too, outsider.

I'm not. You know as well as I do, if I were really after the Ægir, why would I wait so long?

It's just a single Sea Terror. We're by the coast, and we've seen things like this before, decades ago.

There's nothing to get worked up over, outsider. It's none of your business.

Mayor Thiago, I'm willing to help you iron out some of the issues in town.

You? There's nothing for you to do.

Even if it means Jordi's life will be in danger?

Nobody's here? Why aren't Amaia and Thiago here...?

It's his scent!

That damn Ægir, he took Amaia away?! How dare he—

—No, that's not quite right. Amaia doesn't know how to fight. He wouldn't do anything to her.

At least our brother's remains are still here.

What do we do now?

Take it away. This rotting shack is not suitable to be its coffin.

After that... We will find it a proper home. Look at it—death is nothing more than a gentle attendant. That is something that Ægir butcher could never understand.

Let's go.

Hmm... So in other words, we're what? Insurance?

To my understanding, none of you have any desire to return to the ocean and fight those monsters.

You were born of this sea, and are very powerful. But even if you regain your original forms, you will never be able to rid yourselves of those creatures.

Oh? It's that dangerous?

More than you can imagine.

To be honest though, we've never cared too much about that. We just do what we want. Most people inhabiting this great land probably think the same thing, right?

If the Seaborn can understand language and music, then I'm sure you'll find an audience, even if disaster were to befall Terra.

In fact, they're more complete creatures than humans, and have greater resistance to all sorts of things. Give them a few hundred years and maybe they'll even adapt to Originium.

I'm aware.