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We climb the tallest mountain, and raise a torch up high to light it back up.

What if our arms get tired?

Hm... then we'll build a statue of me, and my statue will hold the torch up instead.

Good idea! We can build my statue next to yours to hold up another torch, too! Then, if your torch goes out, my torch can light yours!

With fire comes light, and it is light that guides us toward hope.

And my kin see death as a different interpretation of hope.

After your body's destruction, to become one with the city within the Soul Furnace's flames is an honor bestowed only on those who are most respected.

They will grow as Originium crystals and become one with Kazdel.

The newborn will grow among the fluttering dust, and continue their march forward with hardships in tow amid the chorus of the myriad souls.

Progress mixed with ignorance... The cycle continues and repeats over and over.

So... beautiful.

So... nostalgic.

Your kind... Terra seems to have gotten back on the right track... and achieving enlightenment.

How is 'ignorance' defined, and how do we prove the progress of 'enlightenment?'

The way I see it, all of this is part of our civilization.

But the things you showed me... Most of them are... extremely different compared to your race.

Conquerors and the conquered, both have been branded with inerasable marks by this land throughout the evolution of civilization...

For the sake of survival, I believe that all discrepancies will be unified, and all clans will become one.

In the future that I envision, all the many lands will become one.

That's a stirring belief... It's admirable.

I can feel that... you truly love this great land.

Be it discrimination, war, or disaster... The object of your love has long surpassed an individual or a clan.

But if you... surpass the extremes of the civilization you belong to... no one will be able to comprehend your love.

On the contrary... they will loathe you.

Do you understand what you will have to go through... to reach the future you strive for?

If there is no choice but to walk that path, I will gladly do so.

Theresa. A Terran.

No wonder Kal'tsit trusts you. She willingly took the risk to wake me in order to help you.

Right. When every era comes to an end, there are always those who try their hardest to change the tide in the final moments.

But most of the time, their stories don't end well.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that you have my admiration.

After all, on a certain level, you are very similar to some people that I knew.

I will never get to see them again...

...Perhaps I'll need some more time to get my thoughts in order.

But no matter. I think I should... listen to what you two have to say first.

What do you need me to do?

Doctor, you need rest.

I'm fine.

Kal'tsit. She's given me lots of surprises, but on top of that, she's given me even more challenges.

Sorry... I mean 'confusion'.

I still don't have a very good grasp of the Sarkaz language.

I saw a lot of unexpected things in her. Surely you did too.

I made enemies with her, came to know her, began to understand her wish, and finally admired her responsibility...

That Black Crown shared with Theresa the long history and experience it bears, and she too slowly gained foresight that no other can attain.

I felt... perhaps this would be our best chance. With her, with Babel, and with Terra.

'With Terra.'

You, too, are part of 'this great land' now, Kal'tsit.

I hope you will take this journey with us, too.

Right...

I envy you, and I trust you, Kal'tsit.

But I am just a researcher. Perhaps the help I can offer won't be as significant as you hoped.

Oripathy, Catastrophe... Disasters that we have no methods to resist have been bringing many hardships to these lands... yet Terra's technology is almost entirely built atop the foundation that is Originium.

Fighting over energy, the discrimination against the Infected, and the estrangement between war and races are all further tearing these lands apart...

We tried, but our efforts yielded very little... That's because we know practically nothing about Originium. We know nothing about this great land.

What happened to the sky and the ocean? Where did the ancient ruins come from? How exactly... were we born?

We hope you'll be able to find answers for us.

Surely, Kal'tsit must already have shared some of those with you.

As for Originium, I'm sorry to say that the person I am now can't give you a good answer. At the very least, not an answer to everything.

When I woke up, I tried to access the logs tracking Originium's progress, but strangely, there was nothing.

And this glimpse of Terra that you showed me has made me even more confused.

The development of Originium... has taken a completely different turn from what I expected. I need some time.

I need to explore and see this great land for myself, to understand how exactly Originium has influenced culture, life, and environment.

This could take years, perhaps longer... And maybe, after an enormous amount of energy is expended, you will receive only a most disappointing answer.

I once made a promise to somebody. Thinking about it now, perhaps all I ever left myself or her... was regret.

That's why I won't make a promise lightly, Kal'tsit. Forgive me...

In that case, we will wait.

No matter what your answer will be, Babel will last until the day of your return, Doctor.

...Thank you.

Well... sorry... but I'm a little hungry.

PRTS showed me that the landship has a temporary cafeteria...

That it does, but it might be a little messy there. How about I take you—

Thank you, Theresa, but no.

This place has a special meaning to me, too. Let me walk there, slowly, by myself...

Okay... Be careful, Doctor.

The awakening has given the Doctor a lot of pressure, but it would seem this one is quick to adapt, and much quicker than I expected.

The Doctor wants to learn all there is to learn about Terra.

A quick learner too, it seems.

If the children were like the Doctor, perhaps they would have the chance to master even more languages and travel to so many places across Terra.

Theresa, you should go back and look for the others. There should be plenty of Babel affairs that need the Chairman herself to...

Theresa?

Kal'tsit... there's something bothering me. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I want to tell you.

The Doctor seems to be very surprised by the look of Terra as it is today.

You once told me that nobody has a better understanding of Originium than the Doctor. The same Doctor who said that the development of Originium... took a completely different turn from the expected.

Then what should Originium have been like? What should these lands have been like?

...What should the Sarkaz have been like?

Is the Doctor ready to depart?

Right. The Doctor applied for a transport, some defensive weapons, and nothing else.

The Doctor stated an intent to avoid combat zones.

Alright. We'll just abide the Doctor's wishes.

Your Highness, I would like to follow this Doctor of ours. Considering the background involved... I am worried.

Ascalon... have you ever left Kazdel?

Left? If we count how I once chased a quarry and left the area when I was small, then I most certainly have.

That doesn't count.

Go, follow and protect the Doctor, but do not interfere.

I will keep a close eye—

No, Ascalon, calm down. I don't want you to keep an eye on anyone.

I want you to go out there and see how the people in other lands live. This is a great opportunity.

How they live?

Outside our homeland, neither war nor suffering is part of people's daily lives. Food, fashion, arts, culture... We could have so much.

Many of us know this fact, but even more of us choose to ignore this fact, because most of the time we don't have the freedom to choose.