act29side

...Indeed.

I have no doubt that we will once again achieve victory for Leithanien.

But... sooner or later, you will have to face me, to answer me.

Hildegard, when we kill Herkunftshorn again, what will you want to do?

You're taking such great risks to bring the future to Leithanien. But what is that future?

(Piercing noise)

Ach, it's getting louder.

You can't kill the 'echoes,' they died a long time ago. And they're emerging from another space.

The Twins are ready to enter the Genesis Horn. The spatial turbulence will be more intense there. We'll need to use strings to hold the Horn, but who knows how long we can drag it...

Go. This is something only a Lich can do.

As for me, I must cover the old man and Ebenholz's retreat.

Only by blocking these dark... things can the people be safe. That's the only way those who've entered the Genesis Horn can return safely.

Do you need me to stitch up your wounds for you?

Nein. The pain... keeps me awake.

I nearly forgot. Right, that's what allows you to move undisturbed by the notes.

Unlike the other Leithanians in the amphitheater, who've mostly succumbed to the altered tune of the Güldenesgesatz.

That's a good thing too. If they heard the sounds of the remnants emanating from the land of the dead, they'd lose their minds.

The Gesatzswächter and the Twin Empresses are doing what they can to weave melodies and defend the people's sanity.

Once the Kaiserinnen stop playing and enter the Genesis Horn, only the Gesatzswächter will be left.

Their Arts are very strong, but Arts are Arts. How can they resist the chaos of the void?

The same goes for you, Lessing.

Both your body and your will are being consumed. Your blood will run dry.

Are you saying... that I'm not an immortal Lich?

So what if you were?

It is precisely because we're Liches that we understand the absolute nature of chaos. It's like unto boundless knowledge.

Then... what should we do?

Admit our insignificance and helplessness, do nothing, and wait for a greater power to crush us? Wait for your chaos to devour us?

I won't.

I'd rather take my life into my own hands, and listen to the sound of the last drop of blood falling from my wounds as I collapse.

Hmph... stubborn.

I still remember all those years ago, when the master rescued you from the Gendarmerie. We all thought you were minutes from death.

You were so small, so thin, so... fragile. Like you would shatter if touched by a strand of thread.

But you survived, covered in scars, with a temperament more and more like the master.

...Danke.

It was you who helped me survive. Just like... the Liches have helped Leithanien for so many years.

The Twins are moving, I should find the other Liches.

Lessing, my unorthodox little brother... I'll listen for your voice on the wind.

I just hope what I find with my threads won't be your dying breaths.

(Sharp noise)

The dead don't feel pain or exhaustion.

They surge endlessly from the cracks between reality and chaos, repeating the last howl they gave before death.

Once the Movement is gone... will it be just you making such noise?

It sounds truly awful.

He slowly unwinds the wrappings on his longsword.

The cloth is long enough to use to cover his ears.

But he doesn't do that.

After so many years of hard work, Lessing has grown accustomed to focusing all his attention on the edge of his blade.

The theme of Leithanien will be rewritten by each and every one of us.

And before that... is just a battle.

Victory or defeat, life or death, none of it bears consideration.

Phew—! You scared me...

Vivian, what are you hiding under the covers for... are you writing a letter?

Shh—Tante Cora's about to come. She'll be angry if she sees me awake this late.

Who are you writing to?

Vati.

I pestered Tante Cora for two weeks before she finally agreed to sneak me out to a poetry recital at Ludwigs-Universität, and I want to tell Vati all about it.

I was going write it tomorrow, but I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time we get back...

Not that I have any way to send them. I'll just store them somewhere safe, along with all my knight novels.

But why?

Since I decided not to eat candy anymore, I have to put away those childish fantasies too.

But didn't you always want to be like those knights? With their shining swordspears sparkling like the sun? Didn't you want to visit that radiant, glowing country?

They're too far. It's all just too far away.

Mutti's not here anymore, and Vati, he's by himself. I'm... on my own too. I don't want to be too far from him.

I asked Tante Cora how long it'd take for us to get back to Sturmland from Zwillingstürme. The fastest route would be only two days, so if Vati needs me, I can always—

But your Vati doesn't even know you stayed behind.

He'd definitely be mad if he did.

But I don't regret my choice. I begged Tante Cora to help me stay here in Leithanien, instead of following her to the Grand Knight Territory like he told me to.

Even if I have to hide. Even if he can never know.

Tante's helped us so much. My Mutti said she's super strong, super brave, and super gentle...

But even so, I'm sure she needs people by her side too.

She's always been by herself. I can't do much, but I can at least hold her hand.

Mhm. I know exactly what you mean.

Viviana.

I can't say you've made a bad choice. You're giving up on more things, but at the very least you'll have fewer regrets.

It's Tante Cora... I think someone's stopped her to talk.

I'll go take a look.

You should get to bed.

A rare event. Has the Twin Empresses' favorite actually come here of her own accord, to meet with us 'dregs'?

Finally made up your mind?

All because of the Hochberg girl?

Viviana is too sensible for her own good.

She takes after both Lucinda and Werner. If I had a daughter myself, I can only hope she'd be as tough and kindhearted as her.

That day in the car, she suddenly begged me to let her stay. And I thought, maybe things would work out better this way.

Better for Werner, and... better for me.

With her around, I can feel myself gradually calming down this time.

When I pass by Karl Schmidt Street, sometimes I feel like I can see the marigolds again, blooming all over the street. As if the flowering season will never end.

But her current situation says it all.

As grand a Kurfürst as he may have been, he was incapable of saving his own beloved daughter.

Leithanian's illness still constrains all those who have sacrificed everything for the country's so-called rebirth. Its terminal rot has lived and strived, barring the citizens from their freedom.

Still, I'm elated to hear that her presence here has helped you come to a decision, Concertmaster.

No! Cora, I didn't come here to—

This shouldn't be happening!

Everything before her eyes dissipates. Once again, Viviana finds herself on the spiral staircase.

She had thought that an earlier solace would prevent the inevitable, so that tragedies wouldn't have to fall upon the lamentable woman behind the door.

Or, at the very least, that she could say her goodbyes before it was too late.

Countless doors simultaneously open up before her. They line up in succession, meandering towards an unclear horizon.

She recalls every Viviana who was behind each of the doors. She sees every candle and its firelight through each of the frames.

Her parents—or perhaps she herself—make a different choice each time. Life after life, possibility after possibility.

If Mutti and Vati didn't have to hide their love for each other... If everyone had accepted us, then maybe they'd all have blessed my birth instead.

Could we have been happy forever?