act25side

And the Doctor?

Calming down elsewhere. I do intend to spend some time with you alone.

I have a question for you, AMa-10, Kal'tsit.

For the past ten thousand years... have you really lived on this land?

Yes.

It seems you've changed quite a lot. We haven't interacted much, but you shouldn't be your current self.

What did you choose?

I've seen wars lasting several millennia, the rise and co-existing of nations, and people growing from their misunderstandings and conflicts.

But in the end, they all scattered to the wind just like the sands of Sargon. But in the blink of an eye, history has already given birth to new children.

I've seen the cycle repeat too many times. The cycle itself looms large and weighs heavy, and I'm fully aware that time is running out.

And then, I ran into a unique opportunity.

I once met two Teekaz, who were closer than any creature in any era, to the truth of continuing civilization.

But now, you are all as fragile as the trash on an asteroid belt, so how can you possibly talk of continuing—

——Wait. You are saying...

The black crown still remains on Terra?

'The Lord of Fiends.' As the ancient Teekaz called it.

Teekaz...? Those odd endemic lifeforms?

What a fluke, I had thought it would have been left behind on...

...The black crown. I dislike the shape it takes on the physical plane, a crown? Leaves a bad taste.

A crown points to royalty. This ancient imagery implies power.

In this downward trend of collapse, where the misunderstandings over ideology and race push surface civilization toward self-destruction, within an extravagant mirage of peace and unity—

The most direct method should be to use those powers to reshape the will of all living beings, and fuse them into a singular form.

What can a false leader made of memories, emotions and knowledge even achieve?

Don't underestimate Amiya.;Don't underestimate Rhodes Island.;Don't underestimate us.

Doctor, are you alright?

Just needed a breather...;......;This thing has gone too far...

Perhaps I have underestimated you, but that does not affect the ending already set in stone.

You want me to believe that such a tiny piece of heritage is enough to change fate?

'Heritage' is humanity's sole achievement ever since our ancient ancestors learned to use tools and fire.

Knowledge, culture, history. So-called civilization is nothing more than that.

There will be a day when the black crown will no longer belong to Amiya alone. And we will have to fight to survive, no matter who the enemy is.

You've chosen to fight for Terra.

This is what you're decided? With this body, this identity? You are different from Kristen and her kind.

Your struggles... are far from your original intent.

Even Rhodes Island's reserve op teams know the difference between fighting for themselves and fighting for others.

And we've all done our preparations, this great land of Terra is where I grew up.

I'm an employee of Rhodes Island.

A part of the ship sailing on the land called Terra.

...'Infected' is just, too trivial a proposition... however... infected... Originium, huh...

Hm...

Then, what about you?

'Doctor'.

...I'm an employee of Rhodes Island.;I'm an employee of Rhodes Island.;I'm an employee of Rhodes Island...

I also have a question for you, Trevor Friston.

How has your time been, in this... equally long period of time?

The 'Perturbation' system has been lifted.

Kristen, tell me how to stop the energy accumulation. And where exactly does the energy come from?

This will be an extremely long story.

I will try to crack the Galleria's control panel before I'm done listening.

Saria, you know, the history of this land is far longer than most realize.

I believe every generation produces its own skeptics, just like my parents and I. Have our ventures really been completely fruitless?

And... was there perhaps a more ancient point in time that the sky hanging over us, was not as we see it today?

I remember. That was one of the establishing goals of Rhine Lab's Scientific Investigation Section.

Conventional exploration alone has already provided me with plenty of interesting information.

After you left Rhine, I picked up some interests I had previously, and tried leaving the laboratory, heading to various corners of the world that mankind had scarcely set foot on.

The purpose of these journeys was not to observe the sky.

The stars are not worth looking at——I came to this conclusion early on, after countless calculations.

I only... wanted to try and find more collaborators.

Since the last Leithanian Arts Detector Orb fell short at 500 meters below the barrier, the academic circles in most countries abandoned their research into the thing.

So what I've been looking for... a voice that doesn't belong to this era.

Like the immortals who rely on Originium Arts to escape the shackles of life, or the Feranmuts older than any country?

Perhaps even older than those regarded as gods, a being so old that history has forgotten them.

Before I set off on my journey, I had no idea what I was going to find. I just... felt a calling. Across time and space, directing me toward that door.

And what... was inside the door?

Everything.

I found the answers to all my questions. How we managed to trek across history to make it here, about the land's unexplored secrets, and about the myriad of possibilities for our future.

But at the same time...

I also saw the end of a civilization, and a spirit abandoned by time.

...Time. Time is nothing but a vile joke.

At the end of the world, when the seas dried up and the rocks rotted away as everything changed, I hid in this grim bunker, repeating a futile act—

—Shouting into the void.

My words permeated every moon and space itself, every tunnel and corner of the stars.

The universe did not respond to me. I prayed to the pitch-black despair for tens of thousands of years, and the only thing I heard in return, was the reverberations of destruction...

Whenever I longed for a survivor's response, the sound of collapse and rays of occupied light still lingering among the stars would emerge...

It was a black hole of futile effort. My emotions were far beyond what any regular lifeform would ever experience or empathize with.

In the endless silence, all I could hear was the heartbeats of my people growing ever weaker, but their dormant hearts should not have been beating at all.

Nightmares cannot jolt me awake, because it is impossible for me to sleep.

I hate myself for having these emotions. I wish I could operate like a pure machine. I hate the other me that assigned me a fate like this.

I knew very well the plan had already concluded. The energy in these... 'sarcophagi' was not enough to power the next stage of recovery in our plans.

Soon after, I was swept into the nothingness. Endless, and numb...

So the contact with Kristen offered you a gamble.

Since your people could never wake up, you might as well...

...No.

The first time I saw that humanoid creature, what I felt was... surprise.

I've been watching the depths of space far, far away, not what happened on the surface. I noticed the growth of life, but never expected it to knock on my door.

We spent a long time talking. Though in reality, it was no longer than a few months.

Kristen fired question after question, as if she was meeting a manifestation of truth.

And remarkably, every topic would send her into a long period of reflection and silence, instead of satisfying her thirst for knowledge.

She catalyzed an idea, but she didn't voice it herself—Kristen refused to be the one to execute the plan.

Plan?;......;Wasn't she just using Rhine Lab to achieve her goals?

She believes that someday, this land will need a group that can separate themselves from politics and unite as a people. This farsighted group would have to employ everything at their disposal...

...To build an ark.

The pioneers would inevitably face the struggle of understanding, and would face division and suffering.

But reality is not myth, as Babel has proven.

So what is Rhodes Island to you, if you hold no hope for all of this?

You're right about that.

We can discuss this so-called 'hope.'

Kristen's little helpers have already begun fiddling with the 'sarcophagi's' technology. I have no qualms with it, but this must mean something important for Terra.

Use it well. Kristen's political views are not without a few flaws.

Loken's research has effectively been put under control. I cannot possibly trust Columbia as a nation, but there is someone behind the Maylander Foundation that is worth negotiating with.